Widespread terrestrial ecosystem disruption at the onset of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum.

ABSTRACT: The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~56 Mya) interval was marked by massive ¹³C-depleted carbon emissions into the ocean/atmosphere system, manifested as a negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) in sedimentary components, and ~5 °C global average warming. Episodes of hydrological perturbations and soil-erosion have been widely documented for the PETM but their link with vegetation- and carbon cycle changes remain poorly constrained. Here, we present organic microfossil evidence showing a strong increase in fern-dominated pioneer vegetation that replaced coniferous forests on the margin of the Norwegian Sea during the first millennia of the CIE. With the present stratigraphic constraints, the "fern spike" occurred simultaneously in terrestrial settings along the North Se

SUBMITTER: Nelissen M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12849702 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature