The fossil history of plant life in Antarctica is central to our understanding of the evolution of vegetation through geological time and also plays a key role in reconstructing past configurations of the continents and associated climatic conditions. This book provides the only detailed overview of the development of Antarctic vegetation from the Devonian period to the present day, presenting Earth scientists with valuable insights into the break up of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana. Details of specific floras and ecosystems are provided within the context of changing geological, geographical and environmental conditions, alongside comparisons with contemporaneous and modern ecosystems. The authors demonstrate how palaeobotany contributes to our understanding of the paleoenvironmental changes in the southern hemisphere during this period of Earth history. The book is a complete and up-to-date reference for researchers and students in Antarctic paleobotany and terrestrial paleoecology.
This book significantly expands the coverage of this subject given by its predecessor Biogeography and Plate Tectonics (1987). Global Biogeography traces global changes in geography and biology from the Precambrian to the Recent (with worldwide coverage in chronological order); examines the evolutionary effects of the major extinctions, and discusses contemporary biogeographic regions within the context of their historic origins. It is now apparent that the biotas of the various biogeographical regions have had, and still maintain, a dynamic relationship with one another; much more than was previously thought. This is shown to be true for all three of the earth's primary habitats; marine, terrestrial and freshwater (as is clearly demonstrated in this volume).The book is splendidly illustrated with 122 text figures, an extensive bibliography, index, together with a set of biogeographic maps illustrating continental and terrain outlines from the mid-Cambrian to the Recent. University students (both advanced undergraduate and graduate level) will find it an excellent text book. For professionals in Biogeography this is a convenient reference work.
There are many different approaches to the study of past climates. This is well illustrated by the special publication of the Geological Society. The volume comprises seventeen papers which were presented at the Second European Palaeontological Congress held in Vienna in 1997. In this volume more than half the papers deal with the Quaternary. Despite the title I see no papers dealing with present climates.
Volume 2 provides an overview of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic evolution of Central Europe. This period commenced with the destruction of Pangaea and ended with the formation of the Alps and Carpathians and the subsequent Ice Ages. Separate summary chapters on the Permian to Cretaceous tectonics and the Alpine evolution are also included. The final chapter provides an overview of the fossils fuels, ore and industrial minerals in the region.
Plants in Mesozoic Time showcases the latest research of broad botanical and paleontological interest from the world's experts on Mesozoic plant life. Each chapter covers a special aspect of a particular plant group -- ranging from horsetails to ginkgophytes, from cycads to conifers -- and relates it to key innovations in structure, phylogenetic relationships, the Mesozoic flora, or to animals such as plant-eating dinosaurs. The book's geographic scope ranges from Antarctica and Argentina to the western interior of North America, with studies on the reconstruction of the Late Jurassic vegetation of the Morrison Formation and on fossil angiosperm lianas from Late Cretaceous deposits in Utah and New Mexico. The volume also includes cutting-edge studies on the evolutionary developmental biology ("evo-devo") of Mesozoic forests, the phylogenetic analysis of the still enigmatic bennettitaleans, and the genetic developmental controls of the oldest flowers in the fossil record.
The geological evolution of Central Asia commenced with the formation of a complex Precambrian–Palaeozoic orogen. Cimmerian blocks were then accreted to the southern margin in the Mesozoic, leading to tectonic reactivation of older structures and discrete episodes of basin formation. The Indian and Arabian blocks collided with Asia in the Cenozoic, leading to renewed structural reactivation, intracontinental deformation and basin development. This complex evolution resulted in the present-day setting of an elongated Tien Shan range flanked by large Mesozoic–Cenozoic sedimentary basins with smaller intramontane basins distributed within the range. This volume presents multidisciplinary results and reviews from research groups in Europe and Central Asia that focus on the western part of the Tien Shan and some of the adjacent large sedimentary basins. These works elucidate the Late Palaeozoic–Cenozoic tectono-sedimentary evolution of the area. Emphasis is given to the collision of terranes and continents and the ensuing fault reactivations. The impact of climatic changes on sedimentation is also examined.
The plant fossil record indicates that the genus Metasequoia was widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere from the early Late Cretaceous to the Plio-Pleistocene. Today the genus has shrunk to one species with approximately 5,000 mature individuals in southeastern China’s Xiahoe Valley. This book distills the current understanding of the biology, ecology and physiology of fossil and living Metasequoia, current research directions and problems that remain unresolved.