Effects of rapid global warming at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary on neotropical vegetation.
Temperatures in tropical regions are estimated to have increased by 3° to 5°C, compared with Late Paleocene values, during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, 56.3 million years ago) event. We investigated the tropical forest response to this rapid warming by evaluating the palynological record of three stratigraphic sections in eastern Colombia and western Venezuela. We observed a rapid and distinct increase in plant diversity and origination rates, with a set of new taxa, mostly angiosperms, added to the existing stock of low-diversity Paleocene flora. There is no evidence for enhanced aridity in the northern Neotropics. The tropical rainforest was able to persist under elevated temperatures and high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, in contrast to speculations that tropical ecosystems were severely compromised by heat stress.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Republic of Panama. jaramilloc@si.edu
Carlos
C
Jaramillo
Diana
D
Ochoa
Lineth
L
Contreras
Mark
M
Pagani
Humberto
H
Carvajal-Ortiz
Lisa M
LM
Pratt
Srinath
S
Krishnan
Agustin
A
Cardona
Millerlandy
M
Romero
Luis
L
Quiroz
Guillermo
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Rodriguez
Milton J
MJ
Rueda
Felipe
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de la Parra
Sara
S
Morón
Walton
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Green
German
G
Bayona
Camilo
C
Montes
Oscar
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Quintero
Rafael
R
Ramirez
Germán
G
Mora
Stefan
S
Schouten
Hermann
H
Bermudez
Rosa
R
Navarrete
Francisco
F
Parra
Mauricio
M
Alvarán
Jose
J
Osorno
James L
JL
Crowley
Victor
V
Valencia
Jeff
J
Vervoort
D001272:Atmosphere; D044822:Biodiversity; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D003105:Colombia; D017753:Ecosystem; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D057232:Global Warming; D019684:Magnoliopsida; D010944:Plants; D011058:Pollen; D013170:Spores; D013696:Temperature; D013995:Time; D014197:Trees; D014329:Tropical Climate; D014687:Venezuela
D002245:Carbon Dioxide