Sprecher
Beschreibung
The Las Hoyas fossil site (Cuenca, Spain), is a Barremian (129 Ma) Konservat-Lagerstätte renowned for its exceptional preservation. This study analyzes its plant community through the fossil associations of taxa present at different spatial and temporal scales: rock layers (containing fossils deposited within a short time window), excavation areas (containing fossils produced in the same location over a longer period of time), and lithosomes of the site (representing a longer time span and a broader area). The study is based on 13,608 plant fossil remains recovered from 20 excavation trenches between 1996 and 2021.
Gymnosperms constitute the most represented group (24.4%), with Frenelopsis ugnaensis being the most common taxon, followed by angiosperms (13.4%), with Montsechia vidalii as the second most abundant fossil remain, and ferns (10.4%). The analysis reveals cyclical patterns in the abundances of taxa such as Weichelia reticulata and Frenelopsis ugnaensis, likely related to environmental changes, recurrent wildfires, and transport into the wetland.
The wetland vegetation is interpreted as comprising four major plant communities: (1) aquatic vegetation, dominated by Montsechia vidalii and accompanied by charophytes; (2) vegetation of ponds margins and watercourses, including bryophytes and the fern Coniopteris laciniata; (3) vegetation of the emergent wetland and floodplain environments, represented by Frenelopsis ugnaensis; and (4) vegetation of savanna-like habitats located farther from the wetland, represented by Weichelia reticulata, and diverse conifers. Compared with previous interpretations, which recognized only three plant communities, this study proposes an additional community by distinguishing more hygrophilous, water-dependent vegetation from more xerophytic vegetation.