Sprecher
Beschreibung
Wildfires were widespread in terrestrial Cretaceous ecosystems on a global scale. As the product of incomplete combustion, charcoal is chemically inert and highly insusceptible to microbial decay, making it an exceptional medium for reconstructing the taxonomic composition of floras affected by wildfires. During the Early Cretaceous, a ‘high-fire’ period of Earth’s history, a complex evolutionary feedback loop has been hypothesized to have existed between high fire frequencies and the rapid radiation of early angiosperms. Despite the evolutionary significance of this floral transition, detailed taxonomic and ecological studies of charcoal-bearing localities remain scarce due to severe mechanical compaction in the vast majority of clastic sediments. This study investigates excellently preserved Cretaceous charred plant remains found within fissure fills in Devonian reefal limestones in the Sauerland region (W-Germany). Serving as classical taphonomic Konservat-Lagerstätten, these fissures protected brittle charcoal from mechanical stress, yielding uncompacted, three-dimensionally preserved specimens. Morphological and anatomical investigations utilize standard micropaleontological screen washing and sieving, followed by high-resolution Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Preliminary results reveal a diverse morphological range of charcoalified remains, prominently characterized by conifer wood and leaf tips showing distinct cellular diagnostic features, alongside various (fragmentary) pinnule remains of ferns. This exquisite preservation provides a crucial taphonomic window to evaluate new aspects of the structural diversity and palaeoecological dynamics of terrestrial vegetation during a critical phase of the mid-Mesozoic terrestrial revolution.