Fossil plants reveal ecosystem change at the end-Triassic.
We are delighted to announce a new publication from our group:
“Census collection of two fossil plant localities in Jameson Land, East Greenland supports regional ecological turnover and diversity loss at the end-Triassic mass extinction.”
This research provides new insight into how ancient plant communities in East Greenland were affected during one of Earth’s most dramatic biodiversity crises – the end-Triassic mass extinction (~201 million years ago). By conducting detailed fossil census collections, our team was able to reconstruct changes in plant diversity and community structure across this critical interval. The results highlight significant ecological turnover and diversity loss, reflecting how global environmental stress reshaped ecosystems at the time. The study also demonstrates how fossil plant records can be used to track the ecological consequences of past climate crises, knowledge that is increasingly relevant as we seek to understand biodiversity responses to rapid environmental change today.
This paper marks an exciting milestone for Antonietta Knetge, PhD student in the Plant Climate Lab, who led the work as her first first-author publication. Congratulations, Antonietta!
We also acknowledge the excellent contributions of Catarina Barbosa and William Matthaeus through the ERC-funded Terraform project, as well as the leadership of Professor Jennifer McElwain. Our thanks go to all our collaborators who helped bring this study to fruition.
The paper is open access and available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031018225005516
