Fossil plants as palaeoenvironmental proxies - Some remaks on selected approaches (original) (raw)

All methods and approaches used for the reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic information have inherent shortcomings, limitations, and problems. Consequently there is no optimal, universally applicable and absolutely reliable technique for deriving these from fossil plants. Recent data on the preservation and taphonomic history of fossil plant remains (i.e., permineralized wood and charcoal), the anatomy and morphology of fossil leaves (i.e., cuticular adaptations and leaf physiognomy), as well as the interpretation of Nearest Living Relatives (NLR) are summarised. Although there is undoubtedly information loss through taphonomy, and taphonomical biases must be taken into account, especially when using quantitative methods, the analysis of taphonomic processes also may be used to obtain informations about the palaeoenvironment, whereas preservational modes may allow for the reconstruction of different and, sometimes complementary, palaeoenvironmental information. It is clear that the accuracy of quantitative methods, not only the accuracy of the NLR approach, decreases with an increasing age of a palaeofl ora. Consequently, all quantitative methods may be applied most reliably to Cenozoic fl oras. Based on the results presented here, it is suggested that a combination of different, independent techniques and proxies should be used, not only to overcome the shortcomings, limitations and problems associated with the application of individual methods, but also to combine the advantages of individual methods. Such an integrated analysis of different proxies can lead to more reliable information about palaeoenvironmental conditions and improve our knowledge about the comparability and applicability of these methods.