Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cretaceous Wildfires in Egypt - Inferences for Palaeoecology and Palaeoenvironments

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Phanerozoic Geology and Natural Resources of Egypt

Part of the book series: Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation ((ASTI))

  • 1988 Accesses

Abstract

Based on numerous findings of fossil charcoal worldwide, the Cretaceous is considered a high-fire period in Earth’s history. Macro-charcoal, as direct evidence for the occurrence of palaeo-wildfires during deposition of Cretaceous strata, has so far been reported from three different localities in Egypt: (1) the pre-Aptian Malha Formation of Wadi Budra, Sinai, (2) the early Cenomanian Bahariya Formation at Gebel El Dist at the Bahariya Oasis in the Western Desert and (3) the Campanian Quseir Formation from the Baris Oasis in the south Western Desert. These findings support the view, that the Cretaceous was globally a high-fire world. However, further research on charcoal from additional Cretaceous deposits of Egypt is necessary to offer a more complete picture regarding the interactions between wildfires and vegetation but also dinosaurs and other animals that lived during this important time in the evolution of life.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Belcher, C. M., & Hudspith, V. A. (2017). Changes to Cretaceous surface fire behaviour influenced the spread of the early angiosperms. Science, 321, 1197–1200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belcher, C. M., Mills, B. J. W., Vitali, R., Baker, S. J., Lenton, T. M., & Watson, A. J. (2021). The rise of angiosperms strengthened fire feedbacks and improved the regulation of atmospheric oxygen. Nature Communications, 12, 503.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belcher, C. M., Yearsley, J. M., Hadden, R. M., McElwain, J. C., & Rein, G. (2010). Baseline intrinsic flammability of earths’ ecosystems estimated from paleoatmospheric oxygen over the past 350 million years. PNAS, 107, 22448–22453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bond, W. J., & Midgley, J. J. (2012). Fire and the angiosperm revolutions. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 173(6), 569–583.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bond, W. J., & Scott, A. C. (2010). Fire and the spread of flowering plants in the Cretaceous. New Phytologist, 188, 1137–1150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, S. A. E., Scott, A. C., Glasspool, I. J., & Collinson, M. E. (2012). Cretaceous wildfires and their impact on the earth system. Cretaceous Research, 36, 162–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cochrane, M. A. (2019). Burning questions about ecosystems. Nature Geosciences, 12, 82–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coiffard, C., & El Atfy, H. (in press). The evolution of vegetation through the Cretaceous of Egypt (Chap. 8). In Z. Hamimi, H. Khozyem, T. Adatte, F. H. Nader, F. Oboh-Ikuenobe, M. K. Zobaa, & H. El Atfy (Eds.), The Phanerozoic geology and natural resources of Egypt. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coiffard, C., Gomez, B., Daviero-Gomez, V., & Dilcher, D.L. (2012). Rise to dominance of angiosperm pioneers in European Cretaceous environments. PNAS, 109, 20955–20959.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crawford, A. J., & Belcher, C. M. (2014). Charcoal morphometry for paleoecological analysis: The effects of fuel type and transportation on morphological parameters. Applications in Plant Sciences, 2(8), 1400004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diessel, C. F. (2010). The stratigraphic distribution of inertinite. International Journal of Coal Geology, 81, 251–268.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El Atfy, H., Anan, T., Jasper, A., & Uhl, D. (2019). Repeated occurrence of palaeo-wildfires during deposition of the Bahariya Formation (early Cenomanian) of Egypt. Journal of Palaeogeography, 8, 28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El Atfy, H., Kora, M., Spiekermann, R., Jasper, A., & Uhl, D. (2022). Further evidence for Cretaceous wildfires: Macro-charcoal from the Malha Formation at Wadi Budra, Sinai, Egypt. South African Journal of Geology, 125, 211–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • El Atfy, H., Sallam, H., Jasper, A., & Uhl, D. (2016). The first evidence of paleo-wildfire from the Campanian (Late Cretaceous) of North Africa. Cretaceous Research, 57, 306–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El-Saadawi, W. E., Nour-El-Deen, S., El-Noamani, Z. M., Darwish, M. H., & Kamal El-Din, M. M. (2020). Fossil flora of Egypt. In Z. Hamimi, A. El-Barkooky, J. Martínez Frías, H. Fritz, & Y. Abd El-Rahman (Eds.), The geology of Egypt (pp. 495–520). Springer. Regional Geology Reviews.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glasspool, I. J., Edwards, D., & Axe, L. (2004). Charcoal in the Silurian as evidence for the earliest wildfire. Geology, 32, 381–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He, T., Lamont, B. B., & Manning, J. (2016). A Cretaceous origin for fire adaptations in the Cape flora. Scientific Reports, 6, 1–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • He, T., Pausas, J. G., Belcher, C. M., Schwilk, D. W., & Lamont, B. B. (2012). Fire-adapted traits of Pinus arose in the fiery Cretaceous. New Phytologist, 194, 751–759.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Itter, M. S., Finley, A. O., Hooten, M. B., Higuera, P. E. H., Marlon, J. R., Kelly, R., & McLachlan, J. S. (2017). A model-based approach to wildland fire reconstruction using sediment charcoal records. Environmetrics, 28, e2450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jasper, A., Pozzebon-Silva, Â., Siqueira Carniere, J., & Uhl, D. (2021). Palaeozoic and Mesozoic palaeo–wildfires: An overview on advances in the 21st century. Journal of Palaeosciences, 70, 159–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, T. P., & Chaloner, W. G. (1991). Fossil charcoal, its recognition and palaeoatmospheric significance. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 97, 39–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirscher, U., Dallanave, E., & Bachtadse, V. (this volume). Paleoposition and paleogeography of Egypt during the Phanerozoic era (Chap. 4). In Z. Hamimi, H. Khozyem, T. Adatte, F. H. Nader, F. Oboh-Ikuenobe, M. K. Zobaa, & H. El Atfy (Eds.), The Phanerozoic geology and natural resources of Egypt. Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lamont, B. B., & He, T. (2017). When did a Mediterranean-type climate originate in southwestern Australia? Global and Planetary Change, 156, 48–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmoud, M. S. (2003). Palynology and palaeoenvironment of the Quseir Formation (Campanian) from central Egypt. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 36, 135–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nothdurft, W., Smith, J. B., Lamanna, M. C., Lacovara, K. J., Poole, J. C., & Smith, J. R. (2002). The lost dinosaurs of Egypt (p. 242). Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, A. C. (2000). The pre-Quaternary history of fire. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 164, 281–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, A. C. (2010). Charcoal recognition, taphonomy and uses in palaeoenvironmental analysis. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 291, 11–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, A. C., Bowman, D. M., Bond, W. J., Pyne, S. J., & Alexander, M. E. (2014). Fire on earth: An introduction. Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. B., Lamanna, M. C., Lacovara, K. J., Dodson, P., Smith, J. R., Poole, J. C., Giegengack, R., & Attia, Y. (2001). A giant sauropod dinosaur from an Upper Cretaceous mangrove deposit in Egypt. Science, 292, 1704–1706.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stromer, E. (1915). Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens, II. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharijestufe (unterstes Cenoman), 3. Das Original des Theropoden Spinosaurus aegyptiacus. Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung Neue Folge, 28, 1–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stromer, E. (1931). Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens, II. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharijestufe (unterstes Cenoman), 10. Ein Skelett-Rest von Carcharodontosaurus nov. gen. Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung Neue Folge, 9, 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stromer, E. (1932). Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den Wüsten Ägyptens, II. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharijestufe (unterstes Cenoman), 11. Sauropoda. Abhandlungen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Abteilung Neue Folge, 10, 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We appreciate the Editors’ interest and proposal that produced this chapter. H.E. acknowledges the financial support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany (EGY—1190326—GF-P). A.J. acknowledges funding by FAPERGS, CNPq (Brazil—305938/2019-3) and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany—3.4–8151/18 025). Insightful reviews by Rose Prevec, Jiří Kvaček and Abdalla M.B. Abu Hamad enabled an improved presentation of this work.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Haytham El Atfy

  2. Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, Mansoura, 35516, Egypt

    Haytham El Atfy

  3. Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, 60325, Germany

    Dieter Uhl

  4. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente e Desenvolvimento, Universidade do Vale do Taquari - UNIVATES (PPGAD/UNIVATES), Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Dieter Uhl & André Jasper

Authors
  1. Haytham El Atfy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dieter Uhl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. André Jasper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dieter Uhl .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Benha University, Benha, Egypt

    Zakaria Hamimi

  2. Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt

    Hassan Khozyem

  3. Lausanne, Switzerland

    Thierry Adatte

  4. IFP Energies Nouvelles, Rueil-Malmaison, France

    Fadi H. Nader

  5. Department of Geoscience, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Missouri, MO, USA

    Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe

  6. Department of Geoscience, University of Texas Permian Basin, Odessa, TX, USA

    Mohamed K. Zobaa

  7. University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Haytham El Atfy

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

El Atfy, H., Uhl, D., Jasper, A. (2023). Cretaceous Wildfires in Egypt - Inferences for Palaeoecology and Palaeoenvironments. In: Hamimi, Z., et al. The Phanerozoic Geology and Natural Resources of Egypt. Advances in Science, Technology & Innovation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95637-0_10

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation