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Palaeoclimatic inferences based on dendrological patterns of permineralized wood from the Permian of the Northern Tocantins Petrified Forest, Parnaíba Basin, Brazil

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Abstract

The Northern Tocantins Petrified Forest is classified in the scientific literature as one of the most important Permian assemblages of permineralized plant remains from the warm temperate palaeobiome of the Southern Hemi-sphere. Part of this forest is located in the Tocantins Fossil Trees Natural Monument, which is a Full Protection Conservation Unit in the northeastern part of the Brazilian state of Tocantins. Geologically, the Petrified Forest is part of the Parnaíba Basin, and the studied stems originate from the Permian Motuca Formation. The aim of the present work is to reconstruct aspects of the regional climate during the Permian by using proxy data obtained from the analysis of gymnospermous fossil stems preserved in the Northern Tocantins Petrified Forest. The material analysed comes from 32 gymnospermous fossil wood fragments derived from nine sampling points located inside and outside the park area. In order to determine climatic influence on wood growth, a total number of 682 growth increments were investigated using mean sensibility and annual sensibility analysis. Moreover, thin sections were made and the anatomical details of the growth patterns of the stems were investigated. The results obtained from these analyses allowed the establishment of the presence of growth zones in the gymnospermous fossil stems. Detailed analysis of these growth zones led to the reconstruction of a seasonal climate with periods of high precipitation alternating with periods of more or less severe dryness, probably in a semi-arid palaeoenvironment. This result is in agreement with previous reconstructions for the Northern Tocantins Petrified Forest area, which postulated a kind of monsoonal climate, characterised by marked seasonality, with strong rains and distinct dry periods.

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Acknowledgements

All the authors acknowledge the financial support by CAPES (A072/2013), CAPES/PROSUP and CNPq (400972/2013-1, 444330/2014-3), Brazil. J.R.W.B acknowledges FAPERGS, Brazil, for a master scholarship (014/2012 – BMT), E.F.P. acknowledges CNPq (401845/2010-9), A. Jasper acknowledges CNPq (301585/2012-1), CAPES (Brazil – 8107-14-9) and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (Germany BRA 1137359 STPCAPES). Furthermore, we thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that helped to improve the manuscript.

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  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ambiente e Desenvolvimento, PPGAD, Centro Universitário Univates, Avenida Avelino Tallini, n° 171, Bairro Universitário, CEP 95900-000, Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    José Rafael Wanderley Benício, Joseline Manfroi, Dieter Uhl & André Jasper

  2. Setor de Botânica e Paleobotânica, Museu de Ciências Naturais, Centro Universitário Univates, Avenida Avelino Tallini, n° 171, Bairro Universitário, CEP 95900-000, Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Rafael Spiekermann

  3. Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Dieter Uhl

  4. Laboratório de Paleobiologia, Universidade Federal do Tocantins, Rua 07, quadra 15, s/n°, Jardim dos Ipês, CEP 77500-000, Porto Nacional, Tocantins, Brazil

    Etiene Fabbrin Pires

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  1. José Rafael Wanderley Benício
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Benício, J.R.W., Spiekermann, R., Manfroi, J. et al. Palaeoclimatic inferences based on dendrological patterns of permineralized wood from the Permian of the Northern Tocantins Petrified Forest, Parnaíba Basin, Brazil. Palaeobio Palaeoenv 96, 255–264 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-015-0218-8

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