The Ravenscrag Butte flora: Paleoclimate and paleoecology of an early Paleocene (Danian) warm-temperate deciduous forest near the vanishing inland Cannonball Seaway

摘要: Abstract The Ravenscrag Butte flora in southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada, provides a record of an early Paleocene (Danian) forest ecosystem that followed the K-Pg boundary event. Plant macrofossil collections were investigated to assess paleoclimate and paleoecology forest. An ensemble approach climate analysis using leaf physiognomic nearest living relative methods indicates grew under warm wet temperate conditions, with mild frost-free winters, did not experience significant drying season—although some precipitation seasonality is indicated. Reconstructed mass per area suggests woody broadleaf dicot had entirely deciduous habit, despite temperature conditions suitable for evergreen taxa. reconstructed similar modern coastal climates proximity inland sea (e.g., Croatia Slovenia on Adriatic Sea Georgia Black Sea), suggesting was influenced by its western margin Cannonball Seaway. physiognomy most contemporaneous fossil macrofloras from throughout northern North America, which homogeneity over broad latitudes during Paleocene, potential consequence vegetation reorganization after