Seasonally dry tropical forests in the late Pleistocene of Mesopotamia, Argentina and their relationship to environmental changes during the Last Interglacial

Abstract

The concept of seasonal forests groups structural types of vegetation that are related to climatic seasonality in the tropics of South America. Consequently, this determines the physiognomy of the vegetation, from semi-deciduous to strongly deciduous. The strongest link between Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (SDTF) is their floristic composition, where Leguminosae and Anacardiaceae dominate the woody flora. The fossil records of the Neogene of northwestern Argentina reveal a list of species found in various locations and formations of the Miocene-Lower Pleistocene obtained from studies of pollen, woods (logs), cuticles, impressions of leaves and fruits. The analysis of sediments and woody structures from the Tapebicuá, Toropí/Yupoí, and El Palmar Formations (Upper Pleistocene) of Mesopotamia region allowed to identify several pollen taxa and silicified wood fragments (mineralized). The woody and shrubby association whose current relatives characterize the SDTF is composed of the 16 fossil species described here belonging to seven families. In our samples the species Anadenanthera colubrina and Myracrodruon balansae are the most significant of the Leguminosae and Anacardiaceae families, which are dominant in the SDTF. The paleobotanical species described in this study ratify the extension of the SDTF to the province of Corrientes, coinciding with various climatic events (dry subtropical, semi-desert and warm-humid climate) that would have favored the development of these forests during the Pleistocene in this region. The absolute dates obtained for the Toropí/Yupoí and Tapebicuá Formations confirm their synchronicity and correlation to MIS5. The palynological analysis, the presence of Menendoxylon and the sedimentological data provided in this work allow us to infer the existence of seasonally dry humid paleoclimate in northeastern Argentina during the Late Pleistocene favorable to the development of the SDTF.