Acta Palaeobotanica 2(Suppl): 17–19, 1999

Tectonics, tropical forest destruction and global warming in the Late Palaeozoic.

Summary: The Late Palaeozoic tropical wetland forests of Europe and North America largely disappeared in the early Stephanian, coinciding with a phase of Variscan tectonic activity. This removal of a major carbon sink seems to have coincided with the onset of global climatic warming, recognisable in both northern and southern high latitudes. [Acta Palaeobot. - Supplementum No. 2]

Keywords: Carboniferous, coal forests, tectonics, climate change, atmospheric