Triassic-Jurassic vegetation response to carbon cycle perturbations and climate change

Disturbances in terrestrial vegetation across the end-Triassic mass-extinction (ETME) and earliest Jurassic (∼201.5–201.3 Ma) have previously been linked to carbon cycle perturbations induced by the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. Large-scale volcanic degassing has been proposed to have affected the terrestrial realm through various mechanisms. However, the effects of long-term “super greenhouse” climate variability on vegetation dynamics following the mass-extinction remain poorly understood. Based on a 10-million-year long multi-proxy record of northern Germany (Schandelah-1, Germany, paleolatitude of ∼41°N) spanning the late Rhaetian to the Sinemurian (∼201.5–190.8 Ma), we aim to assess mechanistic links between carbon cycle perturbations, climate change, and vegetation dynamics.