Climate-Sensitive Traits in the Fossil Flora of the Río Genoa Formation and the Late Paleozoic Patagonia Issue

Abstract

Paleoclimate traits are highly varied at the diverse paleoflora of the Río Genoa Formation in Patagonia. They are thoroughly analyzed in order to define macroclimate parameters that ruled the terrestrial vegetational growth during the early Permian. Plant-climate relationships have been historically used for understanding the distribution of present/past vegetation since they represent a continuous feedback along the terrestrial environments on Earth. Most of the indicators found in Patagonia clearly suggest warm and humid conditions during the entire deposition of the studied unit. Such conditions, related to subtropical climates, cannot be correlated with paleoclimate approaches originated from other proxies. This is due to several imprecisions that affect the interpretation of the paleogeographic position of Patagonia. Different hypotheses are erected in order to explain the paleofloristic and paleoclimatic anomaly present in southern South America, which should encourage new efforts to better understanding the geological dynamics of southwestern Gondwana.