Abstract
Abstract A negative stable carbon-isotope excursion (CIE) has been identified at sites across the globe in strata that span the Triassic–Jurassic boundary. Different studies have suggested that this negative CIE could be the result of either a change in vegetation or a massive perturbation in the global carbon cycle at this time. To determine which, 84 hand-picked leaf cuticle fragments from plant macrofossils previously identified to genus level were analyzed for stable carbon-isotope values. The samples were taken from known heights in nine plant beds spanning the Rhaetian–Hettangian (Upper Triassic–Lower Jurassic) at Astartekloft, East Greenland. We have constructed taxon-specific stable carbon-isotope curves for Ginkgoales and Bennettitales and compared these to an existing δ13C curve based on fossil wood from the same section. This study reveals that taxon-specific carbon-isotope curves based on the leaf data from these two seed-plant groups both record the same negative CIE as the fossil wood, despi...
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