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Author Spotlight: Leaf Trait Analysis for Climate and Ecology Reconstruction in Modern and Ancient Plant Communities

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Reconstructing leaf area from fragments: testing three methods using a fossil paleogene species.

Agathe Toumoulin^1,2, Lutz Kunzmann¹, Karolin Moraweck¹

¹Senckenberg Natural History Collections Dresden, Königsbrücker Landstrasse 159, Dresden, 01109, Germany.

American Journal of Botany

|December 14, 2020

Summary

Improved methods estimate fossil leaf size from fragments, aiding paleoenvironmental reconstructions. These techniques offer a toolbox for scientists studying ancient climates and vegetation using leaf fossils.

Keywords:

Europe ecophysiology morphometrics paleobotany paleoclimate plant taphonomy swamp forests

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Area of Science:

Paleobotany
Paleoclimatology
Paleoecology

Background:

Fossil leaf traits, particularly leaf size, are crucial for reconstructing past environments and climates, reflecting factors like precipitation and temperature.
Leaf size estimation from fossil fragments is challenging due to preservation issues and fragmentation, limiting its application in paleoenvironmental studies.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and validate improved methodologies for estimating intact leaf size from fossil leaf fragments.
To provide a versatile toolbox of methods for paleobotanists to reconstruct leaf size, accommodating varying degrees of fossil preservation.

Main Methods:

Visual reconstruction of leaf area based on taxon-specific morphology.
Estimation of leaf area using vein density and a vein scaling relationship.
A novel method to determine intact leaf length from midvein tapering in fossil fragments.

Main Results:

All three applied methods, including the novel midvein tapering approach, yielded consistent leaf size reconstructions for *Eotrigonobalanus furcinervis*.
The vein scaling method indicated a trend towards larger leaf sizes from the middle to the late Eocene.

Conclusions:

The developed methods offer reliable solutions for reconstructing fossil leaf size, adaptable to different preservation states.
Accurate fossil leaf size data significantly enhances physiognomy-based paleoenvironmental reconstructions and the interpretation of the fossil record.