Origin, evolution and decline of European mangroves: the Cenozoic paleobotanical record

This paper reviews available paleobotanical evidence (pollen and macrofossils) from 114 European sites to infer Cenozoic mangrove dynamics. European mangroves originated at the Paleocene/Eocene boundary in western Europe as relatively diverse communities comprising seven true-mangrove taxa, includin...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Rull, Valentí
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión enviada para evaluación y publicación
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:digitalcsic_::2742aefd8ab4471f7a71df85cb32a3f5
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/430553
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Mangroves
Europe
Cenozoic
Biogeography
Diversification
Extinction
Paleoclimates
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spelling Origin, evolution and decline of European mangroves: the Cenozoic paleobotanical recordRull, ValentíMangrovesEuropeCenozoicBiogeographyDiversificationExtinctionPaleoclimatesThis paper reviews available paleobotanical evidence (pollen and macrofossils) from 114 European sites to infer Cenozoic mangrove dynamics. European mangroves originated at the Paleocene/Eocene boundary in western Europe as relatively diverse communities comprising seven true-mangrove taxa, including the major mangrove-forming elements Rhizophoraceae, Avicennia and Nypa. Some taxa arrived from the Indo-West Pacific (IWP) via the Tethyan seaway, while others evolved locally. The occurrence of Pelliciera, the only element from the Atlantic–East Pacific (AEP) region, remains questioned. Maximum expansion and diversity occurred during the Early–Middle Eocene (Ypresian–Bartonian), coinciding with Cenozoic thermal and eustatic maxima. The European mangrove flora was completed following the arrival of seven additional true-mangrove and associate elements; however, four of these, including Rhizophoraceae, disappeared by the Lutetian. A first diversity crisis occurred during the Priabonian, when Nypa became the sole European mangrove component. This coincided with the cooling trend preceding the abrupt Eocene/Oligocene cooling and its associated eustatic drop, which restricted mangroves to southern refugia in Anatolia and Iberia. Following the definitive disappearance of Nypa during the Aquitanian, a mangrove recovery—in terms of geographical range but not diversity—culminated during the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum. During this Langhian maximum, Avicennia-only mangroves formed an extensive arc across the northern proto-Mediterranean and Paratethys. A second crisis during the Messinian Salinity Crisis almost eradicated European mangroves, forcing Avicennia into a Black Sea refugium before its final disappearance during the Pliocene. Uncertainties and knowledge gaps are identified, and further studies are proposed to address them.No financial support was received for the development of this workAbstract Keywords 1. Introduction 2. The dataset 3. General observations 4. Biogeographical patterns and diversity trends over time 5. Conclusions 6. Further research Declaration of competing interest Acknowledgments Data availability ReferencesElsevier BVConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]2026202620262026info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Preprintinfo:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersionhttp://hdl.handle.net/10261/430553reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2026.105506Síinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:digitalcsic_::2742aefd8ab4471f7a71df85cb32a3f52026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Origin, evolution and decline of European mangroves: the Cenozoic paleobotanical record
title Origin, evolution and decline of European mangroves: the Cenozoic paleobotanical record
spellingShingle Origin, evolution and decline of European mangroves: the Cenozoic paleobotanical record
Rull, Valentí
Mangroves
Europe
Cenozoic
Biogeography
Diversification
Extinction
Paleoclimates
title_short Origin, evolution and decline of European mangroves: the Cenozoic paleobotanical record
title_full Origin, evolution and decline of European mangroves: the Cenozoic paleobotanical record
title_fullStr Origin, evolution and decline of European mangroves: the Cenozoic paleobotanical record
title_full_unstemmed Origin, evolution and decline of European mangroves: the Cenozoic paleobotanical record
title_sort Origin, evolution and decline of European mangroves: the Cenozoic paleobotanical record
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Rull, Valentí
author Rull, Valentí
author_facet Rull, Valentí
author_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Mangroves
Europe
Cenozoic
Biogeography
Diversification
Extinction
Paleoclimates
topic Mangroves
Europe
Cenozoic
Biogeography
Diversification
Extinction
Paleoclimates
description This paper reviews available paleobotanical evidence (pollen and macrofossils) from 114 European sites to infer Cenozoic mangrove dynamics. European mangroves originated at the Paleocene/Eocene boundary in western Europe as relatively diverse communities comprising seven true-mangrove taxa, including the major mangrove-forming elements Rhizophoraceae, Avicennia and Nypa. Some taxa arrived from the Indo-West Pacific (IWP) via the Tethyan seaway, while others evolved locally. The occurrence of Pelliciera, the only element from the Atlantic–East Pacific (AEP) region, remains questioned. Maximum expansion and diversity occurred during the Early–Middle Eocene (Ypresian–Bartonian), coinciding with Cenozoic thermal and eustatic maxima. The European mangrove flora was completed following the arrival of seven additional true-mangrove and associate elements; however, four of these, including Rhizophoraceae, disappeared by the Lutetian. A first diversity crisis occurred during the Priabonian, when Nypa became the sole European mangrove component. This coincided with the cooling trend preceding the abrupt Eocene/Oligocene cooling and its associated eustatic drop, which restricted mangroves to southern refugia in Anatolia and Iberia. Following the definitive disappearance of Nypa during the Aquitanian, a mangrove recovery—in terms of geographical range but not diversity—culminated during the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum. During this Langhian maximum, Avicennia-only mangroves formed an extensive arc across the northern proto-Mediterranean and Paratethys. A second crisis during the Messinian Salinity Crisis almost eradicated European mangroves, forcing Avicennia into a Black Sea refugium before its final disappearance during the Pliocene. Uncertainties and knowledge gaps are identified, and further studies are proposed to address them.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
2026
2026
2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
Preprint
info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersion
format article
status_str submittedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/430553
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/430553
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2026.105506
Sí
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier BV
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier BV
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
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