Forest-tundra neighbouring the north pole: Plant and insect remains from the Plio-Pleistocene Kap Kobenhavn Formation

• Main Authors: O. Bennike, J. Bocher
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1990
• Subjects: Arctic; Greenland; North Pole; Peary; Kap; Peary Land; Groenland; North Greenland; Subarctic; subarctique*; Tundra
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.542.6780; http://pubs.aina.ucalgary.ca/arctic/arctic43-4-331.pdf

ABSTRACT. The Kap Kerbenhavn Formation in northeast Peary Land, Greenland, is believed to be 2.0-2.5 million years old, i.e., from the Plio-Pleistocene transition. The dating is primarily based on biostratigraphical correlation of lower marine fauna and a few fragments of terrestrial mammals. Although deposited in marine and coastal environments, the sediments contain abundant remains of terrestrial and limnic organisms. This paper examines macroscopic plant and insect remains. About 60 taxa of vascular plants and 120 insect taxa have so far been identified. Nearly all of the named insect species are extant, extralimital forms, generally of a recent subarctic/boreal and more or less circumpolar distribution. The species composition shows that upland areas were covered with forest-tundra and heathland and that mesotrophic, well-vegetated lakes and a number of other wetland localities existed in the area. The presence of arctic plants in the formation puts some time constraints on their origin. Key words: Plio-Pleistocene, North Greenland, palaeoecology, forest-tundra R&UM&. La Formation de Kap Kobenhavn dans le nord-est de la terre de Peary, au Groenland, daterait de 2,O A 2,5 Ma, c’est-ti-dire de la transition du Plio-Pleistocene. La datation repose essentiellement sur une correlation biostratigraphique de la faune marine infkrieure et aur quelques fragments de mammifhs terrestres. Meme s’ils se sont deposes dans des milieux marins et côtiers, les sediments contiennent d’abondants vestiges d’organismes terrestres t limniques. La prknte communication examine des vestiges macroscopiques de plantes et d’insectes. Environ 60 taxons de plantes vasculaires et 120 taxons d’insectes ont jusqu’A ce jour kt6 identifies. Presque toutes les esptces d’insectes identifies sont des formes exotiques xistantes qui ont en general une distribution subarctique/boreale et plus ou moins circumpolaire rknte. La composition