The burning of Gondwana: Permian fires on the southern continent—A palaeobotanical approach

Fossil charcoal has widely been accepted as a direct indicator for the occurrence of palaeo-wildfires. In Upper Palaeozoic sediments of Euramerica and Cathaysia, records of these remains are relatively common and (regionally and stratigraphically) more or less homogeneously distributed in terrestrial sequences. On the other hand, just a few records have been published for the Permian of Gondwana and only recently has it been demonstrated that macroscopic charcoals are also common here. Most Permian macroscopic charcoal from Gondwana is gymnospermous and has been reported from coal-bearing strata. Macroscopic charcoal occurrences are spread out in different sequences and also in distinct stratigraphic intervals in the Permian [e.g., Paraná Basin (Sakmarian/Artinskian of Brazil), Karoo Basin (Artinskian of South Africa), Damodar Basin (Lopingian of India) and Dead Sea area (Changhsingian of Jordan)]. They range from peri-glacial/post-glacial to warm temperate climatic systems throughout the Permian. Macro- and micro-charcoal occurrences are compared to inertinite incidences to support the pyrogenic origin for these coal macerals and to provide an up to date overview on the known evidences of Permian wildfires on Gondwana in space and time.

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► An overview on the published evidence of Permian wildfires on Gondwana is presented.
► A new occurrence from Permian macroscopic charcoal is presented for South Africa.
► The data support palaeo-wildfires as common in Gondwana during the Permian.