Climatic significance of growth rings in the Mesozoic woods from India

Abstract

Many of the fossil woods described from the Mesozoic of India possess distinct growth rings which provide valuable proxy data to decipher multitude of environmental information of the concurrent periods. Detailed growth ring study of Podocarpoxylon rajmahalense (Jain) Bose & Maheshwari from Rajmahal Hills, Bihar was conducted to understand the growth environment of the fossil wood. Growth ring features of the fossil wood indicate that it could either be derived from a branch or young stem of a tree growing in the exterior of the forest. Large amount of early wood with only 1-3 rowed latewood cells indicates good soil moisture availability during the growing season. Absence of false rings further adds to the conclusion that the moisture would not have been the limiting factor during the growing season. Warm temperate type of climate would have existed during the life span of the present fossil wood.