Home

Les environnements continentaux du corridor rifain (Maroc) au Miocène supérieur d'après la palynologie

Naima BACHIRI TAOUFIQ, Nadia BARHOUN & Jean-Pierre SUC

fr Geodiversitas 30 (1) - Pages 41-58

Published on 28 March 2008

This article is a part of the thematic issue Biodiversity and biodiversity crises in North African Neogene

Upper Miocene continental environements of the Rifian corridor (Morocco) after palynology

Till now the vegetation and climate of the South Rifian Corridor were poorly known. In order to document this problem seven outcrops or boreholes from the middle Tortonian to early Messinian have been analysed along this South Rifian Corridor. Two of these are presented here. The pollen contents found in those levels allow reconstructing the vegetation landscape and the climate at this Mediterranean latitude. An Avicennia mangrove lived on the coastline and a sub-desert herbaceous cover lived at a low altitude. Forests were developed in middle altitude. Climate was tropical to subtropical, very dry near the coast but more humid at higher altitude. The Poaceae/Asteraceae ratio show that aridity has even slightly increased in the South Rifian Corridor during the early Messinian. Those results confirm that climate was warm and dry a long time before the Messinian salinity crisis.


Keywords:

Upper Miocene, Rifian corridor, Morocco, vegetation, climate

Download full article in PDF format