Vegetation and palaeoclimate in the Miocene of Ukraine

Miocene deposits (marine and terrestrial) distributed throughout the whole territory of Ukraine contain numerous palaeontological remains including plant macro- and microfossils. There are well known occurrences of fossil leaves as well as fruits and seeds. The Miocene strata of Ukraine belong to the Central and the Eastern Paratethys and deposits from these regions have been studied palynologically. For the reconstruction of the vegetation of lowland and mountain areas in Ukraine palynological data have been complemented with data obtained from carpological and foliar studies. To obtain quantitative climate data microfloral records from the Ukraine Plain and the Ukrainian Carpathians are analyzed using the Coexistence Approach. The main trends of floral changes were directed by the global climate evolution complicated by regional tectonic processes. Major vegetation change occurred during the Late Miocene Cooling. In southern Ukraine, the cooling was accompanied by a gradual drying and partial replacement of forest vegetation by herbaceous communities that increased in richness and expanded from east to west.