Fossil fungi in lignite-bearing deposits: An overview of Miocene lignites from Poland
By: Grzegorz Worobiec and Elżbieta Worobiec
References
- Bechtel A., Widera M., Lücke A., Groß D. & Woszczyk M., 2020. Petrological and geochemical characteristics of xylites from the First Lusatian lignite seam (Konin Basin, Poland): implications for floral sources, decomposition and environmental conditions. Organic Geochemistry 147, 104052.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2020.104052 - Bechtel A., Widera M. & Woszczyk M., 2019. Composition of lipids from the First Lusatian lignite seam of the Konin Basin (Poland): relationships with vegetation, climate and carbon cycling during the mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum. Organic Geochemistry 138, 103908.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2019.103908 - Bonneville S., Delpomdor F., Préat A., Chevalier C., Araki T., Kazemian M., Steele A., Schreiber A., Wirth R. & Benning L.G., 2020. Molecular identification of fungi microfossils in a Neoproterozoic shale rock. Science Advances 6, eaax7599.
https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax7599 - Conran J.G., Bannister J.M., Reichgelt T. & Lee D.E., 2016. Epiphyllous fungi and leaf physiognomy suggest an ever-wet humid mesothermal (subtropical) climate in the late Eocene of southern New Zealand. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 452, 1–10.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.03.032 - Deacon J.W., 2006. Fungal Biology, 4th ed. Blackwell Publishing, 384 pp.
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118685068 - Elsik W.C., 1996. Fungi. [In:] J. Jansonius & D.C. McGregor (Eds): Palynology: Principles and Applications 1. Dallas, AASP Foundation, 293–305.
- Gensel P.G., 2021. When did terrestrial plants arise? Science 373(6556), 736–737.
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abl5297 - Gessner M.O., Gulis V., Kuehn K.A., Chauvet E. & Suberkropp K., 2007. Fungal decomposers of plant litter in aquatic ecosystems. [In:] C. Kubicek & I. Druzhinina (Eds): Environmental and Microbial Relationships. The Mycota, 4. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 301–324.
- Goh T.K. & Hyde K.D., 1996. Biodiversity of freshwater fungi. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology 17, 328–345.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01574764 - Hawksworth D.L. & Lücking R., 2017. Fungal diversity revisited: 2.2 to 3.8 million species. Microbiology Spectrum 5, 1–17.
https://doi.org/10.1128/microbiolspec.FUNK-0052-2016 - Kasiński J.R. & Słodkowska B., 2016. Factors controlling Cenozoic anthracogenesis in the Polish Lowlands. Geological Quarterly 60, 959–974.
- Kędzior A., Widera M. & Zieliński T. 2021. Ancient and modern anastomosing rivers: insights from sedimentological and geomorphological case studies of the Triassic, Neogene and Holocene of Poland. Geological Quarterly 65, 111–138.
https://doi.org/10.7306/gq.1623 - Khanolkar S. & Sharma J., 2019. Record of Early to Middle Eocene paleoenvironmental changes from lignite mines, western India. Journal of Micropalaeontology 38, 1–24.
https://doi.org/10.5194/jm-38-1-2019 - Kirk P.M., Cannon P.F., Minter D.W. & Stalpers J.A., 2008. Ainsworth and Bisby’s Dictionary of the Fungi. 10th Edition. CAB International, Wallingford, 771 pp.
https://doi.org/10.1079/9780851998268.0000 - Kowalski R., 2008. Contribution to the knowledge of the Middle Miocene flora from Konin brown coal basin (central Poland). Acta Palaeobotanica 48, 277–299.
- Kowalski R. & Fagúndez J., 2017. Maiella miocaenica gen. et sp. nov., a new heather genus (Ericeae, Ericaceae) from the central European Miocene. International Journal of Plant Sciences 178, 411–420.
https://doi.org/10.1086/691461 - Krzyszkowski D. & Winter H., 1996. Stratigraphic position and sedimentary features of the Tertiary uppermost fluvial member in the Kleszczów Graben, central Poland. Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae 66, 17–33.
- Moore P.D., Webb J.A. & Collinson M.E., 1991. Pollen Analysis. Blackwell, Oxford, 216 pp.
- Mosbrugger V., Utescher T. & Dilcher D.L., 2005. Cenozoic continental climatic evolution of Central Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 102, 14964–14969.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0505267102 - Musotto L., Bianchinotti M.V. & Borromei A.M., 2013. Inferencias paleoecológicas a partir del análisis de microfósiles fúngicos en una turbera pleistoceno-holocena de Tierra del Fuego, Argentina [Paleoecological inferences from the analysis of fungal microfossils in a Pleistocene-Holocene peat bog in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina]. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales nueva serie 15, 89–98.
https://doi.org/10.22179/REVMACN.15.170 - Nuñez Otaño N.B., Bianchinotti M.V. & Saparrat M.C.N., 2021. Palaeomycology: a modern mycological view of fungal palynomorphs. [In:] F. Marret, J. O’Keefe, P. Osterloff, M. Pound, L. Shumilovskikh (Eds): Applications of non-pollen palynomorphs: from Palaeoenvironmental Reconstructions to Biostratigraphy. Geological Society, Special Publications 511, 91–120.
https://doi.org/10.1144/SP511-2020-47 - Piepenbring M., Hofmann T.A., Kirschner R., Mangelsdorff R., Perdomo O., Rodríguez Justavino D. & Trampe T., 2011. Diversity patterns of Neotropical plant parasitic microfungi. Ecotropica 17, 27–40.
- Piwocki M. & Ziembińska-Tworzydło M., 1997. Neogene of the Polish Lowlands – lithostratigraphy and pollen-spore zones. Geological Quarterly 41, 21–40.
- Romero I.C., Nuñez Otaño N.B., Gibson M.E., Spears T.M., Fairchild C.J., Tarlton L., Jones S., Belkin H.E., Warny S. & Pound M.J. et al., 2021. First Record of Fungal Diversity in the Tropical and Warm-Temperate Middle Miocene Climate Optimum Forests of Eurasia. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 4, 768405.
https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.768405 - Saxena R.K. & Tripathi S.K.M., 2011. Indian fossil fungi. Palaeobotanist 60, 1–208.
https://doi.org/10.54991/jop.2011.167 - Saxena R.K. & Wijayawardene N.N., 2022. Fossil-extant relationship in Fungi and its palaeoenvironmental significance: Indian perspective. Geophytology 50, 95–126.
- Schlütz F. & Shumilovskikh L.S., 2013. On the relation of Potamomyces armatisporus to the fossil form-type Mediaverrunites and its taxonomical and ecological implications. Fungal Ecology 6, 309–315.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funeco.2013.03.007 - Selosse M.-A. & Strullu-Derrien C., 2015. Origins of the terrestrial flora: a symbiosis with fungi? [In:] M.-C. Maurel & Grandcolas P. (Eds.): ORIGINS–Studies in biological and cultural evolution. BIO web of conferences 4, 00009. EDP Science, Paris, 1–12.
https://doi.org/10.1051/bioconf/20150400009 - Shearer C.A., 1992. The role of woody debris. [In:] F. Bärlocher (Ed.): The ecology of aquatic hyphomycetes. Ecological Studies (Analysis and Synthesis), 94. Springer, Berlin, 77–98.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-76855-2_4 - Shumilovskikh L.S. & van Geel B., 2020. Non-Pollen Palynomorphs. [In:] A.G. Henry (Ed.): Handbook for the analysis of micro-particles in archaeological samples. Interdisciplinary contributions to archaeology. Springer, Cham, 65–94.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42622-4_4 - Shumilovskikh L., O’Keefe J.M.K. & Marret F., 2021. An overview of the taxonomic groups of non-pollen palynomorphs. [In:] F. Marret, J. O’Keefe, P. Osterloff, M. Pound, L. Shumilovskikh (Eds): Applications of non-pollen palynomorphs: from palaeoenvironmental reconstructions to biostratigraphy. Geological Society, Special Publications 511, 13–61.
https://doi.org/10.1144/SP511-2020-65 - Słodkowska B. & Widera M., 2021. Vegetation response to environmental changes based on the palynological research of the Middle Miocene lignite in the Jóźwin IIB opencast mine (Konin region, central Poland). Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae 91, 149–166.
https://doi.org/10.14241/asgp.2021.07 - Słodkowska B. & Widera M., 2022. Reconstruction of the sedimentary environment of phytogenic deposits in the Tomisławice opencast mine (Konin Region, central Poland). Geological Quarterly 66, 34.
https://doi.org/10.7306/gq.1666 - Steinthorsdottir M., Coxall H.K., De Boer A.M., Huber M., Barbolini N., Bradshaw C.D., Burls J., Feakins S.J., Gasson E., Henderiks J., et al., 2021. The Miocene: the future of the past. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology 36, e2020PA004037.
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020PA004037 - Stephenson S.L., Tsui C. & Rollins A.W., 2013. Methods for sampling and analyzing wetland fungi. [In:] J. Anderson & C. Davis (Eds): Wetland Techniques. Springer, Dordrecht, 93–121.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6931-1_3 - Strullu-Derrien C., Selosse M.A., Kenrick P. & Martin F.M., 2018. The origin and evolution of mycorrhizal symbioses: from palaeomycology to phylogenomics. New Phytologist 220, 1012–1030.
https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15076 - Talley S.M., Coley P.D. & Kursar T.A., 2002. The effects of weather on fungal abundance and richness among 25 communities in the Intermountain West. BMC Ecology 2, 7.
https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6785-2-7 - Taylor T.N. & Osborn J.M., 1996. The importance of fungi in shaping the paleoecosystem. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 90, 249–262.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0034-6667(95)00086-0 - Taylor T.N., Krings M. & Taylor E.L., 2015. Fossil fungi. Elsevier, Academic Press, Amsterdam, 398 pp.
- Tiffney B.H., 2008. Phylogeography, fossils, and northern hemisphere biogeography: The role of physiological uniformitarianism. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 95, 135–143.
https://doi.org/10.3417/2006199 - Tripathi S.K.M., 2009. Fungi from palaeoenvironments: Their role in environmental interpretations. [In:] J.K. Misra & S.K. Deshmukh (Eds): Fungi from different environments. Progress in Mycological Research Series. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, London, 1–27.
https://doi.org/10.1201/b10191-2 - Tsui C.K., Baschien C. & Goh T.K., 2016. Biology and ecology of freshwater fungi. [In:] D.W. Li (Ed.): Biology of microfungi. Springer, Cham, 285–313.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29137-6_13 - Utescher T., Bruch A.A., Erdei B., François L., Ivanov D., Jacques F.M.B., et al., 2014. The coexistence approach – Theoretical background and practical considerations of using plant fossils for climate quantification. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 410, 58–73.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.05.031 - Widera M., 2019. What can be learned about the deposition and compaction of peat from the Miocene lignite seam exposed in the Chłapowo Cliff on the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea? Geology, Geophysics and Environment 45, 111–119.
https://doi.org/10.7494/geol.2019.45.2.111 - Widera M., 2021. Geologia polskich złóż węgla brunatnego [Geology of Polish lignite deposits]. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Bogucki, Poznań, 180 pp. [In Polish.]
- Widera M., Bechtel A., Chomiak L., Maciaszek P., Słodkowska B., Wachocki R., Worobiec E., Worobiec G. & Zieliński T., 2021a. Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Konin Basin (central Poland) during lignite accumulation linked to the Mid-Miocene Climate Optimum. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 568, 110307.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110307 - Widera M., Zieliński T., Chomiak L., Maciaszek P., Wachocki R., Bechtel A., Słodkowska B., Worobiec E. & Worobiec G., 2021b. Tectonic-climatic interactions during changes of depositional environments in the Carpathian foreland: An example from the Neogene of central Poland. Acta Geologica Polonica 71, 519–542.
https://doi.org/10.24425/agp.2020.134567 - Worobiec E. & Worobiec G., 2016. Miocene palynoflora from the KRAM-P 218 leaf assemblage from the Bełchatów Lignite Mine (Central Poland). Acta Palaeobotanica 56, 499–517.
https://doi.org/10.1515/acpa-2016-0012 - Worobiec E. & Worobiec G., 2022. Palynoflora and palaeoenvironment of the early Miocene palaeolake from the Bełchatów mine, central Poland. Geological Quarterly 66, 32.
https://doi.org/10.7306/gq.1664 - Worobiec E., Worobiec G. & Gedl P., 2009. Occurrence of fossil bamboo pollen and a fungal conidium of Tetraploa cf. aristata in Upper Miocene deposits of Józefina (Poland). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 157, 211–217.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2009.05.002 - Worobiec E., Widera M., Worobiec G. & Kurdziel B., 2021. Middle Miocene palynoflora from the Adamów lignite deposit, central Poland. Palynology 45, 59–71.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01916122.2019.1697388 - Worobiec E., Widera M. & Worobiec G., 2022a. Palaeoenvironment of the middle Miocene wetlands at Drzewce, Konin region, central Poland. Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae 92, 201–218.
https://doi.org/10.14241/asgp.2022.07 - Worobiec E., Worobiec G. & Kasiński J.R., 2022b. Decline of Neogene lignite formation as a result of vegetation and climate changes reflected in the middle Miocene palynoflora from the Ruja lignite deposit, SW Poland. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 298, 104593.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2021.104593 - Worobiec E., Worobiec G. & Widera M., 2025a. Pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs as tools for interpreting palaeoenvironmental changes in the Miocene lignite from the Chłapowo Cliff (northern Poland). Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae 95, 161–178.
https://doi.org/10.14241/asgp.2025.11 - Worobiec G., 2003. New fossil floras from Neogene deposits in the Bełchatów Lignite Mine. Acta Palaeobotanica Suppl. 3, 1–133.
- Worobiec G. & Lesiak M.A., 1998. Plant megafossils from the Neogene deposits of Stawek-1A (Bełchatów, Middle Poland). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 101, 179–208.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-6667(97)00075-4 - Worobiec G. & Szynkiewicz A., 2016. Neogene wetland vegetation based on a leaf assemblage from the Bełchatów Lignite Mine (Central Poland). Acta Palaeobotanica 56, 441–497.
https://doi.org/10.1515/acpa-2016-0015 - Worobiec G. & Worobiec E., 2017. Epiphyllous fungi from Miocene deposits of the Bełchatów Lignite Mine (Central Poland). Mycosphere 8(8), 1003–1013.
https://doi.org/10.5943/mycosphere/8/8/3 - Worobiec G. & Worobiec E., 2019. Wetland vegetation from the Miocene deposits of the Bełchatów Lignite Mine (central Poland). Palaeontologia Electronica 22.3.63, 1–38.
https://doi.org/10.26879/871 - Worobiec G., Worobiec E. & Kasiński J., 2008. Plant assemblages of the drill cores from the Neogene Ruja lignite deposit near Legnica (Lower Silesia, Poland). Acta Palaeobotanica 48(2), 191–275.
- Worobiec G., Neumann F.H., Worobiec E., Nitz V. & Hartkopf-Fröder C., 2017. New fungal cephalothecoid-like fructifications from central European Neogene deposits. Fungal Biology 121, 285–292.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2016.12.005 - Worobiec G., Worobiec E. & Erdei B., 2020. Fossil callimothalloid fungi: Revised taxonomy, modern equivalents and palaeoecology. Fungal Biology 124, 835–844.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2020.06.002 - Worobiec G., Worobiec E., Gedl P., Kasiński J.R., Peryt D. & Widera M., 2022c. Terrestrial-aquatic wood-inhabiting ascomycete Potamomyces from the Miocene of Poland. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 67, 737–744.
https://doi.org/10.4202/app.00976.2022 - Worobiec G., Worobiec E. & Widera M., 2022d. Middle Miocene wetland fungi from the Adamów Lignite Mine, central Poland. Historical Biology 35, 841–856.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2021.1949008 - Worobiec G., Worobiec E., Gedl P., Kowalski R., Peryt D. & Tietz O., 2023a. Fossil history of fungus host-specificity: Association of conidia of fossil Asterosporium asterospermum with macro- and microremains of Fagus. Fungal Biology 127, 1312–1320.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2023.07.005 - Worobiec G., Worobiec E. & Liu Y., 2023b. Taxonomy and palaeoecology of the fossil anamorphic fungus Mycoenterolobium eccentricum (R.K. Kar) G. Worobiec, n. comb. Comptes Rendus Palevol 22, 585–594.
https://doi.org/10.5852/cr-palevol2023v22a28 - Worobiec G., Worobiec E., Widera M. & Słodkowska B., 2024. Cancellidium intergraniferum (R. Potonié & S.C.D. Sah) G. Worobiec & E. Worobiec, comb. nov. from the Miocene of Poland, with remarks on the fossil history and palaeoecological potential of Cancellidium. Palynology 48, 2312277.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01916122.2024.2312277 - Worobiec G., Worobiec E., Widera M. & Granoszewski W., 2025b. Microsclerotia of dark septate endophytic fungi from Paleogene and Neogene of Poland: fossil record and palaeoenvironmental significance of root fungal endophytes. Fungal Biology 129, 101594.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2025.101594 - Yamaguchi K., 2023. Recent studies on aero-aquatic fungi, with special reference to diversity of conidial morphology and convergent evolution. Mycoscience 64, 128–135.
https://doi.org/10.47371/mycosci.2023.09.001 - Zieliński T. & Widera M., 2020. Anastomosing-to-meandering transitional river in sedimentary record: a case study from the Neogene of central Poland. Sedimentary Geology 404, 105677.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2020.105677
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14746/logos.2026.32.geo02 | Journal eISSN: 2080-6574 | Journal ISSN: 1426-8981
Language: English
Page range: 1 - 13
Submitted on: Jan 5, 2026
Accepted on: Mar 3, 2026
Published on: May 30, 2026
Published by: Adam Mickiewicz University
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Keywords:
Related subjects:
© 2026 Grzegorz Worobiec, Elżbieta Worobiec, published by Adam Mickiewicz University
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.