scholarly journals Late Holocene Phytolith and Carbon-Isotope Record from a Latosol at Salitre, South-Central Brazil

1999 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Alexandre ◽  
Jean-Dominique Meunier ◽  
Andre Mariotti ◽  
Francois Soubies

AbstractThe reliability of paleovegetation records inferred from soil phytolith assemblages and SOM (soil organic matter) carbon isotope analysis was examined in light of previous pollen and charcoal reconstructions. The sampled latosol is located in south-central Brazil (Salitre), at a boundary between forest and cerrado. The derived mean age of phytoliths and SOM at each level is the result of a balance between continuous translocation and selective dissolution. It increases with depth in a regular, quantifiable fashion that allows paleoenvironmental interpretation. Phytoliths and SOM tracers first record a savanna phase, associated with the last Holocene long dry period occurring between ca. 5500 and 4500 yr B.P. Two periods of tree community development followed, between ca. 4000 and 3000 and after ca. 970 yr. B.P., leading to the present cerrado/forest association. The dry spell interrupted this trend about 970 ± 60 yr B.P. The second development of woody elements was contemporaneous with an increase in anthropogenic fires. Therefore, climate was more important than fires and human activities in constraining the growth of vegetation during the last nine centuries at Salitre. More generally, despite pedogenic processes, soil phytoliths and δ13C values of the SOM may be accurate tracers of vegetation changes.

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Dirk M. Rasmussen ◽  
Brady Z. Foreman ◽  
Henry C. Fricke ◽  
Kathryn Snell ◽  
Lindsey Gipson ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Sedimentary basins throughout the North American Western Interior contain a record of Late Cretaceous through Eocene deposition related to the Laramide orogeny. The typical stratigraphic progression includes an uppermost Cretaceous fluvio-deltaic geologic formation that is unconformably overlain by an alluvial or paludal Paleocene geologic formation. The Paleocene unit is usually characterized by drab overbank facies, and overlain by an interval of amalgamated fluvial sand bodies. The overlying Eocene geologic units are characterized by red bed overbank facies. These major stratigraphic changes have been variably linked to long-wavelength dynamic subsidence, local uplift, and climatic shifts. Herein, we evaluate the depositional history of the Huerfano Basin of south-central Colorado in this overarching context. Our study presents a detailed lithofacies analysis of the Poison Canyon, Cuchara, and Huerfano Formations integrated with a new bulk (1) organic carbon isotope record, n = 299 measurements (Data Supplement 1A); and (2) magnetic record, n = 247 measurements (Data Supplement 1B). We interpret that the Paleocene Poison Canyon Formation was deposited by a braided or coarse-grained meandering river system with relatively poorly drained floodplains. The Eocene Huerfano Formation was likely deposited by a coarse-grained meandering river system with a comparatively well-drained floodplain. This pattern mirrors other Laramide basins, and is likely related to a regional drying pattern linked to long-term warming during the early Paleogene. Age of the intervening Cuchara Formation is poorly resolved, but is an anomalously thick and coarse-grained fluvial unit, with evidence for extensive reworking of floodplain deposits and a moderate coarsening-upward pattern. The Cuchara Formation is associated with magnetic trends that suggest greater oxidation and weathering, and greater variability in rainfall patterns, as well as a subtle negative shift in carbon isotope values. This pattern indicates a period of widespread progradation within the basin, potentially related to a major Laramide uplift event that affected Colorado’s Wet Mountains, Front Range, and Sangre de Cristo Mountains.


2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Therrien ◽  
David A Eberth ◽  
Dennis R Braman ◽  
Darla K Zelenitsky

A high-resolution study identified a δ13C excursion of –1.8‰ to –2.3‰ in terrestrial organic matter across the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) boundary at two localities in the Scollard Formation of south-central Alberta, one of the northernmost occurrences of the K–T boundary in terrestrial settings. δ13C values are at their lowest within 6 cm above the K–T boundary claystone and return to pre-boundary levels within 10 cm above the boundary claystone. Statistical analyses reveal that the K–T isotopic shift in Alberta is related to the nature of floral changes that occurred across the K–T boundary. A radiometrically dated bentonite resting on the boundary-hosting Nevis coal at one of the localities permits us to estimate that the terrestrial carbon cycle recovered ~100 000 years after the K–T boundary event, a value that supports an existing hypothesis that terrestrial ecosystems recovered more rapidly than marine ecosystems. The organic carbon isotope record of the entire Scollard Formation demonstrates that the δ13C excursion across the K–T boundary did not reach anomalously low values by late Maastrichtian standards in Alberta. Furthermore, the occurrence of the K–T carbon isotope shift within a restricted stratigraphic interval (<10 cm) greatly limits the probability of its preservation in the context of terrestrial sedimentary environments. These observations suggest that, on their own, δ13C profiles may be unreliable for locating the K–T boundary (and possibly other geologically instantaneous events) and that they should be used in combination with other approaches (e.g., palynology) to identify the K–T boundary in sections lacking the boundary claystone and iridium anomaly.


Plant Disease ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 87 (11) ◽  
pp. 1322-1328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Alvarez ◽  
Juan Fernando Mejia ◽  
Teresa L. Valle

Isolates of Sphaceloma manihoticola, the asexual stage of Elsinoe brasiliensis, were collected from several regions of south-central Brazil. The isolates were obtained from samples of leaves, stems, and petioles of cassava (Manihot esculenta) and the weedy Euphorbia heterophylla (“amendoim bravo”) by directly plating infected tissue onto acidified potato dextrose agar. For pathogenicity studies, 19 isolates were inoculated onto each of two cassava cultivars, MBRA 703 as a susceptible cultivar and MBRA 12 as a resistant cultivar to S. manihoticola. MBRA 703, with the greatest pathogenicity to 58% (11) of the isolates, showed an intermediate pathogenic reaction to 16% (3) of the isolates, and was less pathogenic to 26% (5) of the isolates. MBRA 12, with a less pathogenic reaction to 63% (12) of the isolates, showed an intermediate pathogenic reaction to 16% (3) of the isolates, and was highly pathogenic to 21% (4) of the isolates. The isolates were verified as belonging to the genus Sphaceloma based on their morphological characteristics, including conidia and hyphae of monoconidial isolate. Conidia of isolates were small, thin-walled, ellipsoid to (rarely) globose, commonly with one or two gut-tules. Conidiophores were phialides, hyaline to slightly pigmented 0-to-1 septate; conidiophores from the weedy specie were phialides, hyaline to brown 0-to-2 septate producing hyaline conidia. The isolates also were verified as belonging to the genus Sphaceloma by using a poly-merase chain reaction (PCR) assay, which detected a 645-bp band in all isolates except two (1 and 6) for which the PCR product had 600 bp. Digestion of the amplified product with the enzymes MspI and CfoI allowed differences to be detected in restriction patterns among isolates. A homogeneous banding pattern was obtained for 17 of the isolates but a different restriction pattern was obtained for isolates 1 and 6 of E. heterophylla. This suggests the possibility of another species within this group of isolates. The results indicate the presence of pathogenic variation among isolates of the fungus and an isolate-host interaction, because statistically significant differences were observed between the two cassava cultivars in response to inoculation with the isolates of S. manihoticola.


2011 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 1641-1648 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marita Skarpeli-Liati ◽  
Aurora Turgeon ◽  
Ashley N. Garr ◽  
William A. Arnold ◽  
Christopher J. Cramer ◽  
...  

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