Holocene Fires in the Northern Amazon Basin

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 358-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan G. Saldarriaga ◽  
Darrell C. West
Keyword(s):  
Forest Soils ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Human Disturbances ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
The Past ◽  
Rio Negro ◽  
Thermoluminescence Analysis

The ubiquitous occurrence of charcoal in the forest soils of the Upper Rio Negro region of Colombia and Venezuela indicates the presence of frequent and widespread fires in the Amazon Basin, possibly associated with extremely dry periods or human disturbances. Charcoal ranged from 3.12 to 24.76 mg/cm3 in the upper 50 cm of soil and was more abundant in Oxisols and Ultisols than in other soil types. Charcoal dates range from 6260 yr B.P. to the present. Several dates coincide with dry phases recorded during the Holocene. Ceramic shards were found at several sites, and thermoluminescence analysis indicates that their ages range from 3750 to 460 yr B.P. The age of charcoal and shards confirms that this region has been subjected to fire and human disturbances during the past 6000 yr.

Forest stability during the early and late Holocene in the igapó floodplains of the Rio Negro, northwestern Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula A. Rodríguez-Zorro ◽  
Bruno Turcq ◽  
Renato C. Cordeiro ◽  
Luciane S. Moreira ◽  
Renata L. Costa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Northwestern Part ◽  
Human Disturbances ◽  
River Dynamics ◽  
Rio Negro ◽  
Igapó Forest ◽  
Forest Stability

AbstractLocated at the northwestern part of the Amazon basin, Rio Negro is the largest black-water river in the world and is one of the poorest studied regions of the Amazon lowlands. In the middle-upper part of the Rio Negro were retrieved sediment cores form Lake Acarabixi, which were analyzed using pollen, spores, charcoal, and geochemistry. The aim of this study was to detect the influences from humans and river dynamics on the vegetation history in the region. Two main periods of vegetation and river dynamics were detected. From 10,840 to 8240 cal yr BP, the river had a direct influence into the lake. The lake had a regional input of charcoal particles, which reflected the effect of the dry Holocene period in the basin. Furthermore, highland taxa such asHedyosmumandMyrsinewere found at that time along with igapó forest species that are characteristic to tolerate extended flooding likeEschweilera,Macrolobium, Myrtaceae,Swartzia, andAstrocaryum. During the late Holocene (1600 to 650 cal yr BP), more lacustrine phases were observed. There were no drastic changes in vegetation but the presence of pioneer species likeVismiaandCecropia, along with the signal of fires, which pointed to human disturbances.

Fifty-thousand-year vegetation and climate history of Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, Bolivian Amazon

2004 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel E. Burbridge ◽  
Francis E. Mayle ◽  
Timothy J. Killeen
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Local Source ◽  
Rain Forests ◽  
Climate History ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Last Glacial

Pollen and charcoal records from two large, shallow lakes reveal that throughout most of the past 50,000 yr Noel Kempff Mercado National Park, in northeastern lowland Bolivia (southwestern Amazon Basin), was predominantly covered by savannas and seasonally dry semideciduous forests. Lowered atmospheric CO2 concentrations, in combination with a longer dry season, caused expansion of dry forests and savannas during the last glacial period, especially at the last glacial maximum. These ecosystems persisted until the mid-Holocene, although they underwent significant species reassortment. Forest communities containing a mixture of evergreen and semideciduous species began to expand between 6000 and 3000 14C yr B.P. Humid evergreen rain forests expanded to cover most of the area within the past 2000 14C yr B.P. coincident with a reduction in fire frequencies. Comparisons between modern pollen spectra and vegetation reveal that the Moraceae-dominated rain forest pollen spectra likely have a regional source area at least 2–3 km beyond the lake shore, whereas the grass- and sedge-dominated savanna pollen spectra likely have a predominantly local source area. The Holocene vegetation changes are consistent with independent paleoprecipitation records from the Bolivian Altiplano and paleovegetation records from other parts of southwestern Amazonia. The progressive expansion in rain forests through the Holocene can be largely attributed to enhanced convective activity over Amazonia, due to greater seasonality of insolation in the Southern Hemisphere tropics driven by the precession cycle according to the Milankovitch Astronomical Theory.

Summary of Coastal Geologic Evidence for past Great Earthquakes at the Cascadia Subduction Zone

1995 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian F. Atwater ◽  
Alan R. Nelson ◽  
John J. Clague ◽  
Gary A. Carver ◽  
David K. Yamaguchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Forest Soils ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Cascadia Subduction Zone ◽  
Level Change ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Juan De Fuca

Earthquakes in the past few thousand years have left signs of land-level change, tsunamis, and shaking along the Pacific coast at the Cascadia subduction zone. Sudden lowering of land accounts for many of the buried marsh and forest soils at estuaries between southern British Columbia and northern California. Sand layers on some of these soils imply that tsunamis were triggered by some of the events that lowered the land. Liquefaction features show that inland shaking accompanied sudden coastal subsidence at the Washington-Oregon border about 300 years ago. The combined evidence for subsidence, tsunamis, and shaking shows that earthquakes of magnitude 8 or larger have occurred on the boundary between the overriding North America plate and the downgoing Juan de Fuca and Gorda plates. Intervals between the earthquakes are poorly known because of uncertainties about the number and ages of the earthquakes. Current estimates for individual intervals at specific coastal sites range from a few centuries to about one thousand years.

scholarly journals New species of Cyphocharax (Characiformes: Curimatidae) from the upper rio Negro, Amazon basin

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno F. Melo ◽  
Richard P. Vari
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Caudal Peduncle ◽  
Caudal Fin ◽  
Rio Negro ◽  
Fin Rays ◽  
Dark Pigmentation ◽  
Northern Brazil ◽  
Adipose Fin ◽  
A New Species

A new species of Cyphocharax, Curimatidae, apparently endemic to the blackwater upper rio Negro of the Amazon basin in northern Brazil, is described.The new species is readily distinguished from its congeners by the presence of a distinctly longitudinally elongate, posteriorly vertically expanding patch of dark pigmentation along the midlateral surface of the caudal peduncle, with the patch extending from the base of the middle caudal-fin rays anteriorly past the vertical through the posterior terminus of the adipose fin. The new species additionally differs from all congeners in details of body and fin pigmentation and meristic and morphometric ratios. Evidence for the assignment of the species to Cyphocharax and the occurrence of other species of the Curimatidae apparently endemic to the upper rio Negro catchment is discussed.

scholarly journals Redescription of Odontostilbe pulchra (Gill, 1858) (Teleostei: Characidae: Cheirodontinae), and description of two new species from the río Orinoco basin

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina M. Bührnheim ◽  
Luiz R. Malabarba
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
South America ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Rio Negro ◽  
Species Inquirenda ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
Northern South America

Odontostilbe pulchra, previously considered species inquirenda in Cheirodontinae and doubtfully assigned from the río Orinoco basin, is redescribed with the rediscovery of two syntypes. Originally described to the Island of Trinidad, O. pulchra is widespread in Venezuela, the río Orinoco basin, in smaller coastal drainages of northern South America, in the Lake Valencia system, and río Essequibo basin. A punctual occurrence in the upper rio Negro, near southernmost headwaters of the río Orinoco, extends its distribution to the Amazon basin. Additionally, two new species of Odontostilbe from the río Orinoco basin are described.

scholarly journals A taxonomic review of the species of CharaxScopoli, 1777 (Teleostei: Characidae: Characinae) with description of a new species from the rio Negro bearing superficial neuromasts on body scales, Amazon basin, Brazil

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naércio A. Menezes ◽  
Carlos Alberto S. de Lucena
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Geographic Distribution ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Junior Synonym ◽  
Museum Collections ◽  
Taxonomic Review ◽  
Rio Negro ◽  
Three New Species ◽  
A New Species ◽  
Pelvic Fin

The species of Charaxwere reviewed by Lucena (1987) who a little later (1989) added three new species to the genus. Examination of recently collected specimens from museum collections documented the more extensive geographic distribution for most species and revealed the existence of a new species in which superficial neuromasts were discovered and are herein described. These skin structures were also detected in C. metae Eigenmann, 1922. Anal- and pelvic-fin hooks previously observed only on the anal-fin of one species of the genus are described herein in some other species. Charax unimaculatus Lucena is considered a junior synonym of C. michaeli Lucena. All the species are redescribed and the new species described.

scholarly journals Look Upstream: Measurement for Innovation on the Upper Rio Negro of the Amazon Basin

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt Shaw ◽  
Rita de Cácia Oenning da Silva
Keyword(s):  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Theory Of Change ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Private Goods ◽  
Rio Negro ◽  
The Government ◽  
Traditional Songs ◽  
The Impact

The growth of the randomized controlled trial (RCT) as the “gold standard” for evaluation has justly been praised as an advance in the professionalization of social programs and projects, an “adoption of science” - in the words of the Lancet. None the less, the emphasis on the RCT biases funding for projects that distribute private goods and which focus on “low hanging fruit” in health, nutrition, and sanitation, simply because those areas lend themselves to the sort of measurement that works with RCTs. As a result, many project developers in the government and NGO sectors lament that a hegemonic focus on RCTs impedes creativity or new models that challenge traditional paradigms. This case study of CanalCanoa, a community video coaching project for indigenous parents of young children in the Rio Negro region of the Amazon Basin, offers techniques to measure for innovation. Instead of developing a new RCT for an extremely diverse population (27 ethnic groups) where traditional childcare methods are in historical flux because of urbanization, CanalCanoa measured variables shown by previous RCTs to be causally connected with positive development results. By researching the impact of the intervention on nutrition, language (multilingualism, use of traditional songs and stories), and social network expansion, CanalCanoa measured upstream indicators, thus mixing scientific rigor with an opportunity for innovation and providing important insight and reform of a theory of change.

RADIOCARBON RESERVOIR AGES IN THE HOLOCENE DEAD SEA

Radiocarbon ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1453-1473
Author(s):  
Nurit Weber ◽  
Boaz Lazar ◽  
Ofra Stern ◽  
George Burr ◽  
Ittai Gavrieli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Radiocarbon Age ◽  
The Past ◽  
Organic Debris ◽  
The Dead ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Continuous Deposition

ABSTRACTThe sources and fate of radiocarbon (14C) in the Dead Sea hypersaline solution are evaluated with 14C measurements in organic debris and primary aragonite collected from exposures of the Holocene Ze’elim Formation. The reservoir age (RA) is defined as the difference between the radiocarbon age of the aragonite at time of its precipitation (representing lakeʼs dissolved inorganic carbon [DIC]) and the age of contemporaneous organic debris (representing atmospheric radiocarbon). Evaluation of the data for the past 6000 yr from Dead Sea sediments reveal that the lakeʼs RA decreased from 2890 yr at 6 cal kyr BP to 2300 yr at present. The RA lies at ~2400 yr during the past 3000 yr, when the lake was characterized by continuous deposition of primary aragonite, which implies a continuous supply of freshwater-bicarbonate into the lake. This process reflects the overall stability of the hydrological-climate conditions in the lakeʼs watershed during the late Holocene where bicarbonate originated from dissolution of the surface cover in the watershed that was transported to the Dead Sea by the freshwater runoff. An excellent correlation (R2=0.98) exists between aragonite ages and contemporaneous organic debris, allowing the estimation of ages of various primary deposits where organic debris are not available.

scholarly journals Archaeointensity results spanning the past 6 kiloyears from eastern China and implications for extreme behaviors of the geomagnetic field

2016 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuhui Cai ◽  
Guiyun Jin ◽  
Lisa Tauxe ◽  
Chenglong Deng ◽  
Huafeng Qin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Geomagnetic Field ◽  
Dipole Moments ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Reference Curve ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
The Past ◽  
Deep Interior ◽  
Archaeomagnetic Dating ◽  
Data Points

Variations of the Earth’s geomagnetic field during the Holocene are important for understanding centennial to millennial-scale processes of the Earth’s deep interior and have enormous potential implications for chronological correlations (e.g., comparisons between different sedimentary recording sequences, archaeomagnetic dating). Here, we present 21 robust archaeointensity data points from eastern China spanning the past ∼6 kyr. These results add significantly to the published data both regionally and globally. Taking together, we establish an archaeointensity reference curve for Eastern Asia, which can be used for archaeomagnetic dating in this region. Virtual axial dipole moments (VADMs) of the data range from a Holocene-wide low of ∼27 to “spike” values of ∼166 ZAm2(Z: 1021). The results, in conjunction with our recently published data, confirm the existence of a decrease in paleointensity (DIP) in China around ∼2200 BCE. These low intensities are the lowest ever found for the Holocene and have not been reported outside of China. We also report a spike intensity of 165.8 ± 6.0 ZAm2at ∼1300 BCE (±300 y), which is either a prelude to or the same event (within age uncertainties) as spikes first reported in the Levant.

scholarly journals The water budget of an amazonian rain forest

1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cari F. Jordan ◽  
Jochen Heuveldop
Keyword(s):  
Surface Runoff ◽  
Water Budget ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Rio Negro ◽  
Leaf Surfaces ◽  
Stem Flow ◽  
Amazonian Rain Forest ◽  
San Carlos ◽  
Yearly Precipitation

Abstract In a tropical rain forest near San Carlos de Rio Negro, Venezuela, average yearly precipitation from September 1, 1975, through August 31, 1977 was 3664 mm. Throughfall was 87% of precipitation, stem flow was 8%, transpiration was 47%, evaporation from leaf surfaces was 5%, and sub-surface runoff was 48%. These results conform closely to the prediction of Marques et al. (1977) that 48% of the precipitation that falls on the central Amazon Basin is derived from evapotranspiration within the Basin.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document