Plant macrofossils from the Rhaetian of Einberg near Coburg (Bavaria, Germany). Part 1. Ferns, fern allies and seed ferns

2021 ◽  
Vol 302 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-353
Author(s):  
Johanna H.A. Van Konijnenburg-van Cittert ◽  
Stefan Schmeißner ◽  
Günter Dütsch ◽  
Evelyn Kustatscher ◽  
Christian Pott
Keyword(s):  
Plant Macrofossils

Vertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy, and paleohydrology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada (USA)

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 55-98
Author(s):  
Kathleen Springer ◽  
Jeffrey Pigati ◽  
Eric Scott
Keyword(s):  
Las Vegas ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Distinct Species ◽  
American Southwest ◽  
Local Fauna ◽  
Climatic Oscillations ◽  
Las Vegas Valley ◽  
National Monument ◽  
Desert Wetlands

Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK) preserves 22,650 acres of the upper Las Vegas Wash in the northern Las Vegas Valley (Nevada, USA). TUSK is home to extensive and stratigraphically complex groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits, called the Las Vegas Formation, which represent springs and desert wetlands that covered much of the valley during the late Quaternary. The GWD deposits record hydrologic changes that occurred here in a dynamic and temporally congruent response to abrupt climatic oscillations over the last ~300 ka (thousands of years). The deposits also entomb the Tule Springs Local Fauna (TSLF), one of the most significant late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) vertebrate assemblages in the American Southwest. The TSLF is both prolific and diverse, and includes a large mammal assemblage dominated by Mammuthus columbi and Camelops hesternus. Two (and possibly three) distinct species of Equus, two species of Bison, Panthera atrox, Smilodon fatalis, Canis dirus, Megalonyx jeffersonii, and Nothrotheriops shastensis are also present, and newly recognized faunal components include micromammals, amphibians, snakes, and birds. Invertebrates, plant macrofossils, and pollen also occur in the deposits and provide important and complementary paleoenvironmental information. This field compendium highlights the faunal assemblage in the classic stratigraphic sequences of the Las Vegas Formation within TUSK, emphasizes the significant hydrologic changes that occurred in the area during the recent geologic past, and examines the subsequent and repeated effect of rapid climate change on the local desert wetland ecosystem.

Development and degradation of a submontane forest in the Beskid Wyspowy Mountains (Polish Western Carpathians) during the Holocene

The Holocene ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 095968362110332
Author(s):  
Piotr Kołaczek ◽  
Krzysztof Buczek ◽  
Włodzimierz Margielewski ◽  
Mariusz Gałka ◽  
Aleksandra Rycerz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Fraction ◽  
Abies Alba ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Western Carpathians ◽  
Substantial Contribution ◽  
Forest Belt ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Parasitic Fungi ◽  
Carpathian Region ◽  
Fire Activity

Mountain regions harbour high biodiversity; however, in numerous areas, they are strongly degraded by human activity. Our study reconstructs the development of the submontane forest belt (400 and 650 m a.s.l.) in the Beskid Wyspowy Mountains (Western Carpathians, Central Europe) affected by climate, humans, fire, and parasitic fungi during the Holocene. This forest belt is considered the most transformed by the human in the Carpathian region. Our multi-proxy study included analyses of pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs), plant macrofossils, micro- and macrocharcoal (size fraction >100 µm, analysed in contiguous sampling), geochemical, and sedimentological markers. The results revealed that Picea abies dominated on the fen subjected to study at ca. 8510–5010 cal. BP. Tilia cordata was a substantial component of the submontane forest between ca. 8510 and 2970 cal. BP and it survived a probable Kretzschmaria deusta outbreak, as well as a period of increased fire activity (ca. 6000 cal. BP). The final retreat of forests with a substantial contribution of Tilia was induced by the expansion of Abies alba, Fagus sylvatica, and partly Carpinus betulus and was preceded by the period of increased fire activity and erosion. From ca. 900 cal. BP human-induced deforestations and agricultural and pastoral activity increased. The modern presence of woodlands with Pinus sylvestris and Larix decidua, in the submontane zone in the Beskid Wyspowy Mountains, is a result of sub-recent anthropogenic afforestation on overgrazed areas. The example of the Zbludza site reveals that changes related to fire and pathogen infections, if they have low magnitudes and new competitive taxa are absent, may be reversible in a forest composed of fire-intolerant tree taxa as Tilia. Nonetheless, the widespread submontane ecosystem degradation and the introduction of alien species hamper the regeneration of forest vegetation typical of the submontane zone.

scholarly journals Hydroclimate variability in the low-elevation Atacama Desert over the last 2500 yr

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. M. Gayo ◽  
C. Latorre ◽  
C. M. Santoro ◽  
A. Maldonado ◽  
R. De Pol-Holz
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Central Andes ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
Riparian Ecosystems ◽  
Independent Evidence ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Climate Fluctuations ◽  
The Past

Abstract. Paleoclimate reconstructions reveal that Earth system has experienced sub-millennial scale climate changes over the past two millennia in response to internal/external forcing. Although sub-millennial hydroclimate fluctuations have been detected in the central Andes during this interval, the timing, magnitude, extent and direction of change of these events remain poorly defined. Here, we present a reconstruction of hydroclimate variations on the Pacific slope of the central Andes based on exceptionally well-preserved plant macrofossils and associated archaeological remains from a hyperarid drainage (Quebrada Maní, ∼21° S, 1000 m a.s.l.) in the Atacama Desert. During the late Holocene, riparian ecosystems and farming social groups flourished in the hyperarid Atacama core as surface water availability increased throughout this presently sterile landscape. Twenty-six radiocarbon dates indicate that these events occurred between 1050–680, 1615–1350 and 2500–2040 cal yr BP. Regional comparisons with rodent middens and other records suggest that these events were synchronous with pluvial stages detected at higher-elevations in the central Andes over the last 2500 yr. These hydroclimate changes also coincide with periods of pronounced SST gradients in the Tropical Pacific (La Niña-like mode), conditions that are conducive to significantly increased rainfall in the central Andean highlands and flood events in the low-elevation watersheds at inter-annual timescales. Our findings indicate that the positive anomalies in the hyperarid Atacama over the past 2500 yr represent a regional response of the central Andean climate system to changes in the global hydrological cycle at centennial timescales. Furthermore, our results provide support for the role of tropical Pacific sea surface temperature gradient changes as the primary mechanism responsible for climate fluctuations in the central Andes. Finally, our results constitute independent evidence for comprehending the major trends in cultural evolution of prehistoric peoples that inhabited the region.

Radiocarbon dating suitability of aquatic plant macrofossils

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Marty ◽  
Amy Myrbo
Keyword(s):  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Aquatic Plant ◽  
Plant Macrofossils

Vegetation, hydrology, and development of a coastal mire in Hokkaido, Japan, affected by flooding and tephra deposition

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Hotes ◽  
Peter Poschlod ◽  
Hiroshige Sakai ◽  
Takashi Inoue
Keyword(s):  
Sea Water ◽  
Ionic Composition ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Vegetation Pattern ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Myrica Gale ◽  
Mineral Deposition ◽  
Volcanic Ejecta ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Flooding Events

Mires in coastal lowlands in Hokkaido, northern Japan, have repeatedly been affected by flooding events and tephra (aerially transported volcanic ejecta) deposition during their development. Vegetation, hydrology, and stratigraphy of Kiritappu Mire in eastern Hokkaido were investigated along two transects and are discussed in relation to disturbance by mineral deposition. The vegetation pattern showed little relation to past geologic events. Five plant communities, two of which (A and C) could be further divided into subgroups, were distinguished (A, Alnus japonica - Spiraea salicifolia community; B, Sasa chartacea community; C, Myrica gale var. tomentosa - Sphagnum fuscum community; D, Carex lyngbyei community; E, Carex subspathacea - Aster tripolium community). Water levels, pH, electric conductivity, and ionic composition of groundwater and surface water were measured in communities A-C. Mean water levels were similar in communities A and C; in community B, it was lower. The pH was higher in community A than in communities B and C. Ion concentrations were influenced by sea water at some sites. Plant macrofossils and ash contents of 31 cores were analysed. Sedge roots were the dominant peat component, often mixed with remains of Phragmites australis, Sphagnum spp., and Polytrichum juniperinum var. strictum. Ash contents were high, and up to nine different mineral layers consisting of tephra, sand, silt, and clay were detected. In some cases, mineral deposition induced changes in the macrofossil composition of the peat. However, in a greater number of cases, no changes in the macrofossil composition were found at the mineral layers, and most shifts were not related to mineral deposition.Key words: mire, vegetation, hydrology, disturbance, flooding, tephra.

Last interglacial environment of the Baikal Region (Southern Siberia, Russia) based on analysis of fossil invertebrates and plants

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
S.A. KUZMINA ◽  
L.A. SAVELIEVA ◽  
S.S. POPOVA ◽  
F.E. MAKSIMOV ◽  
V.YU. KUZNETSOV ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Baikal Region ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Fossil Insects ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Southern Siberia ◽  
Lower Unit ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Pollen And Spores ◽  
Reference Section ◽  
Moderate Climate

New data on fossil insects, soil and freshwater invertebrates, plant macrofossils, pollen and spores were obtained from a problematic lower unit of the reference section Bely Yar-II (Tunka Rift, Baikal Region, Russia). The invertebrates show a natural succession from a small lake to a wetland; plant macrofossils confirm the early stages of succession. Pollen and spore data reflect a wide range of environments and vegetation from moderate climate supporting regional forests to relatively cold, dry parkland. New Uranium-Thorium data (99 ± 20 ka and 101 ± 13 ka), along with environmental reconstructions, indicate that the lower unit was probably formed during one of the cold sub-stages towards the end the last inter-glaciation (MIS5).

Vegetation and climate history of Quebec’s mixed boreal forest suggests greater abundance of temperate species during the early- and mid-Holocene

Botany ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (7) ◽  
pp. 437-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Émilie Larochelle ◽  
Martin Lavoie ◽  
Pierre Grondin ◽  
Pierre-Luc Couillard
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Habitat Characteristics ◽  
Temperate Species ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
Climate History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Suitable Habitats

Today, scattered disjunct stands of two temperate species, yellow birch and white pine, are present north of their continuous distributional range in southern Quebec (Canada) at topographical locations that offer protection from severe fires. This study tested whether these species had populations more numerous and widespread millennia ago when the climate was presumably warmer. Specifically, this research involved the analyses of pollen, plant macrofossils, and charcoal fragments of two sites within the western part of Quebec’s balsam fir – paper birch bioclimatic domain: a forest humus deposit from a yellow birch stand (local scale), and a peatland (regional scale). Fossil data suggest that white pine was more abundant regionally between 7500 and 5000 cal. BP, before coming rare under subsequent cooler conditions. Likewise, yellow birch was more abundant regionally between 7700 and 1500 cal BP. Its subsequent decline and the local disappearance of white pine by ∼200 cal. BP may both be explained by the severe fires that occurred in recent centuries, as well as the rarity of suitable habitats for these species. The sustained presence of temperate species in mixed boreal forests is the result of the combined action of climate, natural disturbances and habitat characteristics.

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