Elemental composition of phytoliths in modern plants (Ericaceae)

Buján, E.

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2012.02.046

Cited by 44 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…For bilobate phytoliths we measured the upper half per phytolith and doubled the result to obtain the corresponding total volume; thus we assumed bilobate phytoliths to be symmetric. We assumed phytoliths to consist of 95 % SiO 2 and 5 % other elements, e.g., carbon (Song et al, 2012) and elements like iron, aluminum or calcium (Buján, 2013).…”

Section: Quantification Of Biogenic Si Poolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How big is the influence of biogenic silicon pools on short-term changes in water-soluble silicon in soils? Implications from a study of a 10-year-old soil–plant system

et al. 2017

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Abstract. The significance of biogenic silicon (BSi) pools as a key factor for the control of Si fluxes from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems has been recognized for decades. However, while most research has been focused on phytogenic Si pools, knowledge of other BSi pools is still limited. We hypothesized that different BSi pools influence short-term changes in the water-soluble Si fraction in soils to different extents. To test our hypothesis we took plant (Calamagrostis epigejos, Phragmites australis) and soil samples in an artificial catchment in a post-mining landscape in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. We quantified phytogenic (phytoliths), protistic (diatom frustules and testate amoeba shells) and zoogenic (sponge spicules) Si pools as well as Tironextractable and water-soluble Si fractions in soils at the beginning (t 0 ) and after 10 years (t 10 ) of ecosystem development. As expected the results of Tiron extraction showed that there are no consistent changes in the amorphous Si pool at Chicken Creek (Hühnerwasser) as early as after 10 years. In contrast to t 0 we found increased water-soluble Si and BSi pools at t 10 ; thus we concluded that BSi pools are the main driver of short-term changes in water-soluble Si. However, because total BSi represents only small proportions of water-soluble Si at t 0 (< 2 %) and t 10 (2.8-4.3 %) we further concluded that smaller (< 5 µm) and/or fragile phytogenic Si structures have the biggest impact on short-term changes in water-soluble Si. In this context, extracted phytoliths (> 5 µm) only amounted to about 16 % of total Si contents of plant materials of C. epigejos and P. australis at t 10 ; thus about 84 % of small-scale and/or fragile phytogenic Si is not quantified by the used phytolith extraction method. Analyses of small-scale and fragile phytogenic Si structures are urgently needed in future work as they seem to represent the biggest and most reactive Si pool in soils. Thus they are the most important drivers of Si cycling in terrestrial biogeosystems.

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Section: Quantification Of Biogenic Si Poolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How big is the influence of biogenic silicon pools on short-term changes in water-soluble silicon in soils? Implications from a study of a 10-year-old soil–plant system

et al. 2017

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“…Similarly, accumulation of potassium in the endodermis was established by Stelzer et al (1990) and Wienhaus et al (2001) in P. abies needles, as well as Hodson and Sangster (1998) in P. glauca needles. The values for calcium were relatively high, and one of the possible reasons for this is that Ca is an important structural element of the cell walls (Hart 2001;Hodson and Sangster 2002;Fraysse et al 2009;Buján 2013). Corylus avellana epidermis was rich in calcium-oxalate crystals; accordingly among the studied broad-leaved species the highest Ca value was measured in its phytoliths; probably some calcium-oxalate remains were present in the silicified idioblasts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…One of the measurable characteristics of phytoliths, which may be important to identify a plant taxon, is the chemical element content. A few studies suggested that the elemental composition of phytoliths correlates with taxonomic relevance, and it may be a useful tool for identifying the plant taxon that was present in the period being investigated; also this may give us information about the type of the soil in which the plant grew (Hart 2001;Buján 2013). It seems that the elemental composition of phytoliths may be helpful to identify a widely-defined plant taxon, especially in the case where the identification of a phytolith morphotype is ambiguous or not typical (cf.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytoliths of six woody species important in the Carpathians: characteristic phytoliths in Norway spruce needles

Lisztes‐Szabó

Braun

Csík

et al. 2019

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Phytoliths-also known as plant opals-are preserved in soils and sediments and have taxonomical relevance, therefore phytoliths can be fingerprints of the vegetation of the period from which they originated. Comparative phytolith studies are essential for finding phytolith morphotypes with taxonomic relevance. These are used to build reference collections for future palaeoecological and archaeobotanical studies. Biogenic silica extracted from the leaves of six woody species commonly occurring in temperate climate plant communities was examined using light and scanning electron microscope methods (Deciduous broad-leaved species: Corylus avellana, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus robur. Coniferous species: Abies alba, Picea abies, Pinus sylvestris). The element content of phytoliths was analysed by SEM EDX and the phytolith taxonomic diagnostic potential of element content was tested by discriminant analysis. An inventory of phytolith types with their anatomical origin was provided and type-frequencies were assessed. Three species have been systematically screened here for the first time in detail (C. avellana, F. sylvatica, Q. robur). This is the first time that a characteristic cubical phytolith morphotype ("Picea-blocky type") originating from transfusion tissue was described as a distinct layer encompassing the central cylinder of the needle. High concentrations of aluminium and magnesium in phytoliths are associated with two of three conifer species. A. alba and P. sylvestris could be differentiated statistically on the basis of elemental content. Our findings open up the possibility to identify these taxa based on their phytoliths and it is anticipated that this could be a useful tool for phytolith identification originating from soils and sediments as well. Moreover, Picea-blocky type allows comparative, in situ studies (amongst others isotopic) to provide the possibility of finding further measurable proxies.

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“…The toxicity and high persistence of Cd carry to soil contamination, causing an environmental problem that threatens plant, animal and human health [1,3]. Many studies have been conducted to decrease soil bioavailability of Cd in contaminated areas [4][5][6][7] to increase plant growth and yield for the purpose of safe food production. Cadmium is extremely toxic at concentrations between 5 and 10 mg kg −1 in dry mass for most plants [4,8] and can cause various biochemical, structural and physiological changes [1,2,4,[9][10][11], as well as imbalance of plant nutritional status [8,[12][13][14][15][16][17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Phytoliths are particles of amorphous silica with sizes ranging from 1 to 250 µm [27,28], formed by silicic acid-polymerization processes and absorbed from the soil solution by plant roots, which makes amorphous silica precipitates along with metals in cell walls, intercellular spaces or cell lumen [6,23,26,29]. The phytolith production can trap and neutralize harmful metal ions in some parts of plant tissues, increasing resistance against stresses caused by metals, especially for the Cyperaceae and Poaceae families [5,25,26,30]. Phytolith production reduces soil-soluble heavy metals with decreased risk of trophic-chain contamination due to their stability [1,2,14,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential of Grasses in Phytolith Production in Soils Contaminated with Cadmium

Amaral

Silva

Santos

et al. 2020

Plants

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Cadmium (Cd) is a very toxic heavy metal occurring in places with anthropogenic activities, making it one of the most important environmental pollutants. Phytoremediation plants are used for recovery of metal-contaminated soils by their ability to absorb and tolerate high concentrations of heavy metals. This paper aims to evaluate the potential of grasses in phytolith production in soils contaminated with Cd. The experiments, separated by soil types (Typic Quartzipsamment, Xanthic Hapludox and Rhodic Hapludox), were conducted in a completely randomized design with a distribution of treatments in a 3 × 4 factorial scheme with three replications. The factors were three grasses (Urochloa decumbens, Urochloa brizantha and Megathyrsus maximus) and four concentrations of Cd applied in soils (0, 2, 4 and 12 mg kg−1). Grass growth decreased and increased Cd concentration in shoots of grasses with the increased Cd rates in soils. The toxic effect of Cd resulted in production and Cd occlusion in phytoliths produced in shoots of the grasses. Grasses showed potential for phytolith production, independent of soil type, providing phytoextraction of Cd in phytoliths. Megathyrsus maximus was the grass with the highest tolerance to Cd, evidenced by higher production and Cd capture in phytoliths for the evaluated soils. Phytolith production by grasses in Cd-contaminated soils is related to genetic and physiological differences of the evaluated grasses and Cd availability in soils.

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Elemental composition of phytoliths in modern plants (Ericaceae)

Cited by 44 publications

References 35 publications

How big is the influence of biogenic silicon pools on short-term changes in water-soluble silicon in soils? Implications from a study of a 10-year-old soil–plant system

How big is the influence of biogenic silicon pools on short-term changes in water-soluble silicon in soils? Implications from a study of a 10-year-old soil–plant system

Phytoliths of six woody species important in the Carpathians: characteristic phytoliths in Norway spruce needles

Potential of Grasses in Phytolith Production in Soils Contaminated with Cadmium

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