Fossil charcoal, its recognition and palaeoatmospheric significance

Jones, Timothy Peter; Chaloner, W. G.

doi:10.1016/0031-0182(91)90180-y

Cited by 211 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…All features described by Jones and Chaloner (1991) and Scott (1989Scott ( , 2000Scott ( , 2010 as typical of macroscopic charcoal (black color, silky luster, well preserved anatomical details and homogenized cell walls) are present.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…In coals from the southern Paraná Basin, inertinite contents can be larger than 50% (Kalkreuth et al, 2006). In addition, Jasper et al (2011a) reported the occurrence of macroscopic charcoal (sensu Jones and Chaloner, 1991;Scott, 2010) in clastic sediments associated with hypautochthonous coal seams in Brazilian coalfields. The study therefore demonstrated that fires were relatively common events in and around peat-forming environments in the Early Permian Paraná Basin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Charcoalified logs as evidence of hypautochthonous/autochthonous wildfire events in a peat-forming environment from the Permian of southern Paraná Basin (Brazil)

Degani-Schmidt

Guerra-Sommer

Mendonça

et al. 2015

International Journal of Coal Geology

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Charcoalified logs as evidence of hypautochthonous/autochthonous wildfire events in a peat-forming environment from the Permian of southern Paraná Basin (Brazil)

Degani-Schmidt

Guerra-Sommer

Mendonça

et al. 2015

International Journal of Coal Geology

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“…4A, B). These fragments exhibit the features established as characteristic for macro-charcoal by Jones and Chaloner (1991) and Scott (2000Scott ( , 2010: black colour and streak as well as a silky lustre. They also do not appear as a few well-defined macroscopic bands but more or less randomly distributed throughout all coal samples investigated in the lab, as well as on the profile of the coal in the field.…”

Section: Identification Of Charcoal In Coal Levels and Shalementioning

confidence: 88%

Fires in the mire: repeated fire events in Early Permian ‘peat forming’ vegetation of India

Jasper

Agnihotri²,

Tewari³

et al. 2016

Geological Journal

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Macro‐charcoal, as direct evidence of palaeo‐wildfires, is a common constituent throughout an Early Permian (Cisuralian) inertinite‐rich coal seam from the Dhanpuri Coal Mine (Barakar Formation, Sohagpur Coalfield, Madhya Pradesh, India). The continuous presence of macro‐charcoal within this particular seam demonstrates that fires occurred repeatedly in the source vegetation of the seam. Based on these macro‐charcoal remains, an anatomical assessment of the diversity and taxonomic composition of the vegetation, which experienced wildfires and contributed to the formation of peat/coal, is provided. The vegetation that experienced regular fires was dominated by gymnosperms, with a minor component of pteridophytes. The results also support previous studies, which suggest a pyrogenic origin for the high inertinite contents of many Permian coals within Gondwana. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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“…Evidence from evaporites, clay minerals and tree rings indicates that, during the Cretaceous, there were extensive seasonally dry areas conducive to fires (Frakes, 1999;Beerling & Woodward, 2001;Finkelstein et al, 2005). In deep time, atmospheric oxygen is an important factor influencing the occurrence of fire (Robinson, 1989;Jones & Chaloner, 1991;Scott & Glasspool, 2006) and the moisture content at which fuels ignite and fires spread (Watson et al, 1978;Wildman et al, 2004;Belcher & McElwain, 2008). There are few proxies for oxygen in the fossil record and geochemical models used to predict palaeoatmospheres produce widely divergent patterns (Berner & Canfield, 1989;Berner, 2001Berner, , 2009Bergman et al, 2004).…”

Section: Patterns Of Angiosperm Spreadmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fire and the spread of flowering plants in the Cretaceous

2010

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Summary• We suggest that the spread of angiosperms in the Cretaceous was facilitated by novel fire regimes. Angiosperms were capable of high productivity and therefore accumulated flammable biomass ('fuel') more rapidly than their predecessors. They were capable of rapid reproduction, allowing populations to spread despite frequent disturbance.• We evaluate the evidence for physical conditions conducive to fires in the Cretaceous. These included high temperatures, seasonally dry climate and higher atmospheric oxygen than current levels. We evaluate novel properties of angiosperms that contributed to rapid biomass accumulation, and to their ability to thrive in frequently disturbed environments. We also review direct evidence for Cretaceous fires.• Charcoal mesofossils are common in Cretaceous deposits of the Northern Hemisphere. Inertinite, the charcoal component of coal, is common throughout the Cretaceous and into the Palaeocene, but declined steeply from the Eocene when angiosperm-dominated forests became widespread.• Direct and indirect evidence is consistent with angiosperms initiating novel fire regimes, promoting angiosperm spread in the Cretaceous. Several traits are consistent with frequent surface fires. We suggest that forest was slow to develop until the Eocene, when fire activity dropped to very low levels. The causes and consequences of fires in the deep past warrant greater attention.

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Fossil charcoal, its recognition and palaeoatmospheric significance

Cited by 211 publications

References 15 publications

Charcoalified logs as evidence of hypautochthonous/autochthonous wildfire events in a peat-forming environment from the Permian of southern Paraná Basin (Brazil)

Charcoalified logs as evidence of hypautochthonous/autochthonous wildfire events in a peat-forming environment from the Permian of southern Paraná Basin (Brazil)

Fires in the mire: repeated fire events in Early Permian ‘peat forming’ vegetation of India

Fire and the spread of flowering plants in the Cretaceous

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