Palaeobotanical evidence of wildfire in the Upper Permian of India: Macroscopic charcoal remains from the Raniganj Formation, Damodar Basin

Jasper, André; Guerra-Sommer, Margót; Uhl, Dieter; Bernardes-de-Oliveira, Mary Elizabeth Cerruti; Ghosh, Anil K.; Tewari, Ram Chandra; Secchi, Mariela Inês; Mehrotra, Naresh C.

doi:10.54991/jop.2012.351

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(37 reference statements)

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“…Later on, macro-charcoal has been discovered by different workers in the Permian sequences of South Africa (e.g., Glasspool, 2003;Jasper et al, 2013), Brazil (e.g., Jasper et al, 2008, 2011a, b, c, 2013Degani-Schmidt et al, 2015;Manfroi et al, 2015;Kauffmann et al, 2016;Benício et al, 2019;Kubik et al, 2020), Australia (e.g., Mays & McLoughlin, 2022), the Arabian Plate (e.g., Uhl et al, 2007); and Antarctica (e.g., Holdgate et al, 2005;Slater et al, 2015;Tewari et al, 2015). The first verified (by means of SEM analysis) records of macro-charcoal from the Indian subcontinent, were published by Jasper et al (2012), who reported the existence of wildfire at the time of deposition of the late Permian Raniganj Formation in the Raniganj Coalfield of the Damodar Basin. Later on, Mahesh et al (2015Mahesh et al ( , 2017 identified macrocharcoal from the late Permian Barren Measures and Raniganj formations of the South Karanpura Coalfield, Damodar Basin and the late Permian (Lopningian) of the Mand-Raigarh Coalfield, Mahanadi Basin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Charcoal of gymnospermous affinity dominates so far all charcoal assemblages described from the Permian of India (e.g. Jasper et al, 2012Jasper et al, , 2016Jasper et al, , 2017Mahesh et al, 2015Mahesh et al, , 2017Murthy et al, 2020aMurthy et al, , 2021Murthy et al, , 2022Mishra et al, 2021Mishra et al, , 2022, but also other parts of Gondwana (S-America: Jasper et al, 2008Jasper et al, , 2011aJasper et al, , b, c, 2013Degani-Schmidt et al, 2015;Manfroi et al, 2015;Kauffmann et al, 2016;Benício et al, 2019;Kubik et al, 2020;Jordan: Uhl et al, 2007;Antarctica: Holdgate et al, 2005;Slater et al, 2015;Africa: Glasspool, 2003;Jasper et al, 2013;Australia: Mays & McLoughlin 2022), as well as Euramerica (e.g. Uhl & Kerp, 2003;Uhl et al, 2004).…”

Section: Densipollenites Indicus and Potonieisporites Novicusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Palaeoenvironmental and stratigraphical implications of the palynoflora and macro–charcoal from the early Permian of the Chuperbhita Coalfield, Rajmahal Basin, Jharkhand, India

Murthy,

Agnihotri,

Uhl

et al. 2023

JPS

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Palynological and macro–charcoal studies have been carried out on fossiliferous material from the upper seam of the Barakar Formation of Simlong Open Cast Mine (OCM), Chuperbhita Coalfield, India. The palynoassemblage exhibits a dominance of non– striate bisaccate pollen, mainly Scheuringipollenites, and a subdominance of striate bisaccate pollen assignable to Faunipollenites, suggesting an early Permian age (Artinskian). The presence of macro–charcoal indicates the occurrence of wildfire at the time of deposition of the Barakar Formation at Simlong OCM. The composition of the palynological assemblage, as well as anatomical details of the macro–charcoal, indicate that the source vegetation was dominated by gymnosperms. The non–abraded edges of many charcoal fragments suggest that the charcoal has not been transported over a long distance, indicating local to regional fires. Together with previous records of macro–charcoal, and the high inertinite contents of many Permian coals from India, this study further supports the widespread occurrence of palaeo–wildfires as frequent sources of disturbance in continental ecosystems in this part of Gondwana during the early Permian.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Densipollenites Indicus and Potonieisporites Novicusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palaeoenvironmental and stratigraphical implications of the palynoflora and macro–charcoal from the early Permian of the Chuperbhita Coalfield, Rajmahal Basin, Jharkhand, India

Murthy,

Agnihotri,

Uhl

et al. 2023

JPS

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“…Jasper et al, 2008, 2011a, Degani-Schmidt et al, 2015Manfroi et al 2015b;Kauffmann et al, 2016;Benício et al, 2019a;Kubik et al, 2020), India (e.g. Jasper et al, 2012Jasper et al, , 2013Jasper et al, , 2016aJasper et al, , b, 2017Murthy et al, 2021); South Africa (e.g. Glasspool, 2000Glasspool, , 2003a and Antarctica (e.g.…”

Section: Permianmentioning

confidence: 99%

Palaeozoic and Mesozoic palaeo–wildfires: An overview on advances in the 21st Century

Jasper

Pozzebon–Silva

Carniere

et al. 2021

JPS

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Fire is a major driver for the evolution of biodiversity throughout the Phanerozoic and occurs in continental palaeoenvironments since the advent of the first land plants in the Silurian. The detection of palaeo–wildfire events can be based on different proxies, and charcoal is widely accepted as the most reliable evidence for such events in sedimentary layers. Although the identification of sedimentary charcoal as the product of incomplete combustion was the subject of controversial scientific discussions, palaeobotanical data can be used to confirm the pyrogenic origin of such material. In an overview on Palaeozoic and Mesozoic charcoal remains, differences in the number of published records can be detected for individual periods; including phases with both, lower (Silurian, Triassic, Jurassic) and higher (Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Cretaceous) numbers of published evidences for palaeo–wildfires. With the aim to discuss selected advances in palaeo–wildfire studies since the beginning of the 21st Century, we present an overview on the published occurrences of charcoal for an interval from the Silurian up to the Cretaceous. It was possible to confirm that a lack of detailed palaeobotanical data on the subject is detected in some intervals and regions, despite the high potential of occurrences detected in form of pyrogenic inertinites by coal petrographic studies. Although such temporal and regional gaps can be explained by taphonomic and palaeoenvironmental biases, it also indicates the scientific potential of future studies in diverse palaeogeographical and temporal settings.

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“…However, wildfires were frequent and widespread throughout the late Permian (Lopingian Epoch; 259.51-251.9 Ma), the interval leading up to the EPE, without any accompanying major biodiversity loss or discernible ecosystem disruption. Evidence for global fire-prone conditions during the Lopingian has grown steadily in the last 20 years, such as abundant macroscopic charcoal (or macro-charcoal) in Antarctica (Tewari et al 2015), Australia (Glasspool 2000;McLoughlin et al 2019), Europe (Uhl and Kerp 2003;Uhl et al 2012;Kustatscher et al 2017), Brazil (Kauffmann et al 2016), China (Yan et al 2019;Xiao et al 2020), Jordan (Uhl et al 2007), and south Asia (Jasper et al 2012(Jasper et al , 2016a(Jasper et al , 2016bMahesh et al 2015;Shivanna et al 2017). Similarly, abundance trends of 'inertinite' (see Materials and Methods) have indicated significant fluctuations in wildfire activity during the Lopingian, but upon a background of relatively high fire activity (Diessel 2010;Glasspool and Scott 2010;Glasspool et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

End-Permian Burnout: The Role of Permian–triassic Wildfires in Extinction, Carbon Cycling, and Environmental Change in Eastern Gondwana

Mays

McLoughlin

2022

Palaios

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Wildfire has been implicated as a potential driver of deforestation and continental biodiversity loss during the end-Permian extinction event (EPE; ∼ 252 Ma). However, it cannot be established whether wildfire activity was anomalous during the EPE without valid pre- and post-EPE baselines. Here, we assess the changes in wildfire activity in the high-latitude lowlands of eastern Gondwana by presenting new long-term, quantitative late Permian (Lopingian) to Early Triassic records of dispersed fossil charcoal and inertinite from sediments of the Sydney Basin, eastern Australia. We also document little-transported fossil charcoal occurrences in middle to late Permian (Guadalupian to Lopingian) permineralized peats of the Lambert Graben, East Antarctica, and Sydney and Bowen basins, eastern Australia, indicating that even vegetation of consistently moist high-latitude settings was prone to regular fire events. Our records show that wildfires were consistently prevalent through the Lopingian, but the EPE demonstrates a clear spike in activity. The relatively low charcoal and inertinite baseline for the Early Triassic is likely due in part to the lower vegetation density, which would have limited fire spread. We review the evidence for middle Permian to Lower Triassic charcoal in the geosphere, and the impacts of wildfires on sedimentation processes and the evolution of landscapes. Moreover, we assess the evidence of continental extinction drivers during the EPE within eastern Australia, and critically evaluate the role of wildfires as a cause and consequence of ecosystem collapse. The initial intensification of the fire regime during the EPE likely played a role in the initial loss of wetland carbon sinks, and contributed to increased greenhouse gas emissions and land and freshwater ecosystem changes. However, we conclude that elevated wildfire frequency was a short-lived phenomenon; recurrent wildfire events were unlikely to be the direct cause of the subsequent long-term absence of peat-forming wetland vegetation, and the associated ‘coal gap' of the Early Triassic.

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Palaeobotanical evidence of wildfire in the Upper Permian of India: Macroscopic charcoal remains from the Raniganj Formation, Damodar Basin

Cited by 6 publications

References 25 publications

Palaeoenvironmental and stratigraphical implications of the palynoflora and macro–charcoal from the early Permian of the Chuperbhita Coalfield, Rajmahal Basin, Jharkhand, India

Palaeoenvironmental and stratigraphical implications of the palynoflora and macro–charcoal from the early Permian of the Chuperbhita Coalfield, Rajmahal Basin, Jharkhand, India

Palaeozoic and Mesozoic palaeo–wildfires: An overview on advances in the 21st Century

End-Permian Burnout: The Role of Permian–triassic Wildfires in Extinction, Carbon Cycling, and Environmental Change in Eastern Gondwana

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