Phytoliths in woody plants from the Miombo woodlands of Mozambique

Mercader, Julio; Bennett, Tim; Esselmont, Chris; Simpson, Steven; Walde, Dale

doi:10.1093/aob/mcp097

Cited by 135 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…produces tracheids and rugulose spheres of about 20-24 µm diameter and Mammea siamensis tiny spheres of 4 µm diameter. In accordance with our results, MERCADER et al (2009) reported the production of globular psilate phytoliths in leaves, but not in the stems of the Clusiaceae family.…”

Section: B) Scrub Communitysupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Some species were studied and the results are variable. MERCADER et al (2009) observed the presence of globular granulate opal phytoliths in species of the family; and bilobate, polylobate, rondel and elongate phytoliths were observed in Anisotome antípoda, A. latifolia and Stilbocarpa polaris (THORN, 2004). Furthermore, WALLIS (2003) found no opal phytoliths in Trachymene didiscoides and T. oleracea.…”

Section: D) Shrub Vegetation On the Margins Of Maricá Lagoon Communitymentioning

confidence: 97%

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Opal phytolith and isotopic studies of "Restinga" communities of Maricá, Brazil, as a modern reference for paleobiogeoclimatic reconstruction

Santos¹,

Coe

Borrelli

et al. 2015

Braz. j. oceanogr.

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Santos et al.: Opal phytoliths and isotopes Maricá restinga 255Opal phytolith and isotopic studies of "Restinga" communities of Maricá, Brazil, as a modern reference for paleobiogeoclimatic reconstructionThe Maricá restinga, located in the eastern part of the Rio de Janeiro State (Brazil), corresponds to one of the few remaining preserved areas of the state's coastal plain. This paper reports on a study of the Maricá restinga plant communities and also presents an identification of the main plant species present in each community, with the objective of establishing reference collections, by the methods of the proxies opal phytoliths and stable carbon isotopes, for paleoenvironmental reconstructions of this coastal area during the Quaternary. Six plant communities, distributed perpendicularly to the coast line over sandy barriers, lagoonal plain, lagoon margin and weathered basement were identified: halophile-psamophile, scrub, herbaceous swamp, slack, shrubby vegetation and dry forest. In general, the plant species analyzed in each community presented low productivity of opal phytoliths, as only the Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Arecaceae families produce a great amount and diversity of morphotypes of opal phytoliths. The results of the analysis of stable carbon isotopes in sediments indicated a predominance of C3 or a mixture of C3 and C4 plants, presenting a close correlation with the results found in plants collected in each community. In conclusion, it was verified that the carbon isotope analysis associated with that of the opal phytoliths are good proxies for the reconstruction of vegetation in the study area. A Restinga de Maricá, situada na porção leste do estado do Rio de Janeiro (Brasil), corresponde a uma das poucas áreas ainda preservadas na planície litorânea fluminense. Neste trabalho, apresentamos um estudo sobre as comunidades vegetais que compõem a restinga, bem como a identificação das principais espécies presentes em cada uma delas. O objetivo é estabelecer coleções de referência para reconstituições paleoambientais desse litoral durante o Quaternário. Para isso, utilizaram-se como métodos os indicadores fitóli-tos e isótopos estáveis de carbono. Foram identificadas seis comunidades vegetais distribuídas perpendicularmente à linha de costa sobre as barreiras arenosas, planície lagunar, margem lagunar e embasamento alterado: Halófila-psamó-fila, "Scrub", Brejo herbáceo, "Slack", Vegetação arbustiva e Floresta seca. As espécies de plantas analisadas em cada comunidade apresentaram em geral baixa produtividade de fitólitos. Somente as famílias Poaceae, Cyperaceae e Arecaceae produzem fitólitos em grandes quantidades e diversidade de morfotipos. Os resultados das análises de isótopos estáveis de carbono em sedimentos indicaram um predomínio de plantas C3 ou de mistura de plantas C3 e C4, apresentando uma boa correspondência com os resultados encontrados nas plantas coletadas sobre cada uma delas. Como conclusão, verificou-se que os isótopos de carbono associados às análises fitolíticas mostraram-se bons...

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Section: B) Scrub Communitysupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: D) Shrub Vegetation On the Margins Of Maricá Lagoon Communitymentioning

confidence: 97%

Opal phytolith and isotopic studies of "Restinga" communities of Maricá, Brazil, as a modern reference for paleobiogeoclimatic reconstruction

Santos¹,

Coe

Borrelli

et al. 2015

Braz. j. oceanogr.

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“…Phytolith extraction and biogenic silica content (bSi) measurements were accomplished through the dry-ashing technique based on the methodological guidelines published by Albert and Weiner [27] and Mercader et al [28,29]. The ashes were mixed thoroughly, then mounted on light microscope slides in immersion oil and observed with a Zeiss Axioskop 2+ microscope at a magnification of 1000×.…”

Section: Laboratory Procedures and Data Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifiable differences between phytolith assemblages detected at species level: analysis of the leaves of nine Poa species (Poaceae)

et al. 2015

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The taxonomic value of phytolith assemblages and their degree of variability within different species of the same genus is still an undervalued issue in the botanical range of phytolith studies. However the understanding of grass phytolith variance and its implications to plant systematics is doubtless.In the present study phytoliths of the lateral shoots (leaves) of nine, globally distributed Poa species (Pooideae -Poaceae) are described. Phytoliths were recovered from Poa specimens by the dry ashing technique. Altogether 6223 disarticulated phytoliths were counted (approximately 500-700 phytoliths per species) in 54 plant samples, which cover six shoots of nine species. Not only the relative frequency of each morphotype was calculated, but measurements were conducted to determine the biogenic silica content of Poa lateral shoots. A phytolith reference collection for the nine selected species of a worldwide importance was also compiled. The description of the most significant phytolith morphotypes and their taxonomic relationships are given here.Results suggest that the biogenic silica content of the Poa lateral shoots was determined to be relatively high within all nine species. Phytolith assemblage data was subjected to multivariate statistical analyses (e.g., CA and PCA) in order to find differences and similarities among the nine Poa species. Results show that the two closely related Poa of the P. pratensis species group, namely the P. pratensis and P. angustifolia, only slightly differ from the other Poa species if we consider their rondel-trapeziform short cells (SC) phytolith frequencies.

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“…Five shoots of each specimen were compounded and treated as 1 sample. Phytolith extraction from the leaf blades and leaf sheaths was accomplished through dry ashing (Albert and Weiner, 2001) based on Mercader (2009Mercader ( , 2010. The mass of the leaves was weighed before and after drying, then the mass of the ash was weighed before and after adding a hydrochloric (HCl) and nitric acid (HNO 3 ) (1:1) solution Phytoliths (500-600 per specimen) were counted in adjacent but not overlapping lines across the cover slip (22 mm in width and length).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phytolith analysis of Poa pratensis (Poaceae) leaves

Lisztes‐Szabó¹,

Kovács

Pető³

2014

Turk J Bot

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Phytoliths in Poa pratensis L. (Poaceae) leaf blades and sheaths are described in this study. The role of plant opal particlesknown as phytoliths-is considerable in taxonomical studies, and their long-term preservation in sediments makes them a useful tool in the reconstruction of ancient plant communities and plant-human interactions. All together, 2244 phytoliths were counted and analyzed in 25 plant samples (5 shoots of 5 specimens and approximately 500-600 phytoliths per specimen). The biogenic silica content of P. pratensis leaves was determined at 2.61%, and 27 morphotypes have been described using the International Code for Phytolith Nomenclature. Two morphotypes are described for the first time in this study. Long cells (elongate psilate and sinuate morphotypes) and short cells (rondel-trapeziform elongated and rounded morphotypes) are frequently present in this species. Differences in morphotype frequency and significant differences in a few simple morphometric data (length, width, height) of long cells and short cells were found among specimens, which suggests that these features vary depending on environmental factors and the maturity of leaf tissues.

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Phytoliths in woody plants from the Miombo woodlands of Mozambique

Cited by 135 publications

References 43 publications

Opal phytolith and isotopic studies of "Restinga" communities of Maricá, Brazil, as a modern reference for paleobiogeoclimatic reconstruction

Opal phytolith and isotopic studies of "Restinga" communities of Maricá, Brazil, as a modern reference for paleobiogeoclimatic reconstruction

Quantifiable differences between phytolith assemblages detected at species level: analysis of the leaves of nine Poa species (Poaceae)

Phytolith analysis of Poa pratensis (Poaceae) leaves

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