Radiocarbon age discrepancies between the carbonate cement and the root relics of rhizoliths from the Badain Jaran and the Tengeri deserts, Northwest China

Sun, Qingfeng; Hong, Wang; Zamanian, Kazem

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2019.04.011

Cited by 18 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…A time lag of 2 kyrs between sediment deposition and its penetration by roots was also observed in a Siberian loess‐like sediment (Zech et al, 2007). Similarly, in dune sands (NW China), rhizoliths were of younger age than surrounding soil (Sun et al, 2019b). Even small calcified root cells can be formed much later than surrounding sediment (>10 kyrs for a section close to Nussloch; Pustovoytov and Terhorst, 2004).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Multiple stages of plant root calcification deciphered by chemical and micromorphological analyses

et al. 2020

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Rhizoliths, that is, roots fossilized by secondary carbonates, have been known for ages and are increasingly used for paleoenvironmental reconstructions. However, knowledge about their formation mechanisms remains limited. This study reports the mineralogical and chemical characterization of rhizoliths at different stages of mineralization and fossilization in the Late Pleistocene loess–paleosol sequence of Nussloch (SW Germany). Scanning electron microscopy coupled with elemental mapping and 13C solid‐state nuclear magnetic resonance were used to concomitantly characterize the mineral and organic matter of the rhizoliths. These joint analyses showed for the first time that large rhizoliths are not necessarily remains of single large roots but consist of numerous microrhizoliths as remains of fine roots, formed mainly by calcium carbonates with only low amounts of Mg and Si. They further revealed that the precipitation of secondary carbonates occurs not only around, but also within the plant root and that fossilization leads to the selective preservation of recalcitrant root biopolymers—lignin and suberin. The precipitation of secondary carbonates was observed to occur first around fine roots, the epidermis acting as a first barrier, and then within the root, within the cortex cells, and even sometimes around the phloem and within the xylem. This study suggests that the calcification of plant roots starts during the lifetime of the plant and continues after its death. This has to be systematically investigated to understand the stratigraphic context before using (micro)rhizoliths for paleoenvironmental reconstructions in terrestrial sediments.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Multiple stages of plant root calcification deciphered by chemical and micromorphological analyses

et al. 2020

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“…This is mostly due to the inclusion of lithogenic carbonates from the enclosing deposits and recrystallization of deposited carbonates as rhizolith cement (e.g. Gocke et al, 2011;Sun et al, 2019b;Golubtsov et al, 2019). Furthermore, the formation mechanisms of rhizoliths in sedimentary environment, especially deserts, still remain highly uncertain (Sun et al, 2019a).…”

Section: / 28mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Carbonate rhizoliths (Sun et al, 2019b) or carbonate root tubes (Li et al, 2017) have been previously investigated in the dunes of the deserts of the Alashan Plateau, especially in the Badain Jaran Desert, Northwest China, (Gao et al, 1993;Yang, 2000;Yang et al, 2003;Chen et al, 2004;Li et al, 2015a, b;Li et al, 2017;Zhu et al, 2019; 4 / 28 Sun et al, 2019b). However, it is still unclear whether the rhizolith records can be effectively used to reconstruct the paleovegetation.…”

Section: / 28mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much remains unknown about the impact of fossilization processes, even though these may introduce biases into palaeobiological interpretations. Systemic studies of rhizolith features are still scarce and rudimentary in this area (Li et al, 2017;Sun et al, 2019b), despite usually large numbers of rhizoliths can be found, especially, on a vast area, which provides good data for rhizoliths study. Most importantly and firstly, rhizoliths study relies on the field description of fossil morphologies to understand the evolutionary history of plant and the fossilization mechanism.…”

Section: / 28mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We further examined the macro-and micromorphological characteristics of the cementing minerals of the collected rhizoliths from the desert in laboratory. Altogether, these characterizations aim to achieve a better understanding of rhizoliths formation mechanisms and help in ascertaining the paleoenvironmental interpretations (Li et al, 2015a, b;Li et al, 2017 ;Zhu et al, 2019) and 14 C dating previously made by using these objects (Sun et al, 2019b) .…”

Section: / 28mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Outcrop distribution and formation of carbonate rhizoliths in Badain Jaran Desert, NW China

Sun

Huguet

Zamanian

2021

CATENA

Self Cite

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Carbonate rhizoliths and related features are environmental and ecological indicators of not only palaeosols, but also modern soils. They designate subaerial vadose and pedogenic diagenesis environments. Rhizoliths are commonly used as a tool for paleoenvironmental reconstructions, but uncertainty remains regarding their formation mechanisms. Field characteristics of the dune rhizoliths in the Badain Jaran Desert, NW China were analyzed to investigate formation mechanisms and interpret paleoenvironmental significance. Systematic field sampling and intensive examination showed that the tube-like rhizoliths without morphological structures of plant roots have been placed at the dune soil surface following erosion and weathering but the underground rhizoliths are still connected to the dead Artemisia roots.Rhizoliths occurred only along the windward, long gentle slopes of mega-dunes. Their distribution patterns of both types in connection with plant distribution and landscapes have been studied. Their petrological and mineralogical characters were performed in detail using microscopic and spectroscopic techniques (cathodoluminescence, scanning electronic microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) in laboratory. Altogether, field and laboratory analyses showed that rhizolith cement is calcium carbonate and despite the high porosity of soil and high aridness of climate, *Revision, Unmarked Click here to download Revision, Unmarked: Rhizoliths outcrops of Badain Jaran Desert 2020 09 21 Revision Unmarked.doc 2 soil moisture plays an important role in sustaining Artemisia growth and rhizolith formation. Desert rhizoliths can therefore be used as a proxy to infer local soil moisture and plant communities. Moreover, as soil moisture content is related to climate and landscape position, rhizoliths could indirectly be indicators of aboveground environmental conditions, e.g. annual precipitation or humidity.

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Where did the water come from? Wetlands and shallow lakes in semi‐arid dunefields from South America during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition

Tripaldi,

Ozán,

Heider

et al. 2024

J Quaternary Science

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Stabilized and active dunes and sand sheet deposits abound in a small lake‐dotted semi‐arid region of the Western Pampean Dunefield, Argentina. Here, a multi‐scale and multi‐proxy study of three sites, across a hydrologic gradient from lakes to a dryland with groundwater levels at more than 25 m depth, analyzes calcareous and ferruginous rhizoliths, calcareous crusts, hypocoatings, pedogenic carbonate and amorphous Mn‐oxide precipitates within blowout dunes. These palustrine‐related features indicate significantly wetter conditions that allowed the development of shallow lakes and expanding wetlands during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition, limited by associated optically stimulated luminescence ages between ca. 14.7 and 11.6 ka. These wetter conditions, also identified in other nearby proxy records, may be associated with a strengthened South American Monsoon System, potentially during the Younger Dryas Chronozone, though other geological, ecological and climatic forcings cannot be ruled out with available data. Such a scenario lacks a modern analogue, since current hydrologic excess, evidenced in the formation of lakes and new rivers, is not observed in the localities which record paleolakes. This study underlines the variable conditions for pronounced hydrologic excess in semi‐arid eolian environments in western Argentina with complex ecological, anthropogenic and climatic linkages.

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Radiocarbon age discrepancies between the carbonate cement and the root relics of rhizoliths from the Badain Jaran and the Tengeri deserts, Northwest China

Cited by 18 publications

References 50 publications

Multiple stages of plant root calcification deciphered by chemical and micromorphological analyses

Multiple stages of plant root calcification deciphered by chemical and micromorphological analyses

Outcrop distribution and formation of carbonate rhizoliths in Badain Jaran Desert, NW China

Where did the water come from? Wetlands and shallow lakes in semi‐arid dunefields from South America during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition

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