Silica entry and accumulation in standing trees in a hot‐spring environment: cellular pathways, rapid pace and fossilization potential

Abstract

Silicification is the most important process of fossilization resulting in the preservation of internal tissues in plants, thereby providing essential information on the anatomy, life history, and evolution of land plants. However, fundamental knowledge of silica uptake, precipitation, and contribution to in situ plant fossilization is limited. To identify the cellular pathway of aqueous silica and subsequent fluid–wood interaction processes, we investigated upright standing young trees of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) in the hot‐spring environment of Cistern Spring, Yellowstone National Park, USA. Our multi‐method analytical approach using x‐ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and electron probe microanalyses shows that the surficial and internally co‐precipitated silica–halite–gypsum assemblage traces the flow of silica‐rich fluid and documents fluid retention after short‐term hot‐spring water immersion and evaporation. Element distribution maps reveal systematic 2D and 3D differences between silica quantities deposited in earlywood and latewood. The distribution of inorganic impurities in cell walls traces the anatomical structure of the wood and indicates rapid migration of homogeneous fluid into the waterlogged organic substrate. Our results show that the preferential pathway of silica‐rich fluid into the above‐ground wood was through the decorticated periphery which took place during a short‐term flooding, ranging from days to weeks, of hot‐spring fluid. In conclusion, the fluid retention capability in cellular pore space controls the in situ silicification process. The silicification of trees in growth position is a rapid process in which the in vivo transport of silica‐rich fluid upward through the secondary xylem plays an insignificant role.

In-place molecular preservation of cellulose in 5,000-year-old archaeological textiles

“…In the fossil record, cellulose shows limited resilience over long periods of time. It has been found in sufficient quantities to be identified as a biomolecule in only a limited number of fossil plants, apart from when engaged in lignin–cellulose complexes, such as in petrified woods ( 7 – 9 ). The initial steps after burial are critical to lead to exceptional preservation ( 10 ) as, in most sedimentary contexts, degradation of cellulosic remains will occur in a few weeks only ( 11 ).…”

The 2018 reawakening and eruption dynamics of Steamboat Geyser, the world’s tallest active geyser

“…The pool was full of gray, boiling water in the early 1950s (18). Sometime between the late 1950s and mid-1960s, it became a brilliant turquoise color and discharged enough water downslope to kill nearby trees (2,21). In the summer of 1966, Cistern's water level began draining several meters after every major eruption of Steamboat (2).…”

Plant Taphonomy and Paleoenvironment of the Bahía Laura Complex, Middle–Late Jurassic, at the Laguna Flecha Negra Locality (Santa Cruz Province, Argentina)

“…These type of fossil assemblages allow studies of paleoecological parameters such as forest layers, density and age structure (e.g., DiMichele et al, 2006DiMichele et al, , 2007DiMichele et al, , 2009Opluštil et al, 2009;Sagasti, 2018). Permineralization of erect trees has been recorded mostly in dryland settings (Mencl et al, 2009), in regions with abundant volcanic sediment input (Matysová et al, 2010), and in regions with carbonate or silica availability (e.g., Ballhaus et al, 2012;Dawson, 1877;DiMichele & Falcon-Lang, 2011;Liesegang & Gee, 2020;Walton, 1935;Wnuk & Pfefferkorn, 1984). Different kinds of anatomy of the entombed trees have different preservational potentials and are most likely to appear in distinct physical environmental settings (DiMichele & Falcon-Lang, 2011).…”