The life habits and paleoecology of middle Pennsylvanian medullosan pteridosperms based on an in situ assemblage from the Bernice Basin (Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)

Wnuk, Christopher; Pfefferkorn, Hermann W.

doi:10.1016/0034-6667(84)90053-8

Cited by 78 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Based on compression fossils, two growth habits were common (Wnuk and Pfefferkorn, 1984;Pfeff"erkorn et al, 1984), both with somewhat larger dimensions than we estimate from coal-ball specimens. A free-standing form, up to 5 m in height, bore closely spaced fronds on straight trunks.…”

Section: Seed Ferns (Pteridosperms)mentioning

confidence: 53%

“…It also may relate in part to properties intrinsic to these plant groups that predispose them and the litter they produced to fire. MeduUosans in particular bore crowns of large leaves that remained adherent to the stems , and may have formed thickets filled with large amounts of dead, dry foliage (Wnuk and Pfefferkorn, 1984). Furthermore, medullosans were rich in resins, which may have further enhanced their combustibility.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Paleobotanical and paleoecological constraints on models of peat formation in the Late Carboniferous of Euramerica

DiMichele

Phillips

1994

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

276

119

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Section: Seed Ferns (Pteridosperms)mentioning

confidence: 53%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Paleobotanical and paleoecological constraints on models of peat formation in the Late Carboniferous of Euramerica

DiMichele

Phillips

1994

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

276

119

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“…Today, the only plant that may fit in this space is the Costa Rican climbing fern Salpichlaena volubilis, reported to have tracheid diameters in excess of 200 μm and lengths in excess of 20 mm (Veres 1990). It is probable that this area of morphospace is limited to tropical, large-leaved, tracheid-bearing plants that do not rely on conducting cells for structural support (DiMichele et al 2006, Mosbrugger 1990, Wilson et al 2008, Wnuk and Pfefferkorn 1984.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A physiologically explicit morphospace for tracheid-based water transport in modern and extinct seed plants

Wilson¹,

Knoll²

2010

Paleobiology

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“…We have focused on the initial step in fossilization, nevertheless, for two reasons. First, there do exist plant-fossil deposits in which plants are preserved in their initial spatial pattern following abscission and accumulation (e.g., some volcanic deposits [Burnham and Spicer 1986], and some swamp deposits [Wing 1984;Wnuk andPfefferkorn 1984,1987 . Three steps in the process of plant taphonomy.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The reflection of deciduous forest communities in leaf litter: implications for autochthonous litter assemblages from the fossil record

1992

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To assess the degree to which forest litter reflects the source forest, three 1-ha plots of temperate deciduous forest were mapped and litter accumulating in these forests was sampled. Identity, position, and diameter of all stems 2 cm or larger diameter at breast height are known for each forest. Composition of the leaf litter is governed by two key factors: (1) abscised leaves are deposited primarily on the forest floor directly underneath the canopy that produced them, and (2) the leaf mass of a species is highly correlated with its stem cross-sectional area. These factors produce autochthonous litter samples that correspond closely in composition to the forest within a circle of canopy-height radius or less. Even relatively small litter samples (350 leaves) consistently contained all the common species in the local area. However, the rarer tree species were seldom recovered in the litter samples. Correlation coefficients for litter mass and basal area by species are typically over .80.These observations have three important implications for interpreting autochthonous compression-fossil assemblages. First, approximate relative abundances of locally dominant and subdominant forest taxa can be obtained from relatively small samples of autochthonous compression-fossil assemblages. Second, representation of rare forest species, even in large fossil samples, will be fortuitous. For this reason, complete species lists and consistent estimates of richness cannot be derived directly from most existing samples of autochthonous compression-fossil assemblages. Third, the strong tendency for leaves to fall beneath the canopy of the tree that sheds them suggests that properly sampled autochthonous fossil leaf assemblages may yield information on crown size of individual trees and the spatial distribution of individuals and species, aspects of vegetational structure that have been thought accessible only in well-preserved “fossil forests” with standing trunks.

show abstract

The life habits and paleoecology of middle Pennsylvanian medullosan pteridosperms based on an in situ assemblage from the Bernice Basin (Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)

Cited by 78 publications

References 21 publications

Paleobotanical and paleoecological constraints on models of peat formation in the Late Carboniferous of Euramerica

Paleobotanical and paleoecological constraints on models of peat formation in the Late Carboniferous of Euramerica

A physiologically explicit morphospace for tracheid-based water transport in modern and extinct seed plants

The reflection of deciduous forest communities in leaf litter: implications for autochthonous litter assemblages from the fossil record

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