The paleoecological and paleoenvironmental importance of root traces: Plant distribution and topographic significance of root patterns in Upper Cretaceous paleosols

Nascimento, Diego Luciano do; Batezelli, Alessandro; Ladeira, Francisco Sérgio Bernardes

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2018.09.040

Cited by 37 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…During the decay of fine roots, organic matter as well as CO 2 gas from organic matter degradation leads to a pH decrease in the rhizosphere. Under such acidic conditions, dissolution and precipitation of calcium carbonate from sediment weathering would take place within or around the decaying roots, resulting in the mineralization and petrification of the root (e.g., Nascimento et al, 2019). Calcification of the fine roots during these two steps allows at least partial preservation of the cell wall structure (Figures 1 and 2) and of the organic tissues (Figures 4 and 5; Gocke et al, 2010; Huguet et al, 2012).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Under such acidic conditions, dissolution and precipitation of calcium carbonate from sediment weathering would take place within or around the decaying roots, resulting in the mineralization and petrification of the root (e.g. Nascimento et al, 2019). Calcification of the fine roots during these two steps allows at least partial preservation of the cell wall structure (Figs.…”

Section: Proposed Formation Mechanism Of Calcified Rootsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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: 99%

Section: Proposed Formation Mechanism Of Calcified Rootsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

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“…Apart from the morphology, these Fe-oxide structures are barren of any strict evidence of a biogenic origin. The known traits concerning the mode of preservation of roots (Klappa, 1980;Jaillard et al, 1991;Hasiotis, 2002;Kraus and Hasiotis, 2006;Genise et al, 2004;Gregory et al, 2004;Nascimento et al, 2019) is not fulfilled by those structures. Despite the good preservation of such soft sediments (Buatois and Mángano, 2004), no evident roots, moulds or casts are preserved, although they are evident in other strata, above and below.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The power of the physical fabric of mudstone in creating trace fossil like redoximorphic features, case study from the late Eocene, Sirt Basin

Abouessa¹,

Pelletier

2020

Journal of African Earth Sciences

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This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

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“…Even though most rhizoliths do not retain the morphological structures of their source plants (Sarjeant, 1975), they can still be used to make some qualitative and quantitative inferences about the densities, sizes and types of former vegetation ecosystem (Pfefferkorn and Fuchs, 1991;Rinehart et al, 2015). Moreover, rhizoliths and the related features are also indicators of paleosols and hence of subaerial vadose environments in ancient successions and are widely used as a tool for paleoenvironmental reconstructions (e.g., Klappa, 1980;Golubtsov et al, 2019;Nascimento et al, 2019;Sun et al, 2019a). Yet, the paleoecological and paleoenvironmental studies based on rhizoliths often came across difficulties in interpretation of 14 C ages and the stable isotope composition of carbonate cement (Sun et al, 2019).…”

Section: / 28mentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Sun

Huguet

Zamanian

2021

CATENA

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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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The paleoecological and paleoenvironmental importance of root traces: Plant distribution and topographic significance of root patterns in Upper Cretaceous paleosols

Cited by 37 publications

References 54 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

The power of the physical fabric of mudstone in creating trace fossil like redoximorphic features, case study from the late Eocene, Sirt Basin

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

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