Abstract
Many soils of the highlands of Serra do Mar, as in other mountain ranges, have thick histic horizons that preserve high amounts of carbon. However, the age and constitution of the organic matter of these soils remain doubtful, with possible late Pleistocene or Holocene ages. This study was conducted in three profiles (two in grassland and one in forest) in Serra da Igreja highlands in the state of Paraná. We performed δ13C isotope analysis of organic matter in soil horizons to detect whether C3 or C4 plants dominated the past communities and 14C dating of the humin fraction to obtain the age of the studied horizons. C3 plants seem to have dominated the mountain ridges of Serra da Igreja since at least 3,000 years BP. Even though the Serra da Igreja may represents a landscape of high altitude grasslands in soils containing organic matter from the late Pleistocene, as reported elsewhere in Southern and Southeastern Brazil, our results indicate that the sites studied are at least from the beginning of the Late Holocene, when conditions of high moisture enabled the colonization/recolonization of the Serra da Igreja ridges by C3 plants. This is the period, often reported in the literature, when forests advanced onto grasslands and savannas.
Highlights
Studies on the vegetation and climate changes during the late Quaternary period are essential for understanding the responses of ecosystems to future climate change (Pessenda et al 1996a, Scheel-Ybert et al 2003, Behling 2002). there is increasing knowledge of the subject (Safford 2007), gaps still exist for understanding climate changes in the BrazilianThe relative dominance of C3 plants or C4 plants (Smith and Epstein 1971, Dümig et al 2008) in past plant communities can be adequately studied by stable carbon isotopic composition δ13C of soil organic matter (Boutton et al 1998)
These authors presented an average of 54 ± 3.7 cm depth in 52 sampling points in the same area of this study and are very representative of what is found in these summits, as well as in many other ridges of Serra do Mar
The carbon isotope composition and the radiocarbon analysis of the humin fraction of soil organic matter indicate the dominance of C3 plants since at least 3,000 14C yr BP in the sites studied in the Serra da Igreja
Summary
Studies on the vegetation and climate changes during the late Quaternary period are essential for understanding the responses of ecosystems to future climate change (Pessenda et al 1996a, Scheel-Ybert et al 2003, Behling 2002). there is increasing knowledge of the subject (Safford 2007), gaps still exist for understanding climate changes in the BrazilianThe relative dominance of C3 plants (indicator of forests and cool season grasses, usually from more humid areas) or C4 plants (indicator of tropical grasslands, of warm seasons, aquatic plants) (Smith and Epstein 1971, Dümig et al 2008) in past plant communities can be adequately studied by stable carbon isotopic composition δ13C of soil organic matter (Boutton et al 1998). Studies on the vegetation and climate changes during the late Quaternary period are essential for understanding the responses of ecosystems to future climate change (Pessenda et al 1996a, Scheel-Ybert et al 2003, Behling 2002). There is increasing knowledge of the subject (Safford 2007), gaps still exist for understanding climate changes in the Brazilian. The relative dominance of C3 plants (indicator of forests and cool season grasses, usually from more humid areas) or C4 plants (indicator of tropical grasslands, of warm seasons, aquatic plants) (Smith and Epstein 1971, Dümig et al 2008) in past plant communities can be adequately studied by stable carbon isotopic composition δ13C of soil organic matter (Boutton et al 1998).
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