Burial Treatments Research Articles

Germination pattern of Robinia pseudoacacia seeds after a winter burial treatment

Germination pattern of Robinia pseudoacacia seeds after a winter burial treatment

Adventitious Root Production and Plastic Resource Allocation to Biomass Determine Burial Tolerance in Woody Plants from Central Canadian Coastal Dunes

Burial is a recurrent stress imposed upon plants of coastal dunes. Woody plants are buried on open coastal dunes and in forested areas behind active blowouts; however, little is known about the burial responses and adaptive traits of these species. The objectives of this study were: (a) to determine the growth and morphological responses to burial in sand of seven woody plant species native to central Canadian coastal dunes; and (b) to identify traits that determine burial tolerance in these species. Field experiments were conducted to determine the responses of each species to burial. Saplings were exposed to burial treatments of 0, 10, 25, 50 and 75 % of their height. Burial responses were evaluated based on regressions of total biomass, height, adventitious root production and percentage allocation to shoot, root and adventitious root biomass on percentage burial. Pinus strobus and Picea glauca lacked burial tolerance. In response to the burial gradient, these species showed a strong linear decline in total biomass, minimal adventitious root production that peaked at moderate levels (25-50 % burial) and no change in allocation to shoots vs. roots. The tolerant species Juniperus virginiana, Thuja occidentalis and Picea mariana showed a quadratic response to burial, with little change in biomass up to 50 % burial, but a large decline at 75 %. These species produced abundant adventitious roots up to 50 % burial, but did not alter allocation patterns over the range of burial levels. Populus balsamifera and Salix cordata were stimulated by burial. These species showed linear increases in biomass with increasing burial, produced copious adventitious roots across the gradient and showed a clear shift in allocation to vertical shoot growth and adventitious root production at the expense of the original roots under high burial conditions. Adventitious root production and plastic resource allocation to biomass are adaptive traits of coastal dune woody plants in central Canada, and provide a basis for assessing burial tolerance in woody plants on coastal dunes throughout the world.

An Analysis of Human Skeletal Remains from two Middle Bronze Age Tombs from Jericho

Hundreds of tombs have been excavated at Jericho yet publications of the osteological findings remain minimal. This paper presents the results of osteological analyses of two Middle Bronze Age tomb groups from Jericho currently curated by the Nicholson Museum, University of Sydney. Following a brief description of the burial practices implemented during the Middle Bronze age at Jericho, the excavation and subsequent curation of the human remains are outlined. The impact of burial practices and post-excavation treatment of the remains on skeletal preservation is discussed. While assessment of the remains is limited due to relatively poor preservation, evidence of joint disease, neoplastic disease and oral pathologies are noted. The findings augment our current understanding of people's health in the past at Jericho.

Determination of warfare and interpersonal conflict in the protohistoric period: a case study from Mississippi

Analysis of a bundle burial of a young male recovered from 22OK905, a late prehistoric/protohistoric site located near Starkville, Mississippi, is discussed. AMS dating of the burial places it between AD 1640 and AD 1814, a time when Native American and European conflicts are well documented. One interesting finding is the presence of cut marks on the frontal bone of this individual. These marks were determined to be the result of scalping rather than defleshing marks associated with secondary burial treatment. Comparisons of bone element frequency among several bundle burials suggest that this individual died away from his village and the body was later collected for burial. A second study indicates that a stone tool may have been used to scalp the victim. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Polydactyly in the prehistoric American Southwest

General surveys of skeletal collections from Arizona for evidence of trauma and pathology led to the identification of polydactyly in two subadults. Polydactyly is a congenital condition characterised by the presence of extra digits on the hands or feet. Both affected subadults exhibit a sixth digit in the form of a branching fifth metatarsal. One of the affected individuals is an infant from the Tapia del Cerrito site exhibiting Y-shaped fifth metatarsals indicative of postaxial type A polydactyly. The second individual is a juvenile from the Nuvakwewtaqa (Chavez Pass Ruin) site exhibiting a left fifth metatarsal with a lateral branch, also diagnosed as postaxial type A polydactyly. These two cases appear to be the first examples of polydactyly from archaeological contexts identified among subadults, and bring the total number of known cases from the American Southwest to six. Discovery of so many examples of this relatively rare condition amongst the Puebloan people of the Southwest adds to the evidence that, rather than simply being an artistic motif, rock art depictions featuring hands and feet with six digits were probably inspired by observation of the condition amongst living people. Furthermore, burial treatment of the Tapia del Cerrito infant suggests that polydactyly may have conferred a special status on the bearer. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ecophysiological response of dune species to experimental burial under field and controlled conditions

Field, greenhouse, and growth chamber experiments were conducted to determine the effects of different burial treatments on photosynthesis (carbon dioxide exchange rate), chlorophyll-a fluorescence, leaf area, biomass, leaf thickness, total chlorophyll content and chlorophyll a/b ratio of ten sand dune species: Agropyron psammophilum, Cakile edentula, Cirsium pitcheri, Corispermum hyssopifolium, Elymus canadensis, Oenothera biennis, Panicum virgatum, Strophostyles helvola, Tusilago farfara, and Xanthium strumarium. Although there were significant differences between species, all of them exhibited stimulation in growth following burial in sand. Generally, buried plants of these species showed an increase in biomass, photosynthetic efficiency, and chlorophyll-a fluorescence because of higher energy content in their roots, rhizomes, and underground stems. The main reasons for the stimulation in growth were an increase in leaf area, leaf thickness, and root biomass. The total chlorophyll content of leaves of buried plants of A. psammophilum, E. canadensis, and P. virgatum was higher than controls, but there were no significant differences for Cirsium pitcheri, O. biennis, and S. helvola. The similarities and differences exhibited by the test species in their responses to burial would be ecologically adaptive to survive the harsh environmental conditions of foredunes. All species showed a clear compensatory response following recovery from the burial episode and surpassed control by enhancing the vital physiological, morphological and growth functions.

Photosynthetic Responses of Plant Communities to Sand Burial on the Machair Dune Systems of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland

The effects of both short-term (2 weeks) and long-term (6 weeks) burial on the photosynthetic efficiency of four typical plant sub-communities of the machair sand dunes of the Outer Hebrides are described. Previous studies have examined the photosynthetic responses on individual species rather than the response at the community level. Three replicate turves from four different sub-community types (foredune grassland, dune slack, three-year fallow and unploughed grassland) were subjected to short- and long-term burial treatments after acclimatisation in an unheated greenhouse for approximately 10 weeks. Three replicate control turves from each sub-community were left unburied. After treatment, photosynthetic rate was measured at 16-20 h and 40-44 h after re-exposure, using an infra-red gas analyser, with standardization by total leaf area for each turf. Effects of sub-community type, burial duration and time since re-exposure were analysed by 3-factor split-plot analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures for time since re-exposure in the subplots. Buried turves were characterized by a low dark respiration rate, which may represent a maintenance response to burial. After removal of sand, each machair sub-community showed some capacity for an elastic photosynthetic response. There were no differences between the effects of short- and long-term burial on the photosynthetic efficiency of machair vegetation, although turves buried for 6 weeks generally attained photosynthetic rates approaching those of control rates sooner than turves buried for 2 weeks. Photosynthetic responses to burial varied between sub-communities, with the slack turves exhibiting the poorest capacity for recovery within the investigated 44-h period. In the machair environment, the ability to maintain photosynthetic equipment whilst buried, and the ability to bring about a relatively rapid reinstatement of photosynthetic mechanisms on emergence or exposure, is an important adaptation for survival. Survival is closely related to the ability of a plant to replenish carbohydrate reserves before the next burial event.

Synergistic effect of combining UV-sunlight–soil burial treatment on the biodegradation rate of LDPE/starch blends

The present work has focused on the possibility of accelerating the biodegradation process of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) by mixing it with starch and exposing the obtained blend to the effect of UV radiation and/or soil burial treatments. Comparable studies between the properties of untreated LDPE/starch blends and those exposed to UV irradiation and soil burial treatment were investigated. In reference to the mechanical properties of untreated blends. The tensile strength of the blends exposed to UV irradiation-soil burial treatments was reduced by 20–66%, meanwhile, the tensile strength of the blends exposed only to soil burial treatment reduced by 10–26% from the initial value according to the starch content in the blend. The changes in the thermal, structural, and morphological properties of the blends due to the photo-irradiation and/or microbial treatments were determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The obtained results showed that there is a synergistic effect on the LDPE/starch biodegradation process when the blends exposed to UV-sunlight and followed by soil buried treatment. This means that photo-radiation induced oxidation reaction enhanced and accelerated the biodegradability rate of LDPE/starch blends by creating oxidized LDPE/starch that is more susceptible to biotic reactions. The results suggested that it is possible to replace non-degradable polyethylene polymer by biodegradable one for controlling the lifetime of its waste.

Effect of temperature and state of hydration on rate of imbibition in soft seeds of yellow serradella

Seeds were removed by hand from pods of yellow serradella (Ornithopus compressus L.) cvv. Santorini and Charano and accession GRC5045-2-2 that were taken from the field on 26 March after burial treatment to initiate seed softening. Times taken for soft seeds to imbibe were determined at constant temperatures of 8�, 20�, and 30�C. Rates of moisture uptake and loss were measured in seeds held in a moist (76% RH) or dry (over sulfuric acid) atmosphere and the effects of hydration and dehydration on subsequent imbibition times determined at 20�C.Temperature had negligible effect on imbibition times in GRC5045-2-2, in which nearly all soft seeds imbibed within 24 h of wetting. Imbibition times in individual seeds of both Charano and Santorini varied from a few days to more than 200 days and were markedly reduced by increasing temperatures. Times taken to approach constant weight in the moist atmosphere were approximately 75, 165, and 430 days in GRC5045-2-2, Charano, and Santorini, respectively. By contrast the rate of moisture loss in the dry atmosphere was similar in all lines. Imbibition times in GRC5045-2-2 were little affected by state of hydration, but in both Santorini and Charano, imbibition was delayed by dehydration and accelerated by hydration.It is proposed that slow imbibition is attributable to the presence of a minute opening in the seed at an as yet unidentified site (possibly the micropyle or hilum) that restricts moisture uptake until a threshold is reached when seeds in contact with water imbibe rapidly. It is hypothesised that the moisture threshold coincides with the build up of sufficient moisture in tissues associated with the underside of the lens, to cause its rupture, thereby allowing rapid uptake of free water.

Murder or mortuary behaviour? An Iron Age enigma from Northeast Thailand

AbstractDuring the excavation of the Iron Age site of Noen U‐Loke, in the Mun River Valley, northeast Thailand, in 1998 an unusual case of possible fatal cranial trauma in an elderly woman was recovered. Her skull was cleaved across the centre from side to side. The woman was buried with her head inside a ceramic pot, which is unusual for the site, but with jewellery similar to that in other burials. She was interred in a large cluster of graves, with a high proportion of infants and children. Her burial treatment suggests that she was not being treated punitively. The position of the mandible shows that the cleavage is not a postmortem artifact but it is not possible to determine the reason for it or whether it was the cause of her death or occurred immediately afterward. It is an unusual and intriguing enigma. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mortality and productivity of eelgrass Zostera marina under conditions of experimental burial with two sediment types

Mortality and productivity of Zostera marina L. were assessed to examine the effects of experimental burial using 2 types of sediment: (1) sand (6 and 0.2% silt-clay and organic matter con- tent, respectively); and (2) silt (27 and 3.3% silt-clay and organic matter content, respectively). Z. marina was buried to 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of its average aboveground height (16 cm) in an exist- ing eelgrass bed using 2 types of sediment characterized as either silty or sandy. Increasing percent- ages of plant burial significantly increased mortality and decreased productivity. Survival and pro- ductivity of eelgrass were substantially reduced when only 25% of the plant height was buried. Plants buried 75% or more of their height were characterized by survival and productivity measures of 0. No statistically significant differences in plant mortality or productivity were found between the 2 sediment types in this experiment. Changes in morphology of the plants were detected in measures of leaf length and surface area in a short duration (12 d) trial of the experiment, apparently in response to senescence, but etiolation was not observed. Results of this experiment indicate Z. marina can only tolerate rapid sedimentation events that cover less than half of its photosynthetic surfaces. Furthermore, the lowest levels of burial treatments (25% of plant height) resulted in mor- tality greater than 50%, indicating that even this small level of rapid sedimentation is significantly detrimental to Z. marina.

Burial disturbance leads to facilitation among coastal dune plants

There is growing evidence that interactions among plants can be facilitative as well as competitive, but knowledge of how disturbances influence these interactions and how they vary with species diversity is lacking. We manipulated plant density, species diversity (richness), and a burial disturbance in a controlled, complete factorial experiment to test theories about the relationships among species interactions, disturbance, and richness. The hypotheses tested were 1) burial disturbance reduces plant performance at all levels of density and richness, 2) burial disturbance can cause net plant interactions to become more facilitative, and 3) facilitation increases with species richness. Burial decreased plant survival by 60% and biomass by 50%, supporting the hypothesis that burial reduces plant performance. In the control (unburied) treatment, there was no difference in proportion survival or per plant biomass between low and high density plots, meaning that neither competition nor facilitation was detected. In the buried treatment, however, high density plots had significantly greater survival and greater per plant biomass than the low density plots, indicating net facilitative interactions. Thus facilitation occurred in the buried treatment and not in the unburied control plots, supporting the hypothesis that facilitation increases with increasing disturbance severity. The hypothesis that facilitation increases with increasing species richness was not supported. Richness did not affect survival or biomass, and there was no richness by burial treatment interaction, indicating that richness did not influence the response of the community to burial. The influence of the disturbance on plant interactions was thus consistent across levels of richness, increasing the generality of the relationship between disturbance and facilitation.

Influence of nematophagous fungi, earthworms and dung burial on development of the free-living stages of Ostertagia ( Teladorsagia) circumcincta in New Zealand

Biological options for nematode parasite control are being sought, as the long-term efficacy of conventional anthelmintics comes increasingly under threat from drug-resistant parasites. Three biological methods with the potential to reduce pasture contamination by parasitic nematode larvae were examined: (a) killing of larvae developing in dung by nematophagous fungi; (b) removal of dung through earthworm ingestion; (c) burial of dung in soil as might occur through the action of dung beetles. Field trials with the test bio-control agents were carried out in autumn and spring by adding dung from sheep infected with Ostertagia ( Teladorsagia) circumcincta to pots of ryegrass/white clover. The factorial treatment structure included five fungal treatments (individual applications of Duddingtonia flagrans, Monacrosporium gephyropagum and Harposporium helicoides, a combination of all the three fungi together and an untreated control), two dung burial treatments (dung buried or deposited on the soil surface) and two earthworm treatments (earthworms present or absent). D. flagrans and H. helicoides, individually or in combination, reduced recovery of infective stage larvae in experiment 1, while only H. helicoides reduced recovery in experiment 2. In both the experiments, dung burial increased the total number of larvae recovered, while the number of infective larvae were reduced by the action of earthworms. Increased recovery following burial, along with the fact that larvae moved rapidly from soil onto herbage, suggests that soil may provide a protective reservoir for infective larvae infesting herbage.

The response ofPuccinellia maritimato burial: A key to understanding its role in salt‐marsh dynamics?

Abstract.The plant and sediment dynamics in salt marshes are strongly interrelated, but few data are available to document their interaction.Puccinellia maritimais a perennial grass that occurs widely in salt marshes and this study examines its role in the stabilization or trapping of sediment in the pioneer zone and its response to burial, a characteristic phenomenon in accreting salt marshes.Puccinellianot only appears to limit erosion but also to significantly enhance accretion. The functional role of this species is largely dependent on the local disturbance regime. The response ofPuccinelliato burial was studied in a series of burial treatments. Growth performance ofPuccinelliawas stimulated by burial of 4 mm sediment and reduced by burial of 8 mm/month. Burial under 12 mm of sediment led to high mortality of up to 97%. Response was determined by the instantaneous thickness of sediment rather than by the total quantity. Morphological response to burial consisted mainly of stem elongation. Plants collected from accretion zones in the field also produced tillers with adventitious roots at successive soil layers. The range of burial tolerances found forPuccinelliafits well with its occurrence in locations with up to 8 mm sediment accretion per tidal cycle, a common situation in the salt marsh studied.

Responses of dune mosses to experimental burial by sand under natural and greenhouse conditions

Sand movement is a predominant feature of mobile coastal and lake-shoreline sand dunes. Plants growing in these environments are able to withstand and survive periods of burial by sand. Although mosses are important dune stabilizers in temperate dunes, there are few studies focused on their response to burial by sand. In this study we examined the effects of burial by sand on 11 moss species that grow naturally on Lake Huron sand dunes and occur in a gradient of habitats from the foredunes along the shore to forested areas. Artificial burial treatments (sand depth of 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7 cm) were imposed under greenhouse and field conditions. We measured final plant cover and calculated the speed of emergence and an interpretive index (tolerance index) to compare burial responses among species by calculating a burial ratio which standardized the initial size of each species. In the greenhouse, Ceratodon purpureus and Ditrichum flexicaule recorded the highest mean speeds of emergence and Dicranum scoparium, Plagiothecium laetum, Dicranum flagellare and Brachythecium sp. 1 the lowest. In the field the trends were similar although the speed of emergence was much slower. Three types of response to burial were evident in plant cover: neutral, inhibition and stimulation. Although all eleven studied species were able to emerge from the different depths of burial, we observed that species colonizing areas with high sand mobility and deposition (C. purpureus and D. flexicaule) were the most tolerant and emerged from depths of up to 35 times their height. Species growing inland, at the base of trees (Dicranum scoparium, Brachythecium sp. 2, Plagiomnium cuspidatum and Dicranum flagellare) showed the least tolerance of burial.

Environmental Control of Drilling Mud Discharge Through Dewatering In Cold Weather Climates: Effect of Ambient Temperature

Abstract This paper presents results of an experimental study into the effect of drilling mud temperature upon dewatering performance. Three temperature ranges were considered: from flowline temperature to room temperature, from room temperature to freezing point, and the freeze -20 ° C (-4 ° F) thaw 12 ° C (54 ° F) cycle. The tested drilling fluids included unweighted and weighted fresh water muds and a weighted salt water mud. A sealed laboratory batch reactor was used in the experiments to prevent rapid vapourization of separated water at temperatures above 60 ° C (140 °F). Also, ice or ice-salt baths were utilized for deep freezing. The dewaterability (net water removal) was measured with a bench-top plate press under constant expression pressure 207 kPa (30 psi). The freeze/thaw treatment greatly enhanced dewaterability by releasing 34 – 39% by volume of the mud water. Mechanical dewatering followed; it required half the chemicals and released an additional 36 – 43% of water. The process proved to be very effective, reducing waste mud volume by 64 – 72%. It is wellsuited for the Arctic with its natural freeze/thaw cycles. The results of experiments at temperatures above 21 ° C (70 °F) showed that there is little advantage to dewatering hot drilling mud diverted from active system. A 10% increase of water removal was observed above 60 ° C (140 °F). The experiments at temperatures below 21 ° C (70 °F) showed that in cold weather climates the waste drilling mud diverted from active system should be dewatered when its temperature is still above 40 °F. Otherwise, more chemicals will be needed for separation enhancement or the dewatering process will become entirely ineffective. Introduction The dewatering process has become increasingly popular in oilfield drilling practices. Its first field applications in the early 1980s were related to oilfield pit closure procedures, where drilling waste from reserve pits was processed by portable dewatering units. In this application, the dewatered pit solids can be directly disposed on-site using burial, trenching, or land treatment practices, or they can be initially solidified to prevent any potential leaching of toxicants. The dewatering effluent may be either directly disposed to the land or surface waters, or, when the effluent limitation guidelines are not met, can be injected underground. Several configurations of the pit dewatering processes commercially offered to the oilfield petroleum industry in the US and abroad have been reviewed in the literature(1). Later, the dewatering process was included into the active mud processing systems for separation and recycling of the mud water phase to minimize the drilling waste discharge volume(2–5). The dewatering of circulating active muds proved to be more difficult than the dewatering of reserve pit sludges, particularly when the mud systems contained high concentrations of surface-active solids(3) after being heavily treated with the suspension stabilitycontrol agents, as is the case for dispersed muds. Despite disadvantages, the dewatering of active mud offered an attractive alternative to drilling a well without a reserve pit, particularly in zerodischarge areas.

Social Hierarchy and Burial Treatments: A Comparative Assessment

A study of the 55 cultures in the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) 60-culture probability sample for which adequate data on burials exists confirms the archaeologists' notion that variation in expenditures on burials can act as a rough indication of status hierarchies. The degree of variability in cost required to infer hierarchy is, however, much greater than that assumed by some archaeologists. Minor to moderate variability in expenditures may be due to a wide variety of causes including the symbolization of small achieved differences in status, age, gender, cause of death, religious affiliation, and numerous idiosyncratic circumstances and personal and social identities. Further investigation shows, moreover, that social competition, rather than hierarchy, is the variable that is most directly being measured, and that burial treatment is only one of many choices for possible competitive display. Thus, societies with considerable differences in the cost of burial treatments always allow or encourage competition, whereas those lacking such variability in burial treatments may or may not.

Long-term softening of surface and buried hard seeds of yellow serradella grown in a range of environments

A 3-year field experiment was conducted to investigate seed softening in yellow serradella (Ornithopus compressus L.) in a low rainfall Mediterranean environment at Merredin, Western Australia. The study examined seeds of 4 accessions of serradella from separate growing sites (Pindar, Merredin, and Badgingarra), and included the effect of pod burial (only for accessions grown at Merredin). Pods were placed on the soil surface in December 1992 and sampled in March, June, and October for the next 3 years. Burial treatments (2 and 6 cm beneath the surface) commenced in June 1993 after pods had been on the soil surface for one summer. Samples were collected in June for the next 2 years. Softening of seeds over the first summer in the field was compared with that obtained in the laboratory with 16 weeks at a diurnally alternating temperature of 60/15ºC. Few seeds of any accession softened (generally <6%) at the soil surface during the first summer but the rate of softening increased over the next 2 years. The highest annual rate of softening was about 55% in the third year in accessions GEH72-1A and GEH72-2A. Accession of serradella hadmore influence on pattern of seed softening than site at which seeds were produced. Burial of pods at 2 cm markedly accelerated seed softening in all strains, particularly GEH72-1A and cv. Madeira, in which over 95% of hard seeds softened during the first year of burial. Softening at 6 cm was similar to that at the soil surface. Shallow burial of pods, as would occur during cereal cropping in one year,could improve regeneration of serradella, but reduce the longevity of its seed bank. Laboratory treatment at 60/15ºC generally over-estimated field softening during the first summer.The spread of germination in time in laboratory tests differed between accessions and was much wider in GEH72-2A than in others, extending up to 35 days. Such behaviour could provide insurance against total seedling loss following false breaks of season.

Effects of Experimental Burial on Survival, Growth, and Resource Allocation of Three Species of Dune Plants

1 Changes in the survival, allocation of resources and growth rate of three dune plant species from Mono Lake, CA were studied in response to experimental burial. Dominant species, the shrubs, Sarcobatus vermiculatus and Chrysothamnus nauseosus, and the grass, Distichlis spicata, were used. 2 In both field and pot experiments, plants were buried at four different levels: no burial, partial burial, initial complete burial, and complete burial repeated every two weeks. 3 All species survived partial burial. S. vermiculatus and D. spicata were much more tolerant of repeated burial than was C. nauseosus. 4 As the severity of burial increased, all species shifted biomass from below-ground to above-ground components. Nitrogen allocation in S. vermiculatus and C. nauseosus shifted from roots to stems and leaves. 5 The only change in relative growth rate found in response to any of the burial treatments was a decline in that of S. vermiculatus in the field experiment. Relative growth rate of all species was more highly correlated with net assimilation rate than with leaf area ratio. 6 The outcomes of the two experiments were sometimes different, emphasizing the importance of confirming the results of pot experiments with field experiments before drawing ecological conclusions. 7 Desert dune plants survive burial in much the same manner as do coastal dune plants.

The effects of burial by sand on survival and growth of Pitcher’s thistle (Cirsium pitcheri) along lake huron

Greenhouse experiments were conducted to deter- mine the effects of sand burial on survival and growth of seedlings of Cirsium pitcheri. In 1992-1993, seedlings were buried to depths of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% of their height while in 1993-1994, the seedlings were buried to depths of 0, 4 cm (single burial), 4 cm (repeated burial of 1 cm every 8 days), 8 cm (single burial) and 8 cm (repeated burial of 2 cm every 8 days). Several physiological traits, net photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll a:b ratio, leaf area, number and length of leaves, number of internodes, amount of tillering, and biomass, were measured. The results showed that all seedlings died in the complete (100%) burial, 20 % died in the 75% burial and none died in the 0, 25 and 50 % burial treatments. Burial of seedlings to a depth of 25% stimulated their growth but 75% burial significantly decreased the total dry weight. Repeated burial treatments exhibited significantly greater stimulation of growth than single burial. Surviving seedlings grew through the sand deposit by elongating the stem and leaf petioles, increasing the number of nodes and the length of internodes. This elongation occurred at the expense of development of the root system indicating that available energy was re-allocated to above-ground parts.