Marshy Environment Research Articles

The Harvest of Tsam-Tsam in a Congolese Bowl: Body Adaptations of Harvesters

This exploratory and diagnostic standard study on the harvesters of local wine made from date palm aims to assess the effects of the practice of harvesting tsam-tsam, on the arch of the palm and thickening-hardening of the palm in the tsam-tsam harvesters in the marshy environment of the Congolese forest basin. This experimental, longitudinal, analytical and comparative study, exclusively concerned only the harvesters of swampy and non-swampy areas. Out of a population of 85 harvesters from different villages, 55 harvesters from villages in the districts of Makoua and Owando in the northern part of the country were chosen. It took place in the period of July 15, 2018 and July 19, 2019. The non-probabilistic method and the reasoned sampling technique were used for the choice of subjects. The subjects were randomized into two groups: a first experimental group (GE = 25) operating in the marshy area, a second control group (GC = 30) in the non-marshy area. The kinesiology technique based on the podoscope to be scanned with a manual platform made it possible to appreciate the effect of the marshy environment on deformations of the arch of the palm of the hand of tsam-tsam harvesters. The results showed that the values of the arch of the hands are significantly higher in the tsam-tsam harvesters living in the swampy area than those in the non-swampy area. The mercantile activity of the harvest of the local drink based on the sap of the date palm, helps fight poverty, and generates various deformations in the arch of the feet, from the hands of practitioners.

Evolution of the proboscis in the moose, Alces alces: Evidence from Morphology and Ecology

Among living cervids, the moose or elk (Alces alces) is among the most distinctive for its enlarged proboscis. Despite over a century of scientific inquiry into the ecology and evolution of this species, the origin and function of its proboscis remain unclear. An ability conferred by the proboscis is closure of its nares, which the North American moose performs while diving for sodium‐rich aquatic vegetation. This is found in combination with elongated metapodials and long, splayed phalanges for walking on soft, marshy ground and cylindrical shape of the femoral head for greater mobility of the hip joint when walking over uneven surfaces as in closed swampland habitats. We investigated the anatomical basis and evolutionary history of the proboscis among moose by examining the soft‐ and hard‐tissue morphology of extant (i.e., dissected head and dry skulls) and extinct material (fossil Cervalces crania). The moose head was provided as a result of a vehicular accident while dry and fossil crania were studied from osteological collections from the Division of Vertebrate Paleontology and Mammalogy of the American Museum of Natural History. Results suggest that, rather than being a direct adaptation to aquatic foraging, the proboscis likely arose in a multi‐step process initiated when ancestral moose populations lost their rhinarium as an adaptation to selective browsing, freeing the external nose from the now mobile upper lip. Further selective pressures influencing ancestral moose populations in closed, marshy environments with poor visibility may have favored enhanced olfactory acuity provided by the proboscis, which appears to separate inspiratory airflow into superior olfactory and inferior respiratory columns via an elongated cartilaginous ridge emerging from the lateral wall of the anterior nasal cavity and meeting the inferior concha. Enhanced olfaction would be adaptive for predator avoidance among calving females and perceiving sociosexual signals during rutting season. Further analysis of the nasal cavity morphology and airflow dynamics of the moose is warranted.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

The risky business of keeping pigs during periods of climatic fluctuation: A case from the Mid-Holocene Near East

The climate record of the Mid-Holocene southern Levant indicates a period of rapid climate change and erratic rainfall. An unpredictable rainfall regime would have posed a considerable risk to societies dependent upon crops and livestock that require a plentiful and consistent supply of water. In this paper, we first examine an assemblage of pig remains from Hartuv, a small settlement occupied during the Early Bronze Age, and then interpret these data alongside palaeohydrological evidence. We reconcile seemingly contradictory data—high relative taxonomic abundance of pigs and climatic conditions characterized by a general aridification trend and rainfall instability—by considering zooarchaeological assemblages from nearby sites in the context of their hydrological settings. On the basis of geoarchaeological evidence from Hartuv, we conclude that the effects of variable rainfall were mitigated by a locally marshy environment and an anthropogenic landscape feature, which may have been used to store water.

La palafitta di Tombola di Cerea (Verona) (Scavo 1999)

The pile dwelling was discovered in 1955 in the valley of the river Menago, just a few hundred meters south of the settlement of Tombola di Cerea (VR). A first excavation was carried out that very year by Francesco Zorzi, director of the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale of Verona; the digging has been resumed in 1999 by the Soprintendenza Archeologica of Veneto. The results of these excavations have ascertained that the prehistoric dwelling site was built in a marshy environment. Only some vertical poles and some horizontal beams were preserved, which leads to the hypothesis that there existed a wooden platform on which the sheds were standing. The structural elements of the palafitte find correspondents in others settlements in moist environment from the Middle Bronze Age. The paleogeographic reconstruction of the immediate hinterland confirm the location of the site at the center of the Menago River Paleovalley, an incision a few hundred meters wide and more than ten meters deep, at the base of a thick layer of peat. Previous studies, related to the origin of the deep incision generated by the homonymous spring-line river, mainly refer to geodynamic factors linked to buried tectonic lines, as main motives for the incisions caused by the diversion of Adige breach-channels captured towards the basin of Great Veronese Valleys, which occurred in the late Lateglacial-Holocene age. The analysis of new lithostratigraphies detected on exposures inside the paleovalley, has led to find the presence of a thick and almost continuous filling of organic-peaty sediments, which mark the accretions and the sedimentations verified starting from the basal levels of the pile-dwelling site, depositions that have lasted until fairly recent dates. A series of detailed comparisons made with the terms of the peat-debris-filling sequences of the basin that developed outside the embankments of the near and coeval Fondo Paviani site, led to verify a similar evolution in the growths that mark the upper reaches of these two important alluvio-organic successions. Ultimately, is claimed that the same incidence, of anthropogenic and climatic factors, is involved as the main contributors to the development of the upper fills of the Menago Paleovalley, in correspondence with the pile-dwelling station of the Tombola di Cerea and the embanked site of Fondo Paviani. A great number of ceramic fragments (ca 620 kg) and a smaller amount of bronze, terracotta and bone-horn artefacts had been found. This paper focus on chrono-typological analysis of the archaeological finds, in particular on ceramic of the medium-fine tipe. The goal is the overall classification artefacts, accompanied by a comparison made from materials found in geographically nearbysites. Dendrochronology and radiocarbon allow to date the wooden structures to the second half of the 15th Century cal BC, or in the first decades of the 14th Century cal BC at the latest; the vertical posts come from oak tree felled down once about every ten years. Archaeobotanical study includes pollen analysis carried out on 18 subsamples taken from a core collected in the pile-dwelling settlement and carpological and xilo-anthacological analysis, from 2 samples taken from layers (stratigraphic units) corresponding to the bottom of the core. The results allows to draw the environmental framework of the settlement. The pollen diagram shows that the landscape was rich of wet environments: ponds, wet grassland and hygrophilous wood. The human activity was suggested by a number of anthropogenic indicators: cereal fields, ruderals and weeds. Seeds/fruits and pollen data testify to the presence in the area of edible fruits from plants such as blackthorn, hazelnut, currant, walnut and grapevine. The finds of Baldellia ranuncoloides – a threatened plants today - underline that the archaeobotanical research provide naturalistic information that allow us to better understand the history of plant species becoming rare today. The faunal assemblage is composed by 1995 bone remains. More than 80% of the faunal remains was identified at species level. Domestic animals are the most frequent. Age at death highlights different breeding strategies focused on meat consumption and secondary products. Hunting was barely practiced on wild ungulates (red deer, roe deer, wild boar). Several anthropic marks were identified on the faunal remains emphasizing the use of lithic and metal tools. During the analysis 18 animal hard material artefacts were identified. The good state of preservation allowed us to identify working traces linked to the reduction sequences of the tools.

New evidence on the earliest human presence in the urban area of Genoa (Liguria, Italy): A multi-proxy study of a mid-Holocene deposit at the mouth of the Bisagno river

The article presents the results of a multi-proxy study investigating an alluvial deposit located in the coastal plain of Genoa (Liguria, Northwest Italy). A very deep core was sampled from 15 to 25 m below ground level to analyse sedimentological properties, pollen assemblages, non-pollen palynomorphs, plant macrofossils and micro-charcoal. The deposit, spanning from the second half of the 5th Millennium to the end of the 7th Millennium cal. BC, was characterized by an alternation of silty and peaty layers, and proved to be rich in plant remains. Pollen data allowed the confirmation of a gradual increase in Fagus sylvatica to the detriment of Abies alba during the mid-Holocene of the region, and showed the presence of brackish lagoons, as well as the progressively stronger incidence of anthropogenic taxa, indicating the use of the plain for agricultural purposes. The study of non-pollen palynomorphs led to the taxonomic identification of some previously unidentified types, and pointed to the occurrence of marshy environments, which were probably grazed on by domestic herbivores. Macrofossil analysis provided the first record of Triticum new glume wheat type in Liguria. Moreover, the finding of a grain of Triticum dicoccum dated to the second half of the 6th Millennium cal. BC allowed us to pre-date by seven centuries the agriculture in the region. To date, this represents the oldest evidence of human activity in the urban area of Genoa.

Taxonomy, natural history, and conservation of the Great-billed Seed-Finch Sporophila maximiliani (Cabanis, 1851) (Thraupidae, Sporophilinae).

Seed-finches are small-sized Neotropical granivorous birds characterized by extremely strong and thick beaks. Among these birds, the Great-billed Seed-Finch Sporophila maximiliani has been selectively and intensively trapped to the extent that has become one of the most endangered bird species in South America, yet its taxonomy remains complex and controversial. Two subspecies have been recognized: S. m. maximiliani (Cabanis, 1851), mainly from the Cerrado of central South America, and S. m. parkesi Olson (= Oryzoborus m. magnirostris), from northeastern South America. Originally, S. m. parkesi was diagnosed as being larger than the Large-billed Seed-Finch, S. c. crassirostris (Gmelin, 1789), but proper comparisons with S. m. maximiliani, which is larger than S. c. crassirostris, were never performed. Here we provide a review of the taxonomic and nomenclatural history of S. maximiliani, reevaluate the validity and taxonomic status of the subspecies based on morphological characters, and significantly revise its geographic distribution. Analyses based on plumage patterns and a Principal Component Analysis of morphometric characters indicated that S. m. parkesi is most appropriately treated as a synonym of the nominate taxon, which results in a monotypic S. maximiliani comprising two disjunct populations. Further, we conducted systematic searches for S. maximiliani in Brazil, in an attempt to obtain natural history information. After more than 6,000 hours of fieldwork in 45 areas of potential and historical occurrence, S. maximiliani was located only in two sites, in marshy environments called veredas, confirming the critical conservation status of this species, at least in Brazil. We discuss the conservation potential for, and the problems involved with, captive breeding of S. maximiliani for reintroduction into the wild.

Distal deposits of the Avellino eruption as a marker for the detailed reconstruction of the Early Bronze Age depositional environment in the Agro Pontino and Fondi Basin (Lazio, Italy)

The presence of the Early Bronze Age Avellino (AV) tephra in the Holocene lacustrine deposits of the Agro Pontino and Fondi basin provides a unique opportunity to reconstruct the Holocene depositional environment at the time of AV-tephra deposition. Marine terraces of the last Pleistocene transgression have been consolidated by soil formation and incised during the last glacial. This created a gully landscape in the Fondi basin and in the southeastern Agro Pontino. The inland central part of the Agro Pontino was drained by one major gully. At the final part of subsequent Holocene sea level rise, beach ridges closed the southeastern marine lagoons, creating a lacustrine and marshy environment. Shortly after, the Avellino eruption deposited its sandy tephra in these freshwater environments. By comparing altitudes of the AV-tephra in different environments two major implications emerge. First, at those locations where the AV-tephra is underlain by thick Holocene peaty and clayey deposits, significant subsidence occurred, while this has been limited at locations where the Pleistocene marine terrace occurs close to the surface. This subsidence is independently checked by comparing a modern LiDAR DEM and a detailed DEM from 1928. Second, the altitude of the AV-tephra reflects sea level in the coastal positions around −1.5 to −2 m a.s.l., while the only gully draining the lacustrine and marshy inland Agro Pontino was blocked around 0.5 m a.s.l. by the expanding sediment wedge of the Amaseno River, the major draining axis of the Agro Pontino. The AV-tephra layer will continue to play an important role in regional geological, palaeoenvironmental and geo-archaeological research.

Abundance of Diadesmis confervacea Kützing and Eunotia camelus Ehrenberg indicates the historical water level variation in a marsh

Water level fluctuations result in changes in available habitat, affecting communities of algae and freshwater diatoms. Paleolimnological approaches assist in understanding the effects of hydrological regimes on communities over time. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the variation in water level due to the abundance of two diatom species, Diadesmis confervacea Kutzing and Eunotia camelus Ehrenberg. Diadesmis confervacea has a periphytic habit and occurs primarily in shallow, marshy environments with high temperatures. Eunotia camelus has a planktonic habit and is mainly found in deeper environments. We analyzed the diatom fossils from sediment collected from a marsh located on Mutum Island, in the Upper Parana River floodplain. The sediment core of 2 m was divided into layers of 2.5 cm and was dated to 830 PB using 14C isotope. The relative abundances of the two species were obtained through quantitative analysis. The results showed a shift in the abundance of each species to the geomorphological changes and periods. The ratio of the opposing values of abundances of the two species might have been caused by changes in water levels due to ecological preferences. Competition for light between planktonic and periphytic communities also might affect algae abundance. Thus, we observed that D. confervacea and E. camelus are good indicators of hydrological changes. Therefore, our study contributes to better understand the effects of variation in water level and hydrological regime in the diatom species.

Protein profile of Brazilian Pythium insidiosum isolates.

Pythium insidiosum is an important aquatic Oomycota that causes pythiosis in mammals, especially horses, dogs, and humans; these inhabit marshy environments in tropical and subtropical areas. The aim of this study was to determine the protein profile, as well as identify likely immunodominant proteins, of Brazilian P. insidiosum isolates from southern Brazil, an important equine pythiosis endemic area. P. insidiosum isolates (horses, n = 20 and dogs, n = 02) were analyzed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot techniques. Horse, cattle, dog, and rabbit sera of both diseased and healthy animals were used to identify P. insidiosum proteins. SDS-PAGE protein profile detected antigens of molecular weights ranging from 100 to 20 KDa. Dog isolates revealed a protein profile similar to that of horse isolates. Anti-P. insidiosum antibodies in the sera of the four species could recognize proteins of different molecular weights (∼74 KDa to ∼24 KDa), and proteins ∼50-55 KDa and ∼34 KDa were shown to be immunodominant. Furthermore, ∼74 KDa, ∼60 KDa, ∼30 KDa and ∼24 KDa proteins were poorly recognized by host species antibodies. The Brazilian P. insidiosum isolates analyzed showed a similar protein profile; however, further studies are essential for the identification and characterization of proteins expressed by P. insidiosum, and an evaluation of the immunological profile of hosts susceptible to this Oomycota is necessary.

Petro-chemical characterisation and depositional paleoenvironment of lignite deposits of Nagaur, Western Rajasthan, India

The objective of this study was to know about the depositional environment and petrographic characteristics of lignite deposits of the Nagaur district, Rajasthan, India, and to decipher source rock potential. Lignite samples have been collected from all the working and exposed lignite seams from Matasukh lignite mines of Nagaur following the pillar sampling method. The petrographic study has been done following the International Committee for Coal and Organic Petrology and ISO norms. The study has shown that Nagaur lignites are mostly dominated by the huminite group of macerals followed by liptinite group. The huminite group is mainly represented by attrinite, textinite and ulminite, whereas liptinite is represented mainly by primary liptinites such as resinite, sporinite, suberinite and cutinite. An inertinite group of macerals occurs in the least concentration as compared to the huminite and liptinite group macerals and mainly represented by the semifusinite, funginite and inertodetrinite. In these lignites, carbonate mineral matters are dominating over the pyrite and argillaceous mineral matter. The maceral constituents present in the studied samples indicate a high proportion of type III kerogen and are capable of generating gases only. Based on the reflectance of Eu-ulminite B maceral, Nagaur lignites may be classified as ‘Low-rank B’ (lignite B). The study reveals that lignites originated in the bog forest under ombrotrophic to mesotrophic hydrological conditions. Gelification Index and the Tissue Preservation Index suggest an accumulation of peat in the marshy environment.

Geo-chronological context of the open-air Acheulian site at Nahal Hesi, northwestern Negev, Israel

The open-air site of Nahal Hesi, located on northwestern Negev desert fringe of Israel, is one of the few primary-context late Acheulian localities in the Levant. Late Acheulian sites in the Levant rarely provide faunal assemblages and radiometric ages, leaving large gaps in our knowledge of the Lower Paleolithic palaeoenvironment, ecology, subsistence and chronology. Here we present a new geo-chronological study conducted at the Nahal Hesi site. The major objectives were to describe the geological and archaeological stratigraphy, assign a numerical age to the Acheulian artifact-bearing deposit by TT-OSL and pIR-IR290 dating, and reconstruct the local palaeoenvironment during the human occupation at the site.Geological and microfaunal observations suggest that late Acheulian hominins at Nahal Hesi exploited marshy environments. The limited spatial and vertical extent of the artifact-bearing deposit and the presence of artifacts only in context of marsh-like sediments, highlight the utilization of short-lived water bodies by the hominins. The combined TT-OSL and pIR-IR290 methods provide an average age of 430 ± 35 ka for the studied marsh-like deposits.The study indicates that the Middle Pleistocene in the area of the Nahal Hesi site is characterized by lengthy cycles of deposition and erosion of fine-grained sediments associated with the semi-arid Nahal Shiqma drainage system. Marshy sediments could be the result of full or partial blockage of the Shiqma system, probably by coastal dune ridges, that led to formation of standing water bodies during the Middle Pleistocene.

The Rituals of Love in Ancient Egypt: Festival Songs of the Eighteenth Dynasty and the Ramesside Love Poetry

Summary The love poetry of Ramesside Period Thebes presents human love against a backdrop of frequently bucolic and marshy environments, with the trappings of festivals and religious imagery present in some of the poems. Precursors for the corpus appear in the form of festival songs recorded in Eighteenth Dynasty Theban tombs, presenting the festival activities of the gods against a backdrop of mortal love, performed in the setting of banquets involving ritual drunkenness. The Ramesside love poetry may reflect events of a romantic and even orgiastic nature that accompanied certain New Kingdom Theban celebrations. The common festival background for parallel corpora of texts celebrating divine love and human love in Egypt may provide a template for the performance setting of the Song of Songs, and help explain why that text is both so descriptive of the interactions of two human beings, and a text ultimately accepted as part of the Old Testament.

Senecio L. (Asteraceae, Senecioneae) no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Senecio L. compreende 60 espécies no Brasil distribuídas principalmente nos campos rupestres e de altitude das regiões Sudeste e Sul. Possui taxonomia complexa, sobretudo considerado-se suas espécies sulamericanas e particularmente brasileiras. Com o intuito de contribuir com o conhecimento sobre a diversidade de Senecio no Brasil, é aqui apresentado o tratamento taxonômico das espécies deste gênero para o Estado do Rio de Janeiro. O estudo baseou-se em levantamento bibliográfico, análise de coleções herborizadas e coletas bimestrais. Foram registradas 14 espécies, sendo S. bonariensis Hook. & Arn. e S. juergensii Mattf. mencionadas primeiramente para a área estudada. Estas espécies são nativas e geralmente crescem em áreas montanas ou em ambientes paludosos. Das espécies estudadas, dez são endêmicas do Brasil, sendo quatro restritas ao Estado. São apresentadas chave de identificação, descrições, ilustrações e comentários biogeográficos, morfológicas e fenológicas, para cada espécie.

On the spinosaurid theropod teeth from the early Barremian (Early Cretaceous) Blesa Formation (Spain)

Spinosaurids are one of the most abundant theropods from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. The published fossil record consists mainly of teeth. A good example is La Cantalera-1 site in the Blesa Formation (Spain). This site represents a marshy environment with periodic droughts, resulting in a non-permanent body of water. Theropod dinosaur teeth are frequent. Seventeen spinosaurid teeth have been studied using qualitative and quantitative features, including a statistical analysis, in order to compare them with the known spinosaurid record from Spain. In La Cantalera-1 we recognise two different morphotypes: Baryonychinae indet. and Spinosaurinae? indet. Baryonychinae indet. was produced by baryonychines close to Baryonyx; teeth with similar morphology have been described in other sites from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. Teeth tentatively attributed to Spinosaurinae? indet. were produced by spinosaurines close to Spinosaurus. This morphotype could provide new evidence of the presence of spinosaurines in the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. The small size of the teeth from La Cantalera-1 when compared with those from other sites is interpreted as the result of the conditions characteristic of the deposit area, which represents an ecosystem unable to sustain large-sized organisms.

From natural to human-dominated floodplain geoecology – A Holocene perspective for the Dijle catchment, Belgium

Abstract Floodplain systems underwent important changes in many West and Central European catchments through the late Holocene. To better understand the relation between these changes and anthropogenic land cover changes, we evaluated detailed data on floodplain changes against detailed data on human impact for the Dijle catchment (758 km 2 ), Belgium. The results show that during the Neolithic Period, human impact was nearly absent and floodplains consisted of a strongly vegetated marshy environment where organic material accumulated, which is considered as the natural state of the floodplain. The increase in human impact from Bronze Age onwards caused an increase in soil erosion and hillslope–floodplain connectivity. Consequently, sediment input in the floodplain system increased and floodplain geoecology changed towards an open floodplain dominated by clastic overbank deposits, mainly as the indirect result of an intensification of agricultural activities. Based on these data, a generalized model of floodplain development is presented. At the scale of the entire Dijle catchment, the gradual changes in floodplain morphology coincided with the gradually increasing human impact in the catchment, which suggests a linearity between the external forcing (human impact) and geomorphic response (floodplain change). However, at the narrow floodplains in the headwaters, the gradual increase in human impact contrasts with the abrupt change in floodplain geoecology, only triggered when human impact reached a threshold. Observed differences in the process-response model at catchment scale are attributed to differences in hillslope–floodplain connectivity, the location within the catchment and to differences in the timing and intensity of human activities between subcatchments.

Tephra redeposition and mixing in a Late‐glacial hillside basin determined by fusion of clustering analyses of glass‐shard geochemistry

ABSTRACTTwo discontinuous tephra layers were discovered at Burney Spring Mountain, northern California. Stratigraphic relationships suggest that they are two distinct primary fall tephras. The geochemistries of these tephras from electron probe microanalysis were compared with those of known layers found in the area to test for potential correlations, using clustering analysis on geochemistry. In most cases, geochemical data from a tephra layer can be assigned to a single cluster, but in some cases the analyses are spread over several clusters. This spreading is a direct result of mixing and reworking of several tephra layers. The mixing, in turn, appears to be related to the influence of wind in a marshy environment.

Results of paleoecological studies in the loess region of Szeged-Öthalom (SE Hungary)

New results of sedimentological, Magnetic Susceptibility, geochemical, radiocarbon and malacological analysis from a typical and an infusion loess section are presented from SE Hungary. The geologic and geomorphologic value of the area is that aeolian (typical) loess accumulated on sand dunes that formed during MIS3, while in the interdune depressions on the top of lacustrine deposit series, infusion loess developed. As the two types of loess interfinger, it is the first demonstration that the two types of loess formed during the same time period (isochron) in different environments (heterotype). At the end of MIS3 and during MIS 2 between 33,000–13,000 cal BP, a temperate steppe-forest steppe environment characterized the loess surface of the SE Great Hungarian Plain. During the first interstadial phase of MIS2 a Pinus sylvestris charcoal rich paleosol layer developed on the loess covered surface of a wind-blown sand hummock, while in the interdune depressions a pond phase developed. After the formation of the paleosol layer on the surface of the loess covered wind-blown sand hummock during the Heinrich 2 event, Vertigo modesta-Vallonia tenuilabris indicate a cold steppe-forest steppe environment and a deeper and colder lake phase in the interdune depressions. After that, a short microinterstadial phase developed and a Pupilla triplicata-Chondrula tridens dominated temperate steppe-forest steppe environment evolved on the terrestrial surface between 23,000–21,000 cal BP. After 21,000 cal BP, in the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) the environment completely changed. The average dust accumulation accelerated and coarse silt (0.02–0.06 mm) became dominant. As a result, the lake stage transformed to a marshy environment, while on the land area shade-loving, including closed forest environment-preferring mollusca taxa appeared, such as Vestia turgida, Vitrina pellucida and Mastus venerabilis. Based on the mollusca fauna composition, humidity increased during the cooling of the LGM horizon, forestation started and a boreal forest-steppe evolved at the study site. During the post LGM, the interdune depressions filled and aeolian loess layers developed. Formation of the infusion loess occurred between 24,000–17,000 cal BP. Loess formation lasted until the beginning of the Late Glacial Maximum (Last Permafrost Maximum) and ended in a forest steppe environment with boreal, Central European, holarctic, palearctic and continental mollusc fauna elements.

Non-uniform and diachronous Holocene floodplain evolution: a case study from the Dijle catchment, Belgium

Fluvial architecture changed under the influence of increasing human impact throughout the Holocene in many north-west European catchments. Typically, peat formation - in a marshy environment during the Early and Middle Holocene - is replaced by clastic overbank deposition. In this study we show the importance of a detailed chronology of floodplain changes, with an example from the Belgian Dijle catchment. In total, 45 radiocarbon ages from 15 alluvial sites were used. Cumulative probability functions were made of the radiocarbon ages from the base (16 samples) and top (29 samples) of the peat layer. Two alluvial sites were studied in detail. The results indicate that the end of peat growth and the transition towards clastic overbank deposition is diachronous at the catchment scale, ranging between 6500 and 500 cal a BP. This diachronous pattern can be attributed to differences in timing and intensity of agricultural activities at the catchment scale, or to differences in hillslope-floodplain connectivity. Moreover, in the broad floodplain of the main valley, the top of the peat layer is even diachronous at cross-section scale. These results indicate that inferences on changes in sedimentation rate and floodplain changes should be based on a multi-transect and multi-core dating approach. Copyright # 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ladinijske plasti skonca idrijskega rudišča (Z Slovenija)

The richly mineralised Skonca beds (der Lagerschiefer) were the most important mining level of the Idrija ore deposit. In addition to epigenetic ores, exceptional quantities of various rich syngenetic cinnabar ores could be found in these layers. »Jeklenka« (steel ore), »opekovka« (brick ore), »jetrenka« (liver ore), coral ore, and some other bedded cinnabar ores contained up to as much as 78 % Hg. These ores were excavated more or less intensively from their discovery in 1508 until the cessation of works in the Idrija Mine in 1977. The Skonca beds can be found in all parts of the Idrija ore deposit in the form of large or small, irregular, lense-shaped bodies or layers. In the section of the ore deposit known as 'Talnina', the Skonca beds are on average only 4 m thick, and from 10 to maximally 25 m in other parts of the ore deposit. The greatest thickness of these beds, i.e. around 40 m, can be found in the area of the Karoli tectonic unit, situated in the deepest part of the former Idrija Middle Triassic tectonic fault trough. The rocks in the Skonca beds are grouped in typical sequences, which represent a key for the reconstruction of sedimentary environments. The sequences are designated with the letters A, B, C and D. Sequence C is further divided into subsequences C1 with a carbonate and C2 with a siliceous structure. The lithological units of sequence A usually represent the lowest part of the Skonca beds, and may be the lateral equivalents of rocks of series B and subsequence C1. Sequence A is comprised of dispersed, gravelly varieties of carbonatic lythic sandstone, limestone and dolomite siltstone, as well as intercalations of gravelly silty micritic limestone and micritic limestone. Sequence B consists of typical transitional rocks between sequences A and C1, among which silty limestone with transitions to calcitic marlstone and claystone can be found. Sequence C is formed of 'classic' Skonca rock beds. Although the bottom part of sequence C has a carbonate structure (subsequence C1) and the top part has a siliceous structure (subsequence C2), the rocks cannot be distinguished from one another by their appearance. All are strongly bituminous and shaly. Sequence C is comprised of grey to black bituminous dolomite and quartz sandstone rich in pyrite and marcasite, dolomite or quartz siltstone, and shaly claystone with coal inclusions. The sequence of C rocks ends with clayey-lythic quartz sandstone containing remains of the brachiopod Discina. These are followed by various pyroclastic rocks of sequence D. The Skonca beds and the rich bedded cinnabar ores have various sedimentary structures which accurately define the events and environments of their origin. Except for the erosion Channels, which are filled with dolomite gravel, there are no other presedimentary structures in the Skonca beds (subsequence C1). However, the beds are rich in synsedimentary physical forms, particularly various stratifications, laminations and various forms of graded bedding. Among the postsedimentary structures, mention should be made of the abundant sinking and slump structures. In some places, bioturbation and the replacement of organic particles with pyrite can be observed. The Skonca beds were deposited in a spatially complex, marsh-lacustrine-lagoonal environment. The rocks of sequence A and partly also of sequence B were formed in an alkaline, oxygen-rich environment, and the lithological units of subsequence C1 in a reductive environment. The rapid transitions among rocks indicate strictly limited and slow lateral inflows of fresh water into the marshy environment overgrown with low vegetation. The rocks in subsequence C2 prove that the freshwater marsh was flooded with sea water. Deposited in the shallow, closed lagoon overgrown with low Vegetation were various bituminous shales, mudstones and sandstones filled with numerous radiolarians and needles of siliceous sponges and coal intercalations. The Sedimentation of the Skonca beds ends with quartz sandstone containing deposited remains of the brachiopod Discina. The Skonca beds cover a layer of various pyroclastic rocks that is up to 80 m thick.

Sensitivity of floodplain geoecology to human impact: A Holocene perspective for the headwaters of the Dijle catchment, central Belgium

Floodplain deposition rates have increased markedly under influence of human impact throughout the late Holocene in many western and central European catchments. Consequently the geomorphology and ecology of many floodplains changed. In this study we discuss this human impact and its influence on the floodplain geoecology during the middle and late Holocene for the headwaters of the Dijle catchment, located in the Belgian loess belt. The floodplain geoecology and the regional vegetation was reconstructed from sedimentological and palynological analyses. An age–depth model for the studied sequences was obtained using 17 radiocarbon dates. Statistical analyses of the pollen data (cluster analysis and canonical correspondence analysis) were used to detect changes in the pollen record. Our data show that until c. 2500 cal. BP, human impact was nearly absent or localized with no discernible influence on the floodplain geoecology. The floodplain was in a stable phase and consisted of a marshy environment where organic material could accumulate, which is interpreted as the natural state of the floodplain. From c. 2500 cal. BP onwards, human impact gradually increased. However, only when human impact in the catchment crossed a threshold around 500 cal. BP, the floodplain geoecology changed with clearing of the Alder carr forest, the establishment of a single channel river and the dominance of minerogenic overbank sedimentation. Spatial variability in the coupling between increasing human impact and changes in floodplain geoecology can be attributed to differences in hillslope–floodplain connectivity and local differences in human impact.