Wood Flora Research Articles

A celastraceous twig from the Eocene London Clay of south-east England

A pyritized twig resembling stems of the family Celastraceae is described from the Eocene London Clay Formation of south-east England. This specimen is assigned to the form genus Celastrinoxylon (Schenk) Kräusel 1939. The fossil has been studied by reflected light and scanning electron microscopy. The specimen is significant as it represents the first record of this family within the London Clay wood flora.

A celastraceous twig from the Eocene London Clay of south-east England

A pyritized twig resembling stems of the family Celastraceae is described from the Eocene London Clay Formation of south-east England. This specimen is assigned to the form genusCelastrinoxylon(Schenk) Kräusel 1939. The fossil has been studied by reflected light and scanning electron microscopy. The specimen is significant as it represents the first record of this family within the London Clay wood flora.

Fossil Wood Flora from the Lower Miocene Yanagida Formation, Noto Peninsula, Central Japan

Silicified woods from the lower Miocene Yanagida Formation were collected from two sites, Mawaki and Uchiura, in the northeastern Noto Peninsula, central Japan. Among 80 specimens, 15 species representing 13 families were identified, including six new species: Torreya mioxyla (Taxaceae), Castanopsis uchiuraensis (Fagaceae), Camellia japonoxyla (Theaceae), Stewartia notoensis (Theaceae), Distylium chiharu-hirayae (Hamamelidaceae) and Aesculus mioxyla (Hippocastanaceae). The fossil wood floras from these two sites contain evergreen and deciduous dicotyledons and have a similar composition. These floras are compared to the fossil wood flora from Monzen and to the Daijima-type compression fossil flora. The composition of the fossil wood floras of Mawaki and Uchiura suggests they represent a mixed mesic forest of conifers, deciduous dicotyledons and evergreen dicotyledons.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of an in-situ Miocene peat forest from the Lower Rhine Embayment, northwestern Germany—new methods in palaeovegetation analysis

Palaeovegetation reconstructions, particularly of fossil forests, are generally restricted to scant information on the taxonomic composition, relative abundance of individual taxa, or on tree density. We have developed new techniques for the analysis of stump horizons that result in a relatively detailed three-dimensional reconstruction of ancient forests. In addition, a rough estimate of their above-ground standing biomass can be calculated. These techniques are applied to an in-situ Miocene peat forest preserved in the Lower Rhine Embayment, northwestern Germany. In a study area of 2500 m 2, 476 stumps were mapped and used in the forest reconstruction. Additionally, pollen samples and leaf remains have been analysed. The peat forest consists primarily of conifers (in particular Taxodiaceae and Pinaceae) with Sciadopitys being the most common genus. The only angiosperms in the wood flora were palms, but in the pollen flora, evidence for the Myricaceae, Mastixiaceae, Ericaceae and a few other angiosperms is also present. The forest was relatively dense with 1904 trees/ha and a basal area of 164 m 2. Mean trunk diameter was 28 cm, while mean tree height is calculated to have been 9.9 m. Height, diameter and density distribution are illustrated using contour and three-dimensional surface plots. Estimated above ground biomass is 750 t/ha, but this value also includes dead or partly dead trees. This peat forest does not closely compare with previous reconstructions of Miocene peat forests. Its three dimensional structure and biomass differ from those of modern bald cypress swamps.

Fossil wood flora of the early Miocene Nawamata formation of Monzen, Noto Peninsula, central Japan

Silicified wood collected from the Lower Miocene Nawamata Formation at two localities, Nakaya and Nigoriike, Monzen-machi, Noto Peninsula, central Japan, were identified. Among the 58 specimens there are two species of conifers and eleven species of dicotyledons:Taxodioxylon cunninghamioides (Watari) Watari andT. sequoianum (Merckl.) Gothan (both Taxodiaceae),Carya protojaponica Watari (Juglandaceae),Pterocarya rhoifolia Siebold et Zucc. (Juglandaceae),Ostrya monzenensis sp. nov. (Betulaceae),Quercus anataiensis (Watari) Watari (Fagaceae),Liquidambar hisauchii comb. nov. (Hamamelidaceae),Prunus iwatense (Watari) Takahashi et Suzuki (Rosaceae),Gleditsia paleojaponica comb. nov. (Leguminosae),Acer watarianum Takahashi et Suzuki (Aceraceae),Meliosma mio-oldhami sp. nov. (Sabiaceae),Reevesia miocenica Watari (Sterculiaceae), andFraxinus notoensis sp. nov. (Oleaceae). The fossil wood floras at the two localities are compared to the Daijima Flora, and warm-and/or cool-temperate mesic forests are suggested to occur in the Early Miocene of Monzen.

Florística do cerrado na Reserva Biológica de Moji Guaçu, SP

Foi analisada uma área de 343,42 ha situada em mancha disjunta do cerrado, no Município de Moji Guaçu (Reserva Biológica de Moji Guaçu), São Paulo, sudeste do Brasil (22º15'-16'S e 47º08'-12'W). A área do cerrado estudada apresenta predomínio de fisionomias abertas, que vão do campo cerrado ao cerrado senso restrito. Foram amostradas as plantas vasculares em fase reprodutiva, em dezenove excursões de coletga, com intervalos de 30-45 dias, quando eram anotados dados fenológicos e as formas de vida. Obtiveram-se 2019 exsicatas, distribuídos em 524 espécies, 286 gêneros e 82 famílias. Analisou-se a flora como um todo e os seus componentes herbáceo-subarbustivo e arbustivo-arbóreo, separadamente. Salientaram-se no componente arbustivo-arbóreo: Leguminosae, Myrtaceae e Rubiaceae e na flora como um todo e no seu componente campestre: Compositae, Gramineae e Leguminosae, que estáo entre as famílias mais numerosas da flora mundial.

Ecogeographical differentiation of the Submediterranean deciduous forest flora

The deciduous wood flora of southern Europe is characterized as a special “nemoral-Submediterranean element”. The distribution patterns of some representatives (total ranges and local areas in Roumania) are described and explained by recent climatic conditions. The northern limits of Submediterranean and Submediterranean-middle European deciduous forest taxa exhibit a continuous gradation, but only a few species with a wide ecological amplitude extend into the temperate zone.

Fossil wood flora and its change in Kanto plain from Jomon to Kofun periods

Fossil wood flora and its change in Kanto plain from Jomon to Kofun periods

Studies of the post-Glacial History of British vegetation VII. Lake sediments: Pollen diagrams from the bottom deposits of the North Basin of Windermere

Eight pollen diagrams from cores lying approximately on an east to west transect across the North Basin of Windermere and macroscopic plant remains identified from these cores are described and figured. The marginal cores show a well-developed late-glacial succession of two layers of barren laminated glacial clay, separated by a detritus silt containing plant remains which indicate a cold-temperate birch wood flora; it is suggested that this succession may be correlated with the Upper and LowerDryasclays separated by the cold-temperate Allerod layer of Continental authors. The post-glacial deposits, which are most completely represented in the deep-water cores, show similar phases of forest history to those already recognized in England and Wales, but the apparent over-representation ofPinusin deep-water deposits and the absence ofFagusandCarpinusintroduce complications into any attempt to apply to these deposits the zonation scheme worked out for the East Anglian fenland.