skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Ecological gradients within a Pennsylvanian mire forest

Abstract

Pennsylvanian coals represent remains of the earliest peat-forming rain forests, but there is no current consensus on forest ecology. Localized studies of fossil forests suggest intermixture of taxa (heterogeneity), while, in contrast, coal ball and palynological analyses imply the existence of pronounced ecological gradients. Here, we report the discovery of a spectacular fossil forest preserved over 1000 ha on top of the Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) Herrin (No. 6) Coal of Illinois, United States. The forest was abruptly drowned when fault movement dropped a segment of coastal mire below sea level. In the largest study of its kind to date, forest composition is statistically analyzed within a well-constrained paleogeographic context. Findings resolve apparent conflicts in models of Pennsylvanian mire ecology by confirming the existence of forest heterogeneity at the local scale, while additionally demonstrating the emergence of ecological gradients at landscape scale.

Authors:
; ; ; ;  [1]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
20970025
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Resource Relation:
Journal Name: Geology; Journal Volume: 35; Journal Issue: 3
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT; ILLINOIS; USA; COAL; FORESTS; FOSSILS; ECOLOGY

Citation Formats

DiMichele, W.A., Falcon-Lang, H.J., Nelson, W.J., Brick, S.D., and Ames, P.R.. Ecological gradients within a Pennsylvanian mire forest. United States: N. p., 2007. Web. doi:10.1130/G23472A.1.
Copy to clipboard
DiMichele, W.A., Falcon-Lang, H.J., Nelson, W.J., Brick, S.D., & Ames, P.R.. Ecological gradients within a Pennsylvanian mire forest. United States. doi:10.1130/G23472A.1.
Copy to clipboard
DiMichele, W.A., Falcon-Lang, H.J., Nelson, W.J., Brick, S.D., and Ames, P.R.. Tue . "Ecological gradients within a Pennsylvanian mire forest". United States. doi:10.1130/G23472A.1.
Copy to clipboard
@article{osti_20970025,
title = {Ecological gradients within a Pennsylvanian mire forest},
author = {DiMichele, W.A. and Falcon-Lang, H.J. and Nelson, W.J. and Brick, S.D. and Ames, P.R.},
abstractNote = {Pennsylvanian coals represent remains of the earliest peat-forming rain forests, but there is no current consensus on forest ecology. Localized studies of fossil forests suggest intermixture of taxa (heterogeneity), while, in contrast, coal ball and palynological analyses imply the existence of pronounced ecological gradients. Here, we report the discovery of a spectacular fossil forest preserved over 1000 ha on top of the Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) Herrin (No. 6) Coal of Illinois, United States. The forest was abruptly drowned when fault movement dropped a segment of coastal mire below sea level. In the largest study of its kind to date, forest composition is statistically analyzed within a well-constrained paleogeographic context. Findings resolve apparent conflicts in models of Pennsylvanian mire ecology by confirming the existence of forest heterogeneity at the local scale, while additionally demonstrating the emergence of ecological gradients at landscape scale.},
doi = {10.1130/G23472A.1},
journal = {Geology},
number = 3,
volume = 35,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2007},
month = {Tue May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2007}
}
Copy to clipboard
Journal Article:
DOI:  10.1130/G23472A.1
Other availability
Find in Google Scholar Find in Google Scholar
Search WorldCat Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Save / Share:
Export Metadata
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.

  • - J. Paleontol.; (United States)
    The Mazon Creek biota (Westphalian D) is composed of plants and animals from terrestrial fresh water and marginal marine habitats. Fossil animals, including jellyfish, worms, crustaceans, holothurians, insects, chordates, and problematica occur in sideritic concretions on spoilpiles of more than 100 abandoned coal mines in a five county region (Mazon Creek area) of northeast Illinois. These fossils record rapid burial and early diagenesis in a muddy, delta-influenced coastal setting submerged during marine transgression.

  • ; ; - AAPG Bulletin
    Hollywood Quarry is a 600 x 375 x 150 ft. (200 x 125 x 50m) excavation which provides a window into lower Pennsylvanian Jackfork Formation turbidite stratal architecture along the crest of a faulted anticlinal fold. A variety of turbidite facies are present, including: (a) lenticular, channelized sandstones, pebbly sandstones, and conglomerates within shale, (b) laterally continuous, interbedded thin sandstones and shales, and (c) thicker, laterally continuous shales. The sandstone and shale layers we broken by several strike-slip and reverse faults, with vertical displacements of up to several feet. This combination of facies and structural elements has resulted in amore » highly compartmentalized stratigraphic interval, both horizontally and vertically, along the anticlinal flexure. The quarry can be considered analogous to a scaled-down turbidite reservoir. Outcrop gamma-ray logs, measured sections, a fault map, and cross sections provide a database which is analogous to what would be available for a subsurface reservoir. Thus, the quarry provides an ideal outdoor geologic and engineering {open_quote}workshop{close_quote} venue for visualizing the potential complexities of a combination structural-stratigraphic (turbidite) reservoir. Since all forms of compartmentalization are readily visible in the quarry, problems related to management of compartmentalized reservoirs can be discussed and analyzed first-hand while standing in the quarry, within this {open_quote}model reservoir{close_quotes}. These problems include: (a) the high degree of stratigraphic and structural complexity that may be encountered, even at close well spacings, (b) uncertainty in well log correlations and log-shape interpretations, (c) variations in volumetric calculations as a function of amount of data available, and (d) potential production problems associated with specific {open_quote}field{close_quote} development plans.« less

  • ;
    Vegetation-environment relationships were studied in forests stands located on slopes and a floodplain in northeastern North Dakota. Coverage values of all vascular plants and basal area, frequency, density, and mensuration data for tree species were obtained. A total of 109 species of vascular plants, 10 of mosses, and 15 of lichens are reported for the 40 plots studied. Correlation analyses were made between community characteristics of vegetation and the topographic parameters, slope inclination, aspect, and elevation. Principal component analysis and Swan-Dix-Wehrhahn ordination were used to establish five abstract community types. Environmental soil parameters measured for each soil horizon within themore » rooting zone include available water capacity; pH; electrical conductivity; cation exchange capacity; percentage organic matter; replaceable Ca, Mg, K, Na, Sr, and Mn; available P; and, EDTA-extractable Al, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Si, Sr, and Zn. Topographic and soil parameters were used for stepwise elimination multiple regressions to develop predictive equations for the distribution of plant species. Correlation analysis reveals that the basal area of trees and number and coverage values of herbaceous species is highest on lower elevations and south exposures. Whereas pronounced vegetation differences occur between slopes and the floodplain, the vegetation patterns on the slopes are continuous and overlapping. Based on the results from multiple regression analysis, gradients for potential solar beam irradiation, available water capacity, elevation, linear aspect slope inclination, and replaceable K were established.« less

  • ; ; ; ... - Biogeosciences (Online)
    It has been proposed that the large soil carbon (C) stocks of humid tropical forests result predominantly from C stabilization by reactive minerals, whereas oxygen (O 2) limitation of decomposition has received much less attention. We examined the importance of these factors in explaining patterns of C stocks and turnover in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, using radiocarbon ( 14C) measurements of contemporary and archived samples. Samples from ridge, slope, and valley positions spanned three soil orders (Ultisol, Oxisol, Inceptisol) representative of humid tropical forests, and differed in texture, reactive metal content, O 2 availability, and root biomass. Mineral-associatedmore » C comprised the large majority (87 ± 2%, n = 30) of total soil C. Turnover of most mineral-associated C (66 ± 2%) was rapid (11 to 26 years; mean and SE: 18 ± 3 years) in 25 of 30 soil samples across surface horizons (0–10 and 10–20 cm depths) and all topographic positions, independent of variation in reactive metal concentrations and clay content. Passive C with centennial–millennial turnover was typically much less abundant (34 ± 3%), even at 10–20 cm depths. Carbon turnover times and concentrations significantly increased with concentrations of reduced iron (Fe(II)) across all samples, suggesting that O 2 availability may have limited the decomposition of mineral-associated C over decadal scales. Steady-state inputs of mineral-associated C were statistically similar among the three topographic positions, and could represent 10–25% of annual litter production. Observed trends in mineral-associated Δ 14C over time could not be fit using the single-pool model used in many other studies, which generated contradictory relationships between turnover and Δ 14C as compared with a more realistic two-pool model. The large C fluxes in surface and near-surface soils documented here are supported by findings from paired 14C studies in other types of ecosystems, and suggest that most mineral-associated C cycles relatively rapidly (decadal scales) across ecosystems that span a broad range of state factors.« less
    Cited by 9

  • ; ; ; ... - Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
    Stable stratification of the nocturnal lower boundary layer inhibits convective turbulence, such that turbulent vertical transfer of ecosystem carbon dioxide (CO 2), water vapor (H 2O) and energy is driven by mechanically forced turbulence, either from frictional forces near the ground or top of a plant canopy, or from shear generated aloft. The significance of this last source of turbulence on canopy flow characteristics in a closed and open forest canopy is addressed in this paper. We present micrometeorological observations of the lower boundary layer and canopy air space collected on nearly 200 nights using a combination of atmospheric lasermore » detection and ranging (lidar), eddy covariance (EC), and tower profiling instrumentation. Two AmeriFlux/Fluxnet sites in mountain-valley terrain in the Western U.S. are investigated: Wind River, a tall, dense conifer canopy, and Tonzi Ranch, a short, open oak canopy. On roughly 40% of nights lidar detected down-valley or downslope flows above the canopy at both sites. Nights with intermittent strong bursts of “top-down” forced turbulence were also observed above both canopies. The strongest of these bursts increased sub-canopy turbulence and reduced canopy virtual potential temperature (θv) gradient at Tonzi, but did not appear to change the flow characteristics within the dense Wind River canopy. At Tonzi we observed other times when high turbulence (via friction velocity, u*) was found just above the trees, yet CO2 and θv gradients remained large and suggested flow decoupling. These events were triggered by regional downslope flow. Lastly, a set of turbulence parameters is evaluated for estimating canopy turbulence mixing strength. The relationship between turbulence parameters and canopy θv gradients was found to be complex, although better agreement between the canopy θv gradient and turbulence was found for parameters based on the standard deviation of vertical velocity, or ratios of 3-D turbulence to mean flow, than for u*. These findings add evidence that the relationship between canopy turbulence, static stability, and canopy mixing is far from straightforward even within an open canopy.« less
    Cited by 1