
Open access:
Nogué, S., de Nascimento, L., Gosling, W.D., Loughlin, N.J.D., Montoya, E. & Wilmshurst, J.M. (2022) Multiple baselines for restoration ecology. PAGES Magazine 30, 4-5. DOI: 10.22498/pages.30.1.4
April 5, 2022
Open access:
Nogué, S., de Nascimento, L., Gosling, W.D., Loughlin, N.J.D., Montoya, E. & Wilmshurst, J.M. (2022) Multiple baselines for restoration ecology. PAGES Magazine 30, 4-5. DOI: 10.22498/pages.30.1.4
March 18, 2022
The value of good field notes and memory really is highlighted in the publication of Grubb et al. (2020) who report the botanical findings of an expedition to high elevation (4050-4600 m) parts Ecuadorian Andes in AD 1960. The new study focuses on the relationship between vegetation and geology (lava flows), and surface processes (burning, grazing and trampling).
References
Grubb, P.J., Lloyd, J.R., Pennington, T.D. & Páez-Bimos, S. (2020) A historical baseline study of the páramo of Antisana in the Ecuadorian Andes including the impacts of burning, grazing and trampling. Plant Ecology & Diversity 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2020.1819464
March 15, 2022
Ludgate, N. (2014) Organic matter preserved in cave sediments: A new environmental proxy. PhD thesis, Department of Environment, Earth & Ecosystems, The Open University.
Abstract
Exploring new terrestrial archives to investigate past climate and the resultant impact on ecosystems is key to assessing changing climate within large continents, where major records are limited. This study presents the first comprehensive geochemical investigation of clastic cave sediments, a previously under-explored field, demonstrating the effective use of caves as an environmental archive, and recovering useable records of moisture and vegetation regime within the complicated monsoonal system of South East Asia.
Clastic cave sediments were recovered from a 2.4 m deep archaeological trench covering ~24 ka to ~12 ka within Hang Trõng, Vietnam. Clay mineral, bulk carbon, pollen, terrestrial snail shells and plant-derived lipid biomarkers were analysed to provide a multi-proxy approach. No diagenetic alteration was found below 20 cm despite clay mineral and bulk carbon δ13C analysis demonstrating microbial action and weathering of surface sediments. As previously observed in cave sediments, poor preservation lead to limited pollen recovery, however δ13C values from CSIA and shell carbonate indicates C3 vegetation persisted around the cave during the last glacial maximum.
The time-series δ18O record from recovered shells shows clear fluctuations corresponding to global climatic events including the LGM and Heinrich 1. It is hypothesised that these reflect moisture availability, with heavier isotopic values indicating drier periods. Most higher plant lipid biomarkers provide evidence for a stable forest composition, however a shift in n-alkane lipid from C31 to C27 can also be linked with the Heinrich 1 event. The warm Greenland interstadial 1 event is also expressed within the record by low δ18O shell values attributed to more available moisture and higher bulk δ13C values, which indicate greater micro-organism action.
Hang Trõng’s multi-proxy record adds to a growing body of evidence demonstrating the importance of global teleconections when assessing the impact of climate change on monsoons and local vegetation. The data collected here proves clastic cave sediments can hold valuable climatic proxies; something which is of especial importance as palaeoenvironmental archives rely on limited capture and preservation for long term environmental records.
Supervisors: Dr. Alison Blyth (The Open University/Curtin University), Dr. William D. Gosling , and Dr. Iain Gilmore (both The Open University)
Examined by: Prof. Frank McDermot (University College Dublin), and Dr. Victoria Pearson (The Open University).
To borrow a copy from The Open University Library click here.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21954/ou.ro.0000ef12
Footnote: This post was somewhat lost (since March 2014…) and has just come to light in my blog post clean up (March 2022!). Natalie is now Laboratories Managers at Queen Mary, University of London.
March 14, 2022
With all the horror chaos in the world, science doesn’t seem like the most important thing. I forgot all about my paper, until I received an email, that… the first chapter of my PhD is published! Some positive news I would like to share with you.
If you think about a stereotypical scientist, hidden in a lab, investigating every detail of a tiny thing…. that is great description of what I was doing!
March 11, 2022
Open access
Witteveen, N.H., Hobus, C.E.M., Philip, A., Piperno, D.R. & McMichael, C.N.H. (2022) The variability of Amazonian palm phytoliths. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 300, 104613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2022.104613
March 10, 2022
Maezumi, S.Y., Elliott, S., Robinson, M., Betancourt, C.J., Gregorio de Souza, J., Alves, D., Grosvenor, M., Hilbert, L., Urrego, D.H., Gosling, W.D. & Iriarte, J. (2022) Legacies of Indigenous land use and cultural burning in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest ecotone. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 377, 20200499. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0499
March 9, 2022
Nascimento, M.N., Heijink, B.M., Bush, M.B., Gosling, W.D. & McMichael, C.N.H. (2022) Early to mid-Holocene human activity exerted gradual influences on Amazonian forest vegetation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 377, 20200498. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0498
March 8, 2022
Bush, M.B., Rozas-Davila, A., Raczka, M., Nascimento, M., Valencia, B., Sales, R.K., McMichael, C.N.H. & Gosling, W.D. (2022) A palaeoecological perspective on the transformation of the tropical Andes by early human activity. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 377, 20200497. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0497
March 7, 2022
Gosling, W.D., Scerri, E.M.L. & Kaboth-Bahr, S. (2022) The climate and vegetation backdrop to hominin evolution in Africa. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 377, 20200483. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0483
March 4, 2022
I wanted to share the details of Scholars at Risk Network with people today. This is an organisation that the University of Amsterdam is working with to provide support to scholars around the world who find themselves in difficult situations. The university is currently working with Scholars at Risk to see if there are additional possibilities to support people effected by the current crisis in Ukraine.