The opal phytolith inventory of soils in central Africa - Quantities, shapes, classification, and spectra

Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology

Volumn 107, Issue 1-2, 1999, Pages 23-53

  Runge, Freya ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF PADERBORN   (Germany)

Author keywords

Central Africa; Opal phytoliths; Phytolith classification; Phytolith spectra; Vegetation history

Indexed keywords

CLASSIFICATION; OPAL; PHYTOLITH; RAINFOREST; SOIL;

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC CONGO;

EID: 0032846194     PISSN: 00346667     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S0034-6667(99)00018-4     Document Type: Article

References (95)

1. Alexandre A., Meunier J.-D., Lézine A.-M., Vincens A., Schwartz D. Phytoliths: indicators of grassland dynamics during the late Holocene in intertropical Africa. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol. 136:1997;213-229.
2. Amos G.L. Silica in timbers. ACSIRO Bull. 267:1952;1-55.
3. Ball T.B., Gardner J.S., Brotherson J.D. Identifying phytoliths produced by the inflorescence bracts of three species of wheat (Triticum monococcum L., T. dicoccon Schrank., and T. aestivum L.) using computer-assisted image and statistical analyses. J. Arch. Sci. 23:1996;619-632.
4. Barthlott, W., Martens, B., 1979. Cuticular-Taxonomie der Gräser eines westafrikanischen Savannengebietes unter dem Aspekt der Futterpräferenzanalyse wildlebender Gross-Säuger. Akad. Wiss. Lit. Math.-Nat. Kl. Trop. Subtrop. Pflanzenwelt 30.
5. Bartolome J.W., Klukkert S.E., Barry W.J. Opal phytoliths as evidence for displacement of native californian grassland. Madrono. 33(3):1986;217-222.
6. Blackman E. Opaline silica in the range grasses of Southern Alberta. Can. J. Bot. 49:1971;769-781.
7. Bobrova E., Bobrov A. Phytoliths in soils: species composition, distribution along a soil profile, and value as environmental indicators. Cent. Cienc. Medioambientales CSIC Monogr. 4:1997;5-14.
8. Bonnett, O.T., 1972. Silicified cells of grasses: A major source of plant opal in Illinois soils. Univ. Illinois, Coll. Agric., Agric. Exp. Stn. Bull. 742.
9. Borger-Peters, I., 1971. Opalphytolithe. Informationsblatt Nachbarwissenschaften Vor- u Frühgeschichte 2. Botanik 3, 1-3, 5.
10. Boulvert, Y., 1986. Carte Phytogéographique de la République Centrafricaine, 1:1 000 000. ORSTOM Collect. Notice Expl. 104.
11. Bowdery, D., 1989. Phytolith analysis: Introduction and applications. In: Beck, W., Clark, A., Head, L. (Eds.), Plants in Australian Archaeology. Anthropol. Mus., Univ. Queensland, Tempus 1, pp. 161-196.
12. Bozarth S.R. Diagnostic opal phytoliths from rinds of selected Cucurbita species. Am. Antiq. 52:1987;607-615.
13. Bozarth S.R. Preliminary opal phytolith analysis of modern analogs from parklands, mixed forest, and selected conifer stands in Prince Albert National Park, Saskatchewan. Curr. Res. Pleistocene. 5:1988;45-46.
14. Bozarth, S.R., 1992. Classification of opal phytoliths formed in selected dicotyledons native to the Great Plains. In: Rapp Jr., G., Mulholland, S.C. (Eds.), Phytolith Systematics. Emerging Issues. Adv. Archaeol. Mus. Sci. 1, 193-214.
15. Brown D.A. Prospects and limits of a phytolith key for grasses in the central United States. J. Arch. Sci. 11:1984;345-368.
16. Cummings, L.S., 1992. Illustrated phytoliths from assorted food plants. In: Rapp Jr., G., Mulholland, S.C. (Eds.), Phytolith Systematics. Emerging Issue. Adv. Archaeol. Mus. Sci. 1, 175-192.
17. Cummings, L.S., Madole, R.S., 1996. A detailed comparison of phytoliths from several mid-latitude grasses, isotope values and the corresponding paleosol records from northeastern Colorado. Lecture on the 'First European Meeting on Phytolith Research', Madrid, Sept. 23-26, 1996.
18. Czaja, A.T., 1978. Stärke und Stärkespeicherung bei Gefäßpflanzen - Versuch einer Amylo-Taxonomie. Fischer, Stuttgart.
19. Dieterlen, F., 1978. Zur Phänologie des Äquatorialen Regenwaldes in Ost-Zaire (Kivu). Diss. Bot. 47.
20. Dormaar J.F., Lutwick L.E. Infrared spectra of humid acids and opal phytoliths as indicators of paleosols. Can. J. Sci. 49:1969;29-37.
21. Fischer, E., 1996. Die Vegetation des Parc National de Kahuzi-Bièga, Süd-Kivu, Zaire. Erdwiss. Forsch. XXXV.
22. Fisher R.F., Newell Bourne C., Fisher W.F. Opal phytoliths as an indicator of the foristics of prehistoric grasslands. Geoderma. 68(4):1995;243-255.
23. Fredlund, G.G., 1986. A 620.000 year opal phytolith record from central Nebraskan loess. In: Rovner, I. (Ed.), Plant Opal Phytolith Analysis in Archaeology and Paleoecology. Occas. Pap. 1 of the Phytolitharien. North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, pp. 12-23.
24. Fredlund G.G., Tieszen L.T. Modern phytolith assemblages from the North American Great Plains. J. Biogeogr. 21:1994;321-335.
25. Fredlund G.G., Tieszen L.T. Calibrating grass phytolith assemblages in climatic terms: Application to late Pleistocene assemblages from Kansas and Nebraska. Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol. 136:1997;199-211.
26. Fredlund G.G., Tieszen L.T. Phytolith and carbon isotope evidence for Late Quaternary vegetation and climate change in the southern Black Hills, South Dakota. Quat. Res. 47:1997;206-217.
27. Haerinck E., Vrydaghs L., Doutrelepont H. Des feux sacrificiels pour la divinité solaire à ed-Dur. Arab. Arch. Epig. 9:1998;125-130.
28. Hart D.M. Litterfall and decomposition in the Pilliga State Forests, New South Wales, Australia. Aust. J. Ecol. 20:1995;19-25.
29. Hart D.M. Phytoliths and fire in the Sidney Basin, New South Wales, Australia. Cent. Cienc. Medioambientales CSIC Monogr. 4:1997;101-110.
30. Hart D.M., Humphreys G.S. The mobility of phytoliths in soils: pedological considerations. Cent. Cienc. Medioambientales CSIC Monogr. 4:1997;93-100.
31. Hart, T.B., 1985. The ecology of a single-species dominant forest and a mixed forest in Zaire, Africa. UMI.
32. Hart T.B. Monodominant and species rich forests of the humid tropics: causes for their occurrence. Am. Nat. 133(5):1989;613-633.
33. Hart T.B., Hart J.A. The ecological basis of hunter-gatherer subsistence in African rain forests: The Mbuti of Eastern Zaire. Human Ecol. 14(1):1986;29-55.
34. Hart, T.B., Hart, J., Dechamps, R., Fournier, M., Ataholo, M., 1996. Changes in forest composition over the last 4000 years in the Ituri Basin, Zaire. In: Van der Maesen, L.J.G. (Ed.), The Biodiversity of African Plants. pp. 545-563.
35. Hartge, K.H., 1978. Einführung in die Bodenkunde. Enke, Stuttgart.
36. Jones L.H.P., Handreck K.A. Silica in soils, plants and animals. Adv. Agric. 19:1967;107-149.
37. Kaplan, L., Smith, M.B., Sneddon, L.A., 1992. Cereal grain phytoliths of Southwest Asia and Europe. In: Rapp Jr., G., Mulholland, S.C. (Eds.), Phytolith Systematics. Emerging Issues. Adv. Archaeol. Mus. Sci. 1, 149-174.
38. Kealhofer L., Piperno D.R. Opal phytoliths in Southeast Asian flora. Smithson. Contrib. Bot. 88:1998;1-52.
39. Kondo R., Iwasa Y. Biogenic opals of humic yellow latosols and yellow latosols in the Amazon region. Res. Bull. Obihiro Univ. 12:1981;231-239.
40. Kurman M.H. An opal phytolith and palynomorph study of extant and fossil soils in Kansas (USA). Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol. 49:1985;217-235.
41. Locker S., Martini E. Phytoliths at DSDP Site 591 in the southwest Pacific and the aridification of Australia. Geol. Rundsch. 78(3):1989;1165-1172.
42. McLean, B.L., 1995. Phytolith analysis of the Pretoria Saltpan: An attempt to determine palaeoenvironmental fluctuations within a 200,000 year lacustrine sequence. Univ. Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (unpubl.).
43. Mercader, J., 1997. Bajoel techo forestral. La evolution del poblamiento en el bosque ecuatorial de Ituri, Zaire. Ph.D. Diss., Univ. Complutense, Madrid.
44. Metcalfe, C.R., 1960. Anatomy of the Monocotyledons. I. Gramineae. Oxford Clarendon Press.
45. Metcalfe, C.R., 1971. Anatomy of the Monocotyledons. II. Cyperaceae. Oxford Clarendon Press.
46. Metcalfe, C.R., Chalk, L., 1979. Anatomy of the Dicotyledons. II. Leaves, Stem, and Wood in Relation to Taxonomy with Notes on Economic Uses. Oxford Clarendon Press.
47. Mullholland, S.C., Rapp Jr., G., 1992. A morphological classification of grass silica bodies. In: Rapp Jr., G., Mulholland, S.C. (Eds.), Phytolith Systematics. Emerging Issue. Adv. Archaeol. Mus. Sci. 1, 65-90.
48. Netolitzky, F., 1929. Die Kieselkörper. Die Kalksalze als Zellinhaltskörper. In: Linsbauer, K. (Ed.), Handbuch der Pflanzenanatomie. Allgemeiner Teil, Cytologie, III/1a. Borntraeger, Berlin, pp. 1-19, 101-118.
49. Ollendorf, A.L., 1992. Toward a classification scheme of sedge (Cyperaceae) phytoliths. In: Rapp Jr., G., Mulholland, S.C. (Eds.), Phytolith Systematics. Emerging Issue. Adv. Archaeol. Mus. Sci. 1, 91-111.
50. Palmer P.G. Grass cuticles: A new paleoecological tool for East African lake sediments. Can. J. Bot. 54(15):1976;1725-1734.
51. Palmer, P.G., Gerbeth-Jones, S., 1986. A scanning electron microscope survey of the epidermis of East African grasses, IV. Smithson. Contrib. Bot. 62.
52. Palmer, P.G., Gerbeth-Jones, S., 1988. A scanning electron microscope survey of the epidermis of East African grasses, V and West African Supplement. Smithson. Contrib. Bot. 67.
53. Palmer, P.G., Tucker, A.E., 1981. A scanning electron microscope survey of the epidermis of East African grasses, I. Smithson. Contrib. Bot. 49.
54. Palmer, P.G., Tucker, A.E., 1983. A scanning electron microscope survey of the epidermis of East African grasses, II. Smithson. Contrib. Bot. 53.
55. Palmer, P.G., Gerbeth-Jones, S., Hutchinson, S., 1985. A scanning electron microscope survey of the epidermis of East African grasses, III. Smithson. Contrib. Bot. 55.
56. Parry D.W., Kelso M. The distribution of silicon deposits in the roots of Molinia caerulea (L.) Moench. and Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. Ann. Bot. 39:1975;995-1001.
57. Parry D.W., Smithson F. Silicification of bulliform cells in grass. Nature. 181:1958;1549-1550.
58. Parry D.W., Smithson F. Types of opaline silica depositions in the leaves of British grasses. Ann. Bot. 28:1964;169-185.
59. Parry D.W., Smithson F. Opaline silica in the inflorescences of some British grasses and cereals. Ann. Bot. 30:1966;524-538.
60. Pearsall, D.M., 1989. Paleoethnobotany: A handbook of procedures. Academic Press, San Diego, 470 pp.
61. Pearsall, D.M., Dinan, E.H., 1992. Developing a phytolith classification system. In: Rapp Jr., G., Mulholland, S.C. (Eds.), Phytolith Systematics. Emerging Issue. Adv. Archaeol. Mus. Sci. 1, 37-64.
62. Pearsall, D.M., Trimble, M.K., 1983. Phytolith analysis of soil samples: Report 18. In: Clark, J.T., Kirch, P.V. (Eds.), Archaeological Investigations of the Mudlane-Waimea-Kawaihae Road Corridor, Island of Hawaii: An Interdisciplinary Study of an Environmental Transect. Bernice P. Bishop Mus. Dep. Rep. Ser. 83-1, 472-497.
63. Pearsall D.M., Trimble M.K. Identifying past agricultural activity through soil phytolith analysis: A case study from the Hawaiian Islands. J. Arch. Sci. 11:1984;119-133.
64. Piperno D.R. Phytolith taphonomy and distributions in archaeological sediments from Panama. J. Arch. Sci. 12:1985;247-267.
65. Piperno D.R. Phytolith analysis of geological sediments in Panama. Am. Antiq. 59:1985;13-19.
66. Piperno, D.R., 1988. Phytolith analysis - An Archaeological and Geological Perspective. Academic Press, London, 288 pp.
67. Piperno D.R. The occurrence of phytoliths in the reproductive structures of selected tropical angiosperm and their significance in tropical paleoecology, paleoethnobotany and systematics. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 61:1989;147-173.
68. Piperno D.R. The status of phytolith analysis in the American tropics. J. World Prehist. 5(2):1991;155-191.
69. Piperno, D.R., Pearsall, D.M., 1998. The silica bodies of tropical American grasses: Morphology, taxonomy, and implications for grass systematics and fossil phytolith identification. Smithson. Contrib. Bot. 85.
70. Polcyn M., Polcyn I., Rovner I., Neumann K. Phytolith contribution to paleoenvironmental investigations in the Sahel of Burkina Faso, West Africa. Cent. Cienc. Medioambientales CSIC Monogr. 4:1997;181-183.
71. Postek M.T. The occurrence of silica in the leaves of Magnolia grandiflora L. Bot. Gaz. 142(1):1981;124-134.
72. Rosen, A.M., 1992. A preliminary identification of silica skeletons from Near Eastern archaeological sites: an anatomical approach. In: Rapp Jr., G., Mulholland, S.C. (Eds.), Phytolith Systematics. Emerging Issue. Adv. Archaeol. Mus. Sci. 1, 129-147.
73. Runge F. Potential of opal phytoliths for use in paleoecological reconstruction in the humid tropics of Africa. Z. Geomorphol. N. F. Suppl. 99:1995;53-63.
74. Runge F. Opal-Phytolithe in Pflanzen aus dem humiden und semi-ariden Osten Afrikas und ihre Bedeutung für die Klima- und Vegetationsgeschichte. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 118(3):1996;303-363.
75. Runge, F., 1996b. Leaf phytoliths and silica skeletons from East African plants. Photo-CD (ROM), Paderborner Geographische Studien, Paderborn.
76. Runge, F., 1998. Opal-Phytolithe in Afrika und ihre Verwendung bei der Rekonstruktion paläoökologischer Umweltverhältnisse. Post-Doct. Thesis, Univ. Paderborn, Paderborn, 277 pp. (unpubl.).
77. Runge F., Runge J. Opal phytoliths in East African plants and soils. Cent. Cienc. Medioambientales CSIC Monogr. 4:1997;71-82.
78. Runge, F., Runge, J., 1998. Phytolithanalytische und vegetationsgeschichtliche Untersuchungen im Musizi-Karashoma-Sumpf, Kahuzi-Bièga-Nationalpark, Ost-Kongo (ex. Zaire). In: Runge, J. (Ed.), Geowissenschaftliche Forschungen in Afrika. Paderborner Geogr. Stud. 11, 79-104.
79. Runge J. New results on Late Quaternary landscape and vegetation dynamics in eastern Zaire. Z. Geomorphol. N. F. Suppl. 99:1995;65-74.
80. Runge J. Palaeoenvironmental interpretation of geomorphological and pedological studies in the rain forest 'core-areas' of eastern Zaire (Central Africa). South Afr. Geogr. J. 78(2):1996;91-97.
81. Runge, J., 1998a. Holozäne und rezente Klimaveränderungen, Bioturbation und Vegetationsdynamik in Zentralafrika. In: Runge, J. (Ed.), Geowissenschaftliche Forschungen in Afrika. Paderborner Geogr. Stud. 11, 57-77.
82. Runge, J., 1998b. Rezente und holozäne Vegetations- und Klimadynamik an der Regenwald/Savannengrenze in Nord-Kongo (Zaire) und der Zentralafrikanischen Republik (4°-5°20′N, 23°-25°E). Zentralbl. Geol. Paläontol. Teil I, 1/2, 91-113.
83. Runge, J., Runge, F., 1995. Late quaternary palaeoenvironmental conditions in eastern Zaire (Kivu) deduced from remote sensing, morpho-pedological and sedimentological studies (phytoliths, pollen, C-14). In: Le Thomas, A., Roche, E. (Eds.), 2nd Symp. on African Palynologie, March 6-10, 1995, Tervuren, CIFEG, Occas. Publ. 1995/31, Orléans, France.
84. Sangster A.G., Parry D.W. Endodermal silicon deposits and their linear distribution in developing roots of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. Ann. Bot. 40:1976;361-371.
85. Seidemann, J., 1966. Stärkeatlas - Grundlagen der Stärke-Mikroskopie und Beschreibung der wichtigsten Stärkearten. Paul Parey, Berlin.
86. Schuyler A.E. Scanning electron microscopy of achene epidermis in species of Scirpus (Cyperaceae) and related genera. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 123:1971;29-52.
87. Stewart, D.R.M., 1965. The epidermal characters of grasses, with special reference to East African plain species. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 84 (1), 63-116; (2), 117-174.
88. Stewart, D.R.M., 1965. The epidermal characters of grasses, with special reference to East African plain species. Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 84 (1), 63-116; (2), 117-174.
89. Toivonen H., Timonen T. Perigynium and achene epidermis in some species of Carex, subg. Vignea (Cyperaceae), studied by scanning electron microscopy. Ann. Bot. Fenn. 13:1976;49-59.
90. Twiss, P.C., 1986. Morphology of opal phytoliths in C3 and C4 grasses. In: Rovner, I. (Ed.), Plant Opal Phytolith Analysis in Archeology and Paleoecology. Occas. Pap. 1 of the Phytolitharien, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, pp. 4-11.
91. Twiss, P.C., 1987. Grass opal phytoliths as climatic indicators of the Great Plains Pleistocene. In: Johnson, W.C. (Ed.), Quaternary Environments of Kansas. Kansas Geol. Surv. Guideb. Ser. 5, 179-188.
92. Twiss, P.C., 1992. Predicted world distribution of C3 and C4 grass phytoliths. In: Rapp Jr., G., Mulholland, S.C. (Eds.) Phytolith Systematics. Emerging Issue. Adv. Archaeol. Mus. Sci. 1, 113-128.
93. Twiss P.C., Suess E., Smith R.M. Morphology classification of grass phytoliths. Soil. Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 33:1969;109-115.
94. Walter K.S. A preliminary study of the achene epidermis of certain Carex (Cyperaceae) using scanning electron microscopy. Mich. Bot. 14:1975;67-72.
95. Wilson S.M. Phytolith analysis at Kuk, an early agricultural site in Papua New Guinea. Archaeol. Oceania. 20:1985;90-96.