In:
Scientific Reports, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 6, No. 1 ( 2016-09-08)
Abstract:
The appearance and expansion of C 4 plants in the Late Cenozoic was a dramatic example of terrestrial ecological change. The fire hypothesis, which suggests fire as a major cause of C 4 grassland is gaining support, yet a more detailed relationship between fire and vegetation-type change remains unresolved. We report the content and stable carbon isotope record of black carbon (BC) in a sediment core retrieved from the northeastern equatorial Pacific that covers the past 14.3 million years. The content record of BC suggests the development process of a flammable ecosystem. The stable carbon isotope record of BC reveals the existence of the Late Miocene C 4 expansion, the ‘C 4 maximum period of burned biomass’ during the Pliocene to Early Pleistocene, and the collapse of the C 4 in the Late Pleistocene. Records showing the initial expansion of C 4 plants after large fire support the role of fire as a destructive agent of C 3 -dominated forest, yet the weak relationships between fire and vegetation after initial expansion suggest that environmental advantages for C 4 plants were necessary to maintain the development of C 4 plants during the late Neogene. Among the various environmental factors, aridity is likely most influential in C 4 expansion.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2045-2322
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2016
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2615211-3
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