Late Quaternary Vegetation Dynamics in the Southern Amazon Basin Inferred from Carbon Isotopes in Soil Organic Matter

2001 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hermes Augusto de Freitas ◽  
Luiz Carlos Ruiz Pessenda ◽  
Ramon Aravena ◽  
Susy Ely Marques Gouveia ◽  
Adauto de Souza Ribeiro ◽  
...  

AbstractCarbon isotopes of soil organic matter (SOM) were used to evaluate and establish the chronology of the vegetation dynamics of an ecosystem presently composed of savannas surrounded by forests. The study was carried out on a 200-km transect along highway BR 319, on the border of Amazonas and Rondônia states, in southern Amazon, Brazil. Large ranges in δ13C values were observed in SOM collected from profiles in the savanna (−27 to −14‰) and forest regions (−26 to −19‰), reflecting changing distribution of 13C-depleted C3 forest and 13C-enriched C4 savanna vegetation in response to climate change. These results indicate that from about 17,000 to 9000 14C yr B.P., the study area was covered by forest vegetation. Between approximately 9000 and 3000 14C yr B.P., savanna vegetation expanded at the expense of the forest. Although the expansion of savanna did not occur with the same intensity along the study transect, this process was very clearly registered by 13C-enrichment in the SOM. Since 3000 14C yr B.P., the carbon isotope data suggest that forested regions have expanded. This study adds to the mounting evidence that extensive forested areas existed in the Amazon during the last glaciation and that savanna vegetation expanded in response to warm and dry conditions during the early to middle Holocene.

Radiocarbon ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 537-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo Favilli ◽  
Markus Egli ◽  
Dagmar Brandova ◽  
Susan Ivy-Ochs ◽  
Peter W Kubik ◽  
...  

Glacier fluctuations and paleoclimatic oscillations during the Late Quaternary in Val di Rabbi (Trentino, northern Italy) were reconstructed using a combination of absolute dating techniques (14C and 10Be) and soil chemical characterization. Extraction and dating of the stable fraction of soil organic matter (SOM) gave valuable information about the minimum age of soil formation and contributed to the deciphering of geomorphic surface dynamics. The comparison of 10Be surface exposure dating (SED) of rock surfaces with the 14C ages of resilient (resistant to H2O2 oxidation) soil organic matter gave a fairly good agreement, but with some questionable aspects. It is concluded that, applied with adequate carefulness, dating of SOM with 14C might be a useful tool in reconstructing landscape history in high Alpine areas with siliceous parent material. The combination of 14C dating of SOM with SED with cosmogenic 10Be (on moraines and erratic boulders) indicated that deglaciation processes in Val di Rabbi were already ongoing by around 14,000 cal BP at an altitude of 2300 m asl and that glacier oscillations might have affected the higher part of the region until about 9000 cal BP. 10Be and 14C ages correlate well with the altitude of the sampling sites and with the established Lateglacial chronology.


Radiocarbon ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 1013-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. C. R. Pessenda ◽  
S. E. M. Gouveia ◽  
Ramon Aravena ◽  
B. M. Gomes ◽  
Rene Boulet ◽  
...  

This study, which was carried out in the southern Brazilian Amazon region (Rondônia state and Humaitá, Southern Amazon state), presents and discusses the significance of carbon isotope data measured in soil profiles collected across natural boundaries of forest to savanna vegetation. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the expansion-regression dynamics of these vegetation units in relation to climate changes during the Holocene. 14C data from charcoal, soil organic matter (SOM) and its component humin fraction indicate that the organic matter in the studied soils is essentially Holocene in origin. 13C data indicate that C3 type plants were the dominant vegetation at all study areas in the early Holocene, and during the entire Holocene, in the forest sites of Central Rondônia state and in the forest site 50 km from the city of Humaitá. 13C data also indicate that C4 plants have influenced significantly the vegetation at the transitional forest and the Cerrado (wooded savanna) sites of Southern Rondônia state and the forest ecosystem located 20 km from the Humaitá city. These typical C4 type isotopic signatures probably reflect a drier climate during the mid-Holocene. The 13C records representing probably the last 3000 yr show an expansion of the forest, due to a climatic improvement, in areas previously occupied by savanna vegetation. These results and other published data for the Amazon region indicate that the areas representing today's forest-savanna boundaries have been determined by significant vegetation changes during the Holocene. The boundary between forest and savanna vegetation seems to be quite sensitive to climatic change and should be the focus of more extensive research to correlate climate and past vegetation dynamics in the Amazon region.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 1799
Author(s):  
Denilson Dortzbach ◽  
Shirlei Almeida Assunção ◽  
Marcos Gervasio Pereira ◽  
Eduardo Carvalho da Silva Neto

The implementation of agricultural systems such as viticulture can quantitatively and qualitatively affect the contents of soil organic matter (SOM). These changes may modify the edaphic features of the soil as well as the soil quality. The objective of this study was to evaluate the chemical and physical fraction of SOMand to analyze changes in the carbon stock and C management index in areas of implanted vineyards in altitude regions of Santa Catarina. Four regions were selected: Region I (Urubici); Region II (San Joaquim); Region III (Campos Novos) and Region IV (Água Doce). In each region, we selected vineyards implanted between 2001 and 2005 as well as surrounding forested areas. Disturbed and undisturbed samples were collected from the 0-5, 5-10, and 10-20 cm layers of the soil. Samples were prepared in the laboratory to obtain air-dried soft soil, which was then used for the analysis of several parameters, namely total organic carbon (TOC), carbon stock,and chemical fractionation of the soil. The chemical fractionation was then used to determine carbon content in the fulvic acid fraction (C-FAF), humic acid fraction (C-HAF), and humin fraction (C-HUM). We also analyzed particle size, quantified the levels of particulate carbon (COp) and carbon associated with clay and silt (COam), and calculated the carbon management index (CMI). We evaluated normality and homogeneity for all data. The results were evaluated with an analysis of variance and subsequent F-test. Mean values were compared using a 5% Student’s t-test and subsequently submitted to a Tukey’s test. The highest TOC levels were observed in Region II in the 0-5 cm layer in both vineyard and forested areas. Vineyard areas exhibited lower values of TOC, Cop, and COam compared to forested areas indicating that the management adopted in these areas contributed to the reduction of these fractions. Forested areas exhibited a higher proportion of Cop compared to vineyard areas. The humin fraction represented the largest portion of the TOC and comprised the highest values in both forested and vineyard areas. The carbon management index indicated a low contribution of vineyard areas or a reduction in carbon storage in their soils.


2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Jarbas Ferreira Cunha ◽  
Beata Emoke Madari ◽  
Luciano Pasqualoto Canellas ◽  
Lucedino Paixão Ribeiro ◽  
Vinicius de Melo Benites ◽  
...  

Fertility properties, total C (Ctot), and chemical soil organic matter fractions (fulvic acid fraction - FA, humic acid fraction - HA, humin fraction - H) of anthropogenic dark earths (Terra Preta de Índio) of the Amazon basin were compared with those of Ferralsols with no anthropogenic A horizon. Terra Preta soils had a higher fertility (pH: 5.1-5.4; Sum of bases, SB: 8.93-10.33 cmol c kg-1 , CEC: 17.2-17.5 cmol c kg-1 , V: 51-59 %, P: 116-291 mg kg-1) and Ctot (44.6-44.7 g kg-1) than adjacent Ferralsols (pH: 4.4; SB: 2.04 cmol c kg-1, CEC: 9.5 cmol c kg-1, V: 21 %, P 5 mg kg-1, C: 37.9 g kg-1). The C distribution among humic substance fractions (FA, HA, H) in Terra Preta soils was also different, as shown by the ratios HA:FA and EA/H (EA=HA+FA) (2.1-3.0 and 1.06-1.08 for Terra Preta and 1.2 and 0.72 for Ferralsols, respectively). While the cation exchange capacity (CEC), of Ferralsols correlated with FA (r = 0.97), the CEC of Terra Preta correlated with H (r = 0.82). The correlation of the fertility of Terra Preta with the highly stable soil organic matter fraction (H) is highly significant for the development of sustainable soil fertility management models in tropical ecosystems.


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