Community heterogeneity of Early Pennsylvanian peat mires

Research Article| August 01, 2004 Community heterogeneity of Early Pennsylvanian peat mires Robert A. Gastaldo; Robert A. Gastaldo 1Department of Geology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine 04901, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ivana M. Stevanović-Walls; Ivana M. Stevanović-Walls 2Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6316, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar William N. Ware; William N. Ware 31109 Wynterhall Land, Dunwoody, Georgia 30338, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Stephen F. Greb Stephen F. Greb 4Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2004) 32 (8): 693–696. https://doi.org/10.1130/G20515.1 Article history received: 26 Jan 2004 rev-recd: 23 Apr 2004 accepted: 04 May 2004 first online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share MailTo Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Robert A. Gastaldo, Ivana M. Stevanović-Walls, William N. Ware, Stephen F. Greb; Community heterogeneity of Early Pennsylvanian peat mires. Geology 2004;; 32 (8): 693–696. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G20515.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Reconstructions of Pennsylvanian coal swamps are some of the most common images of late Paleozoic terrestrial ecosystems. All reconstructions to date are based on data from either time-averaged permineralized peats or single-site collections. An erect, in situ Early Pennsylvanian forest preserved above the Blue Creek Coal, Black Warrior Basin, Alabama, was sampled in 17 localities over an area of >0.5 km2, resulting in the first temporally and spatially constrained Pennsylvanian mire data set. This three-tiered forest was heterogeneous. Lycopsid and calamitean trees composed the canopy, and lepidodendrids, Lepidophloios, and sigillarians grew together at most sites. More juvenile than mature lycopsid biomass occurs in the forest-floor litter, indicating a mixed-age, multicohort canopy. Pteridophytes (tree fern) and pteridosperms (seed fern) dominated as understory shrubs, whereas sphenophyllaleans, pteridophytes, and pteridosperms composed the ground-cover and liana tier. The proportion of canopy, understory, and ground-cover biomass varied across the forest. Low proportions of ground-cover and liana taxa existed where canopy fossils accounted for >60% of the litter. There is a distinct spatial clustering of sites with more or less understory (or ground cover) where canopy contribution was <60%. Where canopy biomass was low (<50%), understory shrubs contributed more biomass, indicative of light interception and/or competition strategies. Sphenopteris pottsvillea, a ubiquitous ground-cover plant, is abundant in all sites except one, where pteridosperm creepers and lianas dominate the litter, interpreted to indicate total suppression of other ground-cover growth. Ecological wet-dry gradients identified in other Pennsylvanian swamps do not exist in the Blue Creek mire, with the interpreted wettest (Lepidophloios), driest (Sigillaria), and intermediate (Lepidodendron sensu latu) taxa coexisting in most assemblages. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.