Bibliographic Citation
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| Title | Early Herrin coal-swamp vegetation: Inferences from miospore floras in an abandoned paleochannel |
| Creator/Author | Willard, D.A. (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (USA)) |
| Publication Date | 1991 Jan 01 |
| OSTI Identifier | OSTI ID: 5747024 |
| Other Number(s) | ISSN0002-9122; CODEN: AJBOA |
| Resource Type | Journal Article |
| Resource Relation | American Journal of Botany |
| Subject | 011000 -- Coal, Lignite, & Peat-- Reserves, Geology, & Exploration; COAL DEPOSITS-- GEOBOTANY;ILLINOIS-- COAL DEPOSITS; COAL;DEPOSITION;GEOLOGIC HISTORY;PEAT;PLANTS;SPORES;SWAMPS;TOPOGRAPHY;VARIATIONS |
| Related Subject | AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS;BIOLOGY;BOTANY;CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS;ECOSYSTEMS;ENERGY SOURCES;FEDERAL REGION V;FOSSIL FUELS;FUELS;GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS;MATERIALS;MINERAL RESOURCES;NORTH AMERICA;ORGANIC MATTER;RESOURCES;TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS;USA;WETLANDS |
| Description/Abstract | A small paleochannel abandoned shortly prior to accumulation of peat to form the Herrin Coal was mapped and sampled in central Illinois.^Spore floras from underclays and from incremental coal samples collected within and around the paleochannel were quantified to assess vegetational responses to topographic changes.^In the paleochannel, underclay floras are diverse and dominated by miospores of cordaites, with miospores of tree ferns, small ferns, and sphenopsids common.^In contrast, underclays outside the paleochannel are dominated strongly by lycopod miospores.^The earliest coal in the paleochannel is dominated by tree-fern miospores with subdominant cordaites; subsequent increments exhibit alternating dominance of tree-fern and lycopod miospores.^Outside the paleochannel, all increments of coal are dominated by tree-fern or lycopod miospores.^Underclay miospore floras indicate that a more diverse, cordaitean-rich assemblage grew along the paleochannel flanks prior to peat accumulation, rather than the lycopod-dominated flora found elsewhere.^Unlike the surrounding swamp, the earliest coal in the paleochannel has an unusual miospore assemblage for the Herrin Coal.^Miospore and coal compaction data both indicate that peat accumulation began in the paleochannel before extending across a broader area.^These differences in miospore composition and abundance suggest that changes in topography and water-table level exerted strong control on vegetational composition of the coal swamp.^This unusual exposure provides evidence that edaphic factors related to topography influenced vegetational composition in both clastic and peat-accumulating swamps. |
| Country of Publication | United States |
| Language | English |
| Format | Pages: 97 |
| System Entry Date | 2001 May 13 |
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