Search results for "Micromorphology"
showing 10 items of 19 documents
Early Middle Ages Houses of Gien (France) from the Inside: Geoarchaeology and Archaeobotany of 9th–11th c. Floors
2018
International audience; At Gien (France), indoor floors from early Middle Ages occupation (8th–10th c. AD) are very well preserved, providing a new reference for archaeological investigation in northern France. This site is located on an outcrop, 20 m above the Loire valley, where a 15th c. castle stands now. The medieval occupation combines high-status houses with crafting and agricultural areas. They constitute a new urban nucleus, which grew 2 km east from an ancient Roman settlement. During the rescue excavation, four buildings of different status were sampled and studied using an integrated approach, combining stratigraphy, micromorphology, chemical, macro-remain and phytolith analyses…
A tale of two gorges: Late Quaternary site formation and surface dynamics in the Mula basin (Murcia, Spain)
2018
Abstract We present a case-study in Palaeolithic archaeology focusing on formation processes at cave- and rock-shelter-sites in a Mediterranean context and on the correlation between site deposits, Quaternary surface sediments and the morphology of the surrounding land. We study three sites located in the basin of River Mula (Murcia, Spain): the cave-site of Cueva Anton and the rock-shelters of Finca Dona Martina and Abrigo de la Boja, in the Rambla Perea valley. They are examined through an integrated geoarchaeological approach that takes into account geomorphological, stratigraphic and soil micromorphological data. The three sites are found within a short distance and cover similar time s…
Stipa dickorei sp. nov. (Poaceae), three new records and a checklist of feather grasses of China
2016
Stipa dickorei sp. nov. from the Western Tibetan Plateau (China) is described. The new species is morphologically similar to S. regeliana, but they differ from each other in the length of ligules of vegetative shoots. Stipa dickorei is also similar to S. aliena, however they differ in the shape of panicle, which is contracted with straight branches in S. dickorei, and lax with flexuous branches in S. aliena. Images of macromorphological and micromorphological structures of the new taxon are provided. Additionally, new records of S. borysthenica, S. richteriana, and S. zalesskii, species not listed in the recent Flora of China, as well as a checklist of Chinese feather grasses are also prese…
Multivariate morphometric analysis of the Stipa turkestanica group (Poaceae: Stipa sect. Stipa)
2015
Based on numerical analyses of macromorphological characters (cluster analysis, principal coordinate analysis and principal component analysis), scanning electron microscopy observation of lemma and lamina micromorphology, as well as field observations, five taxa belonging to the Stipa turkestanica group have been recognized in the mountain area of Central Asia. They are S. turkestanica subsp. turkestanica, S. turkestanica subsp. trichoides, S. macroglossa subsp. macroglossa, S. macroglossa subsp. kazachstanica and S. kirghisorum. As a result of this study, we propose one new combination, S. macroglossa var. pubescens, and designate lectotypes for S. turkestanica subsp. trichoides and S. ma…
Stipa ×fallax (Poaceae: Pooideae: Stipeae), a new natural hybrid from Tajikistan, and a new combination in Stipa drobovii
2017
Stipa ×fallax nothosp. nov . (Poaceae), from western Pamir Alai Mts (Tajikistan), is described and illustrated. Field observation, numerical analyses of morphology, and pollen grain viability data show that it originated from hybridization between S. drobovii and S. macroglossa subsp. macroglossa , species representing sections Smirnovia and Stipa , respectively. Stipa ×fallax is morphologically close to S. ×alaica and S. ×hissarica , but is distinguished by its shortly pilose lower part of the awn and densely pubescent leaves. Characters distinguishing S. ×fallax from its parental species as well as similar hybrid taxa in section Smirnovia that also grow in Central Asia are presented. The …
A multiproxy record of palaeoenvironmental conditions at the Middle Palaeolithic site of Abric del Pastor (Eastern Iberia)
2019
This paper presents a multiproxy palaeoenvironmental study from Abric del Pastor (Alcoy, Spain), a rock shelter which has yielded evidence for Middle Palaeolithic human occupation. The sedimentary sequence has been analysed for lipid biomarker n-alkane abundances (ACL, CPI), compound specific leaf wax δH and δC, and bulk organic geochemistry (TOC, %N, %S), providing a record of past climate and local vegetation dynamics. Site formation processes have been reconstructed through the application of soil micromorphology. Analyses of anthracological, microvertebrate and macrofaunal assemblages from selected subunits are also presented here. Our data indicates that a variable climate marked by pr…
What do leaf anatomy and micromorphology tell us about the psammophilous Pancratium maritimum (Amaryllidaceae) in response to sand dune conditions?
2015
Abstract The present study aimed at verifying the morphological variation in leaf traits among different populations of Pancratium maritimum (sea daffodil) and the correlation between leaf diversity and climate conditions at different sites. Eleven populations of P. maritimum from Mediterranean coastal sand dunes were investigated with respect to leaf surface micro-morphology, leaf anatomy, and vascular pattern. Morphometric analysis was based on 29 quantitative foliar parameters. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis (PCA), discriminant function analysis (DFA), and clustering by Ward’s method were used for the statistical evaluation. Results revealed a rather u…
Comparative leaf micromorphology, anatomy and architecture in some Mediterranean species of Pancratium (Amaryllidaceae).
2015
Pancratium L. is the most widespread genus of the Eurasian clade of Amaryllidaceae. It includes about 20 species of bulbous herbaceous geophytes, naturally occurring only in Macaronesia, Mediterranean basin, and throughout Africa to tropical Asia, but also introduced and cultivated in many countries (De Castro & al.2012). Pancratium species generally occur in specialized habitats, such as dry rocky slopes, cliffs, sandy seashores, coastal dunes, desert sandy soils. Leaf features are the main adaptive strategies of these plants in response to the numerous environmental constraints. Leaves in Pancratium show a gross morphological identity being usually glaucous, ensiform, parallel-veined, pla…
Two-dimensional apparent microfabric of the basal Late Weichselian till and associated shear zone: case study from western Latvia
2008
The examination of glacial sediments in thin sections has become a common procedure in recent years. Apparent sand grain orientation (microfabric) in thin sections is one of the key elements marking certain microstructures. In an attempt to make till micromorphology studies less subjective and investigate the orientation of sand-sized particles in tills, we have developed an image analysis procedure to measure and analyse the spatial distribution of the till microfabric. We studied 13 thin sections of the Weichselian subglacial till and basal shear zone outcropping in the Baltic Sea bluffs at the Ziemupe site in western Latvia. The results were visualized as a two-dimensional grid of rose d…
Plant morphology: outdated or advanced discipline in modern plant sciences?
2018
Despite an increasing societal awareness and sensitivity about biological diversity and nature conservation as pivotal matters for human survival and well-being, plant systematics has gone through a steady decline in interest, and researches on these topics are often neglected. This particularly applies to plant morphology in its broad sense (i.e. including anatomy, histology, micro-morphology), which has increasingly become marginalized and considered less important than other scientific methods in plant biology. Notwithstanding, even in the current times of genomics (plus other “omics” topics) and functional ecology, when trait-based approaches are essential for studying and understanding…