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Pre-Quaternary Records of Wildfire

  • Conference paper
Sediment Records of Biomass Burning and Global Change

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASII,volume 51))

Summary

The fossil record of charcoal extends back to the early history of the plant kingdom. This vast record has been approached in three ways: (1) Studies of specific events or deposits and attempting reconstructions; (2) Study of changes in fossil charcoal abundance and attributes across time; and (3) Experimental work that relates chemical and physical characteristics of the fossil charcoal (fusain) to the formative event. Before the Devonian, we have no evidence, only speculation about the possibility of fire. The Devonian record consists of a few specimens, whose identity and whose credentials as charcoal are in question. In the Carboniferous, unambiguous fossil charcoal is not only common, but often far too abundant to be explained by modern analogues. The Permian record has been little studied and is obscured by poor explanation of the peculiar features of Permian coals. Early work verifying the authenticity of fossil charcoal was done with Mesozoic charcoals, and charcoal is abundant in some Mesozoic sediments. However, almost nothing has been deduced about the fire ecology of Mesozoic environments. By the standards of more ancient sediments, fossil charcoal is present, but scarce in Late Tertiary sediments. The apparent variation of charcoal abundance over geologic time may reflect fundamental changes in the Earth system, including changes in climate, changes in atmospheric chemistry, and changes in the terrestrial carbon cycle. Alternately, it may be an artifact of selective preservation or selective sampling. The large amount of uncertainty surrounding the fossil charcoal record can be explained by the vastness of the material and the small number of people who have worked it. Many of the unknowns are open to experimental research, field study, and interpretive work.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia, 6150, Australia

    Jennifer M. Robinson, William G. Chaloner & Timothy P. Jones

  2. Royal Halloway, Bedford New College, University of London, Eggham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK

    William G. Chaloner

  3. Institut und Museum für Geologie und Palaeontologie, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Sigwartstrasse 10, Tübingen, D-72076, Germany

    Timothy P. Jones

Authors
  1. Jennifer M. Robinson
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  2. William G. Chaloner
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  3. Timothy P. Jones
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA

    James S. Clark

  2. Centre des Faibles Radioactivités, CNRS/CEA, Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France

    Hélène Cachier

  3. Arbeitsgruppe Feuerökologie, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Universität Freiburg, D-79085, Freiburg, Germany

    Johann G. Goldammer

  4. Great Lakes Forestry Center, Canadian Forest Service, P6A 5M7, Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Canada

    Brian Stocks

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© 1997 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Robinson, J.M., Chaloner, W.G., Jones, T.P. (1997). Pre-Quaternary Records of Wildfire. In: Clark, J.S., Cachier, H., Goldammer, J.G., Stocks, B. (eds) Sediment Records of Biomass Burning and Global Change. NATO ASI Series, vol 51. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59171-6_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-59171-6_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-63881-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-59171-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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