This long-awaited book about non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) aims to cover gaps in our knowledge of these abundant but understudied palynological remains. NPPs, such as fungal spores, testate amoebae, dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs and animal remains, are routinely recovered from palynological preparations of marine or terrestrial material, from Proterozoic to recent geological times. This book gives the reader a comprehensive overview of the different types of NPPs, with examples from diverse time periods and environments. It provides guidance on sample preparation to maximize the recovery of these NPPs, detailed information on their diversity and ecological affinity, clarification on the nomenclature and demonstrates their value as environmental indicators. This volume will become the reference guide for any student, academic or practitioner interested in everything else in their palynological preparations.

This third volume in the Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research series deals with the major terrestrial, algal, and siliceous indicators used in paleolimnology. Other volumes deal with the acquisition and archiving of lake sediment cores, chronological techniques, and large-scale basin analysis methods (Volume 1), physical and geochemical parameters and methods (Volume 2), zoological techniques (Volume 4), and statistical and data handling methods (Volume 5). These monographs will provide sufficient detail and breadth to be useful handbooks for both seasoned practitioners as well as newcomers to the area of paleolimnology. Although the chapters in these volumes target mainly lacustrine settings, many of the techniques described can also be readily applied to fluvial, glacial, marine, estuarine, and peatland environments.

This book provides complete coverage of all aspects of the study of all fossil palynomorphs yet studied. It is a profusely illustrated treatment. The book serves both as a student text and general reference work. Palynomorphs yield information about age, geological and biological environment, climate during deposition, and other significant factors about the enclosing rocks. Extant spores and pollen are treated first, preparing the student for more difficult work with fossil sporomorphs and other kinds of palynomorphs. An appendix describes laboratory methods. The glossary, bibliographies and index are useful tools for study of the literature.

Fungi are ubiquitous in the world and responsible for driving the evolution and governing the sustainability of ecosystems now and in the past. Fossil Fungi is the first encyclopedic book devoted exclusively to fossil fungi and their activities through geologic time. The book begins with the historical context of research on fossil fungi (paleomycology), followed by how fungi are formed and studied as fossils, and their age. The next six chapters focus on the major lineages of fungi, arranging them in phylogenetic order and placing the fossils within a systematic framework. For each fossil the age and provenance are provided. Each chapter provides a detailed introduction to the living members of the group and a discussion of the fossils that are believed to belong in this group. The extensive bibliography (~ 2700 entries) includes papers on both extant and fossil fungi. Additional chapters include lichens, fungal spores, and the interactions of fungi with plants, animals, and the geosphere. The final chapter includes a discussion of fossil bacteria and other organisms that are fungal-like in appearance, and known from the fossil record. The book includes more than 475 illustrations, almost all in color, of fossil fungi, line drawings, and portraits of people, as well as a glossary of more than 700 mycological and paleontological terms that will be useful to both biologists and geoscientists. - First book devoted to the whole spectrum of the fossil record of fungi, ranging from Proterozoic fossils to the role of fungi in rock weathering - Detailed discussion of how fossil fungi are preserved and studied - Extensive bibliography with more than 2000 entries - Where possible, fungal fossils are placed in a modern systematic context - Each chapter within the systematic treatment of fungal lineages introduced with an easy-to-understand presentation of the main characters that define extant members - Extensive glossary of more than 700 entries that define both biological, geological, and mycological terminology

One of Springer’s Major Reference Works, this book gives the reader a truly global perspective. It is the first major reference work in its field. Paleoclimate topics covered in the encyclopedia give the reader the capability to place the observations of recent global warming in the context of longer-term natural climate fluctuations. Significant elements of the encyclopedia include recent developments in paleoclimate modeling, paleo-ocean circulation, as well as the influence of geological processes and biological feedbacks on global climate change. The encyclopedia gives the reader an entry point into the literature on these and many other groundbreaking topics.

This handbook provides a resource for those already familiar with some kinds of micro-particles who wish to learn more about others, or for those just starting out in the study of microremains who wish to have a broad understanding about microscopic archaeology. Topics covered in this handbook include diatom microfossils, starch granules, pollen grains, phytoliths, natural fibers, volcanic glass, minerals, insect remains, and feathers. Archaeological investigations increasingly rely on specialist identification of microscopic remnants found in sites. These micro-particles can provide information about the site environment and human activities that may not be apparent from artifacts and materials preserved on the macro-scale, and have given us new, and often high-profile, information about our past. The investigation of this "invisible archaeology" - that is, invisible to the naked eye - is still somewhat new, and generally each kind of micro-particle is studied individually. Researchers become experts in a narrow range of micro-particle types, but may be less familiar with, or even completely unaware of, the multitude of other forms that are frequently encountered in archaeological samples. This handbook’s accessible approach is suitable for those at the beginner level.

This handbook is a completely revised version of the first edition, which was published in 2012. Plant palaeoecologists use data from plant fossils and plant subfossils to reconstruct ecosystems and food economies of the past. This book deals with the study of subfossil plant material retrieved from archaeological excavations and cores dated to the Late Glacial and the Holocene. One of the main objectives of this book is to describe the processes that underlie the formation of the archaeobotanical archive and the ultimate composition of the archaeobotanical record - being the data that are sampled and identified from this immense archive. Our understanding of these processes benefits from a knowledge of plant ecology and traditional agricultural practices and food processing. This handbook summarizes the basic ecological principles that relate to the reconstruction of former vegetation and of the agricultural practices in particular. This handbook is a completely revised version of the first edition, which was published in 2012. An important adaptation relates to new developments in the research on diaspores (seeds and fruits). This mainly concerns morphology, taxonomy, and ecology. We reduced the treatment of research on pollen somewhat, and we now present it in an equivalent manner to the other research disciplines. We have extended the cereals with millets, a variable group of grains that play an important role in the agricultural development of both Eurasia and northern Africa. The taxonomy is largely in line with new insights based on combined morphological and genetic research, as published by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. The findings of our ethno-archaeobotanical fieldwork have been extensively documented in the Digital atlas of traditional agricultural practices and food processing (Cappers et al., 2016) and the Digital atlas of traditional food made from cereals and milk (Cappers 2018). We have incorporated part of this information in a condensed format in this version of the handbook, including the typologies of fuel, harvesting implements, ovens, and traditional food. The website of the Digital Plant Atlas project (www.plantatlas.eu) offers the opportunity to examine photographs of plant parts and of processes related to agricultural practices and food processing in more detail, using extensive search tools.

This 1993 textbook describes and explains the origin and evolution of plants as revealed by the fossil record.

The recent discovery of diverse fossil flowers and floral organs in Cretaceous strata has revealed astonishing details about the structural and systematic diversity of early angiosperms. Exploring the rich fossil record that has accumulated over the last three decades, this is a unique study of the evolutionary history of flowering plants from their earliest phases in obscurity to their dominance in modern vegetation. The discussion provides comprehensive biological and geological background information, before moving on to summarise the fossil record in detail. Including previously unpublished results based on research into Early and Late Cretaceous fossil floras from Europe and North America, the authors draw on direct palaeontological evidence of the pattern of angiosperm evolution through time. Synthesising palaeobotanical data with information from living plants, this unique book explores the latest research in the field, highlighting connections with phylogenetic systematics, structure and the biology of extant angiosperms.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. This book provides an important collection of new research that sheds light on many aspects of the evolutionary patterns of gymnosperms, angiosperms, and pteridophtes. The book includes a complete chloroplast genome sequence study and describes a method that induces the systemic silencing of target genes in the Ceratopteris gametophyte. It presents a study of how herbicide treatments reduce fern densities and create the establishment of regeneration. It also analyzes an EST dataset from G. biloba that reveals genes potentially unique to gymnosperms and includes a study of episodic rate acceleration in the ancestral grasses.