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About this book
The main theme of this book is the reconstruction of past arid environments, with the help of palynology. Palynology was for a long time rarely practised in arid lands due to both technical and conceptual difficulties, mainly centered around poverty in pollen grains and different approaches necessary for treating the spectra, as compared with forested regions. However, recent developments in extraction techniques, along with new concepts applied for analysis of data, show the great potential lying in reconstructing past arid environments, along with a variety of ensuing ramifications. The book provides an update of the state of the art in this branch of science. Firstly, it deals with natural agents relevant to palynology in arid lands, from pollen release by parent plants through transportation, deposition and preservation in various types of rocks. Then it describes sampling strategies, various treatments for extracting microfossils from host rocks, identifying, counting and presenting the results. Concepts and ways for interpretations of results are discussed. There are several case studies, to demonstrate prospects and possibilities in reconstructing late Cenozoic vegetation, climate, transport, environments of deposition, structure, stratigraphy, regional paleogeography and human settlement of past arid environments. A discussion of pre-late Cenozoic arid lands palynology is also included, with examples from the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic deserts. Each topic is accompanied by photographs and line-drawings. There is an extensive bibliography and subject and author indexes. The book is intended for students and scientists, mainly in palynology, Quaternary sciences, geology, climatology, environmental sciences, paleoclimatology, evolution, biology, geomorphology of arid lands, botany, anthropology and archaeology.
Contents
Preface. Acknowledgements. Acknowledgements for reproductions of previously published material. 1. Introduction. Peculiarities of palynology in arid lands. Arid lands - definitions and terminology. Concepts and aims of this book. 2. Recent Pollen Spectra in Arid Lands. Pollen production. Pollen transportation. Pollen deposition, preservation and differential destruction. 3. Sediment-Pollen Relations in Arid Lands. Weathering. Sediment transport. Depositional environments. Cementation. Polyphase inclusion of pollen in sediments. Quantitative relations of pollen and sediments in various arid lands environments. 4. Sampling. Airborne pollen. Recent sediments. Water. Outcrops. Boreholes. Archeologic and prehistoric sites. Biogenic substances. 5. Extraction. General. A basic extraction method. Clastic sediments. Other substances. 6. Identification, Counting and Presentation. Identification. Counting. Presentation of the results. 7. Principles of Interpretation. Recent pollen spectra - a tool for interpreting the past. Arboreal pollen as a basis for interpretation. Non-arboreal pollen as a basis for interpretation. Grouping in pollen spectra and diagrams. 8. Reconstruction of Past Environments. Vegetation. Climate. Transport. Environments of deposition. Structure and landscape. 9. Regional Reconstruction of Past Arid Environments: the Late Cenozoic of Israel. Terminology. Pollen diagrams for the late Cenozoic of Israel. Development of the desert system in Israel. Paleoclimatic models. 10. Pollen Analysis of Archeological Sites in Arid Lands. The significance of samples collected from archeological sites in arid lands. Recognition of anthropogenic and livestock activities. Archeopalynology in Israel. 11. Pre-Late Cenozoic Palynology of Arid Lands. Constraints and precautions. Identifying paleoaridity by species diversity. Reconstructing paleoaridity from index taxa (Y. Eshet). References. Authors Index. Subject Index.
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