Poster (Scientific congresses and symposiums)
From wood charcoals to trees: pitfalls and successes of the taxonomic identification in tropical contexts
Morin-Rivat, Julie; De Weerdt, Joëlle; Hubau, Wannes et al.
201419th National Symposium of Applied Biological Sciences
 

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Keywords :
wood charcoal; anthracology; Central Africa; tropical forest; paleoecology; palaeoenvironment; archaeology; human impact; environmental reconstruction
Abstract :
[en] So as to document the past history of tropical forests, several palaeoenvironmental proxies have been used. For instance, charcoals from soil deposits provide a local signal of the evolution of the vegetation together with snapshots of human interactions with the environment. As charcoal analyses are rare in tropical contexts, here we aim at presenting the different aspects of charcoal studies through their pitfalls and successes as well as the needs for further research. Charcoal analysis (anthracology) is a discipline initially from archaeobotany that consists in the analysis of pieces of charred wood primarily found in archaeological contexts but also in natural soil layers. Its goal is to identified the species that burnt during the past through the observation of the charred wood structure. Indeed carbonization, as the incomplete combustion of the ligneous material, preserves the wood structure. The identifications obtained through microscopic observations allow assessing past uses of wood and human impacts on the forest landscape. However, issues typically tropical exist: difficulties related to fieldwork accessibility, to sampling, to soil processing so as to collect the charcoals, difficulties related to the taxonomic identification because of the huge number of species and of the limited number of anatomical descriptions. New developments are nonetheless emerging for Central Africa with original anatomical descriptions, identification protocols and visual keys.
Disciplines :
Phytobiology (plant sciences, forestry, mycology...)
Environmental sciences & ecology
Archaeology
Author, co-author :
Morin-Rivat, Julie ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Forêts, Nature et Paysage > Laboratoire de Foresterie des régions trop. et subtropicales
De Weerdt, Joëlle;  Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale > Biologie du Bois
Hubau, Wannes;  University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment > School of Geography
Tshibamba, John;  University of Kisangani - DRC
Doucet, Jean-Louis ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Forêts, Nature et Paysage > Laboratoire de Foresterie des régions trop. et subtropicales
Beeckman, Hans;  Musée royal de l'Afrique centrale > Biologie du Bois
Language :
English
Title :
From wood charcoals to trees: pitfalls and successes of the taxonomic identification in tropical contexts
Publication date :
07 February 2014
Number of pages :
A0
Event name :
19th National Symposium of Applied Biological Sciences
Event place :
Gembloux, Belgium
Event date :
7 February 2014
Funders :
FRIA - Fonds pour la Formation à la Recherche dans l'Industrie et dans l'Agriculture [BE]
FRFC - Fonds de la Recherche Fondamentale Collective [BE]
EraNet Biodiversa - CoForChange project
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