Abstract

SERRANO-BRANAS, Claudia Inés  and  REYES-LUNA, Paola Carolina. Forensic paleobotany: an approach to plant taphonomy. Bol. Soc. Geol. Mex [online]. 2014, vol.66, n.1, pp.25-39. ISSN 1405-3322.

Taphonomy has undergone substantial changes within its field of study during the last decades, particularly concerning the understanding of the fossil record as an important source of information about the genesis of materials that occurs over temporal scales. Plant taphonomy is the study of the transition of plant remains from biosphere to lithosphere; this transition begins with the initial abscission of plant organs, followed by transportation, eventual deposition, burial and final lithification. Among these taphonomical stages, different processes and factors affecting taxonomic composition and type of the resultant fossil deposit can be recognized. The main goal of this paper is to provide an approximation of the different stages of the plant taphonomic process, highlighting the influence of transport, preservation, reworking and temporality potentials, and the main role of different sedimentary environments in the formation of plant fossil assemblages. The intrinsic plant nature along with the spacial discontinuity of sedimentary settings, their temporality and the variability of physical, chemical and biological factors during diagenesis, provide a complex interaction, essential for the understanding and interpretation of their fossil record.

Keywords : taphonomy; preservation; assemblages; fossil; plants; temporality.

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