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Fires in the mire: repeated fire events in Early Permian ‘peat forming’ vegetation of India
Author(s) -
Jasper André,
Agnihotri Deepa,
Tewari Rajni,
Spiekermann Rafael,
Pires Etiene Fabbrin,
Da Rosa Átila Augusto Stock,
Uhl Dieter
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geological journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.721
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1099-1034
pISSN - 0072-1050
DOI - 10.1002/gj.2860
Subject(s) - inertinite , charcoal , peat , mire , vegetation (pathology) , permian , coal , geology , coal mining , gondwana , paleontology , geochemistry , maceral , archaeology , geography , petrography , chemistry , medicine , organic chemistry , pathology , structural basin
Macro‐charcoal, as direct evidence of palaeo‐wildfires, is a common constituent throughout an Early Permian (Cisuralian) inertinite‐rich coal seam from the Dhanpuri Coal Mine (Barakar Formation, Sohagpur Coalfield, Madhya Pradesh, India). The continuous presence of macro‐charcoal within this particular seam demonstrates that fires occurred repeatedly in the source vegetation of the seam. Based on these macro‐charcoal remains, an anatomical assessment of the diversity and taxonomic composition of the vegetation, which experienced wildfires and contributed to the formation of peat/coal, is provided. The vegetation that experienced regular fires was dominated by gymnosperms, with a minor component of pteridophytes. The results also support previous studies, which suggest a pyrogenic origin for the high inertinite contents of many Permian coals within Gondwana. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.