Predicting plant water availability from phytolith assemblages: an experimental approach for archaeological reconstructions in drylands

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• dc.contributor.author D’Agostini, Francesca
• dc.contributor.author Ruiz Pérez, Javier
• dc.contributor.author Madella, Marco
• dc.contributor.author Vadez, Vincent
• dc.contributor.author Lancelotti, Carla
• dc.date.accessioned 2024-12-03T13:14:17Z
• dc.date.available 2024-12-03T13:14:17Z
• dc.date.embargoEnd info:eu-repo/date/embargoEnd/2025-11-07
• dc.date.issued 2024
• dc.description.abstract In this study we investigate the relationship between phytolith formation and transpiration rate in Eleusine coracana (finger millet), Cenchrus americanus (syn. Pennisetum glaucum, pearl millet) and Sorghum bicolor (sorghum). The aim is to produce a prediction model to reconstruct water management for agriculture in archaeological contexts in drylands. Two kinds of phytolith proxy evidence have been tested in modern experimental growing seasons as indicators of water availability, the ratio of sensitive to fixed morphotypes and also a logistic regression predictive model built on the complete assemblage of all morphotypes of the three species. Our results show a relationship between total water transpired and phytolith formation, which can be best predicted by the application of statistical logistic regressions. This is because some morphotypes are positively correlated with water availability, others are negatively correlated, and the significance of specific morphotypes in response to water availability varies according to the species and the part of the plant where the phytolith is formed. Indeed, water stress prompts each plant to alter its phytolith production in a distinct manner. The outcomes of this investigation should be of interest to archaeobotanists seeking a way of detecting the past growing conditions of C4 crops, but also to physiologists and ecologists who are interested in the study of phytolith formation.
• dc.description.sponsorship This work is part of the RAINDROPS project funded by the European Research Council (ERC-Stg-2017) under grant agreement n. 759800. University Pompeu Fabra health and safety regulations have been followed during both the fieldwork and the laboratory work. RAINDROPS has received ethical approval from the Institutional Committee for Ethical Review of Projects (CIREP) at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ethics certificate n. 2017/7662/I). VV was partially supported by the Make Our Planet Great Again (MOPGA) ICARUS project (Improve Crops in Arid Regions and future climates) funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR, grant ANR-17-MPGA-0011). CASEs (UPF) is a Quality Research Group recognised by Agencia de Gestión de Ayudas Universitarias y de Investigación (the Catalan Agency for Research) (AGAUR-SGR 212).
• dc.embargo.liftdate 2025-11-07
• dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
• dc.identifier.citation D’Agostini F, Ruiz Pérez J, Madella M, Vadez V, Lancelotti C. Predicting plant water availability from phytolith assemblages: an experimental approach for archaeological reconstructions in drylands. Veget Hist Archaeobot. 2024. DOI: 10.1007/s00334-024-01012-9
• dc.identifier.issn 0939-6314
• dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10230/68910
• dc.language.iso eng
• dc.publisher Springer
• dc.relation.projectID info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/759800
• dc.rights This version of the article has been accepted for publication, after peer review (when applicable) and is subject to Springer Nature’s AM terms of use, but is not the Version of Record and does not reflect post-acceptance improvements, or any corrections. The Version of Record is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00334-024-01012-9
• dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
• dc.subject.keyword Phytoliths
• dc.subject.keyword Water availability
• dc.subject.keyword Agriculture
• dc.subject.keyword Sorghum
• dc.subject.keyword Pearl millet
• dc.subject.keyword Finger millet
• dc.title Predicting plant water availability from phytolith assemblages: an experimental approach for archaeological reconstructions in drylands
• dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
• dc.type.version info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion