Ascospores of the parasitic fungus Kretzschmaria deusta as rainstorm indicators during a late Holocene beech-forest phase around lake Meerfelder Maar, Germany

van Geel, B. and Engels, Stefan and Martin-Puertas, C. and Brauer, A. (2013) Ascospores of the parasitic fungus Kretzschmaria deusta as rainstorm indicators during a late Holocene beech-forest phase around lake Meerfelder Maar, Germany. Journal of Paleolimnology (50), pp. 33-40. ISSN 0921-2728.

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-013-9701-2

Abstract

Discrete reddish-brown, predominantly minerogenic detrital layers along the Holocene, annually laminated sediment sequence of Lake Meerfelder Maar represent extreme runoff events. We conducted detailed microfacies analyses and a high-resolution palynological investigation, focusing on ten detrital layers throughout the Holocene. We studied triad samples taken directly under, in and above the detrital layer. Fagus sylvatica (beech) was a dominant species in the regional forest around Lake Meerfelder Maar after ca. 3,800 years ago. Three detrital layers occurring during the Fagus phase exhibit short-term maxima of ascospores of the parasitic fungus Kretzschmaria deusta. In contrast, the ascospore contents are low in the event layers deposited during the early and middle Holocene. Fagus is a vulnerable host species for Kretzschmaria deusta and the fungus is common on Fagus. Ascospores are formed on the trunk base, and under normal weather conditions, few spores appear outside the forest. We interpret the short peaks in abundance of K. deusta in the event layers as indicators for rainstorms during which material was transported from the forest floor into the lake by strong winds and stormwater runoff. The open beech forest facilitated wind transport of the ascospores. We recommend analysis of fungal spores in lake sediments because fungal records may help to identify extreme weather events, even when such events are not macroscopically visible in the sediment sequence.

Metadata

Item Type:	Article
School:	Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Stefan Engels
Date Deposited:	14 Jan 2021 11:59
Last Modified:	02 Aug 2023 18:05
URI:	https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/41764

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