The Experts below are selected from a list of 9711 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Zhanfang Hou - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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extreme flooding of the lower yellow river near the northgrippian meghalayan boundary evidence from the shilipu archaeological site in southwestern shandong province china
Geomorphology, 2020Co-Authors: Zhanfang Hou, Xuexiang Chen, Yixuan Wang, Yougui Song, Mingkui Gao, Jianrong Pan, Ming Sun, Hui Fang, Jianye HanAbstract:Abstract Understanding the societal impacts of past climate changes may deepen our insight into human adaptation and resilience against potential climate changes in the future. However, the degree and nature of climate-civilization link are still a matter of debate. Fluvial deposits preserved within a cultural stratigraphical context at archaeological sites in the lower Yellow River area may offer an exceptional framework for evaluating the role of climate changes in the rise and fall of Ancient Civilizations. Here we show evidence for great lower Yellow River floods during the Neolithic-Bronze Age transition about 4000–3500 years ago. Comparing with existing terrestrial and marine records suggests that they were a downstream manifestation of flooding in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, most likely triggered by excessive summer precipitation while a weak El Nino condition prevailed. The floods substantially modified the preexisting landscape and altered the agricultural conditions, thereby driving people dwelling on the higher mounds to move upward. Our results provide a past analogue of the linked climatic, environmental, and societal changes at a time when large and rapid climate changes occurred.
Goncalo Amarante Guimaraes Pereira - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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time for chocolate current understanding and new perspectives on cacao witches broom disease research
PLOS Pathogens, 2015Co-Authors: Paulo Jose Pereira Lima Teixeira, Daniela P T Thomazella, Goncalo Amarante Guimaraes PereiraAbstract:Theobroma cacao is a tropical understory tree that is one of the most important perennial crops in agriculture. Treasured by Ancient Civilizations in Mesoamerica for over 3,000 years, the cocoa bean now supports a multibillion-dollar industry that is involved in the production and commercialization of chocolate, a treat appreciated worldwide. The cacao tree is originally from the Amazon rainforest and is currently grown in more than 50 countries throughout the humid tropics, serving as a major source of income for over 40 million people. Each year, more than 3 million tons of cocoa beans are produced, mostly by smallholder farmers in areas of high biodiversity. Notably, the cacao tree does not require direct sunlight and naturally grows under the canopy of other, taller trees. This characteristic often encourages farmers to preserve existing forests and to plant additional trees to shelter their cacao plants [1], thereby reducing the environmental impacts of cacao cultivation. Despite its great importance, the cacao tree is affected by a number of untreatable diseases that reduce fruit production and threaten our global supply of cacao. Among them, witches’ broom disease (WBD) stands out as one of the most severe problems that affect this crop, accounting for production losses of up to 90%.
Jianping Zhang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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phytolith analysis for differentiating between foxtail millet setaria italica and green foxtail setaria viridis
PLOS ONE, 2011Co-Authors: Jianping Zhang, Houyuan Lu, Naiqin Wu, Xiaoyan Yang, Xianmin DiaoAbstract:Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is one of the oldest domesticated cereal crops in Eurasia, but identifying foxtail millets, especially in charred grains, and differentiating it from its wild ancestor, green foxtail (Setaria viridis), in the archaeobotanical remains, is still problematic. Phytolithic analysis provides a meaningful method for identifying this important crop. In this paper, the silicon structure patterns in the glumes, lemmas, and paleas from inflorescence bracts in 16 modern plants of foxtail millet and green foxtail from China and Europe are examined using light microscopy with phase-contrast and a microscopic interferometer. Our research shows that the silicon structure of ΩIII from upper lemmas and paleas in foxtail millet and green foxtail can be correspondingly divided into two groups. The size of ΩIII type phytolith of foxtail millet is bigger than that from green foxtail. Discriminant function analysis reveals that 78.4% of data on foxtail millet and 76.9% of data on green foxtail are correctly classified. This means certain morphotypes of phytoliths are relatively reliable tools for distinguishing foxtail millet from green foxtail. Our results also revealed that the husk phytolith morphologies of foxtail millets from China and Eastern Europe are markedly different from those from Western Europe. Our research gives a meaningful method of separating foxtail millet and green foxtail. The implications of these findings for understanding the history of foxtail millet domestication and cultivation in Ancient Civilizations are significant.
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phytoliths analysis for the discrimination of foxtail millet setaria italica and common millet panicum miliaceum
PLOS ONE, 2009Co-Authors: Houyuan Lu, Naiqin Wu, Deke Xu, Jianping Zhang, Quan LiAbstract:Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and Common millet (Panicum miliaceum) are the oldest domesticated dry farming crops in Eurasia. Identifying these two millets in the archaeobotanical remains are still problematic, especially because the millet grains preserve only when charred. Phytoliths analysis provides a viable method for identifying this important crop. However, to date, the identification of millet phytoliths has been questionable, because very little study has been done on their morphometry and taxonomy. Particularly, no clear diagnostic feature has been used to distinguish between Foxtail millet and Common millet. Here we examined the anatomy and silicon structure patterns in the glumes, lemmas, and paleas from the inflorescence bracts in 27 modern plants of Foxtail millet, Common millet, and closely related grasses, using light microscopy with phase-contrast and microscopic interferometer. Our research shows that five key diagnostic characteristics in phytolith morphology can be used to distinguish Foxtail millet from Common millet based on the presence of cross-shaped type, regularly arranged papillae, Ω-undulated type, endings structures of epidermal long cell, and surface ridgy line sculpture in the former species. We have established identification criteria that, when used together, give the only reliable way of distinguishing between Foxtail millet and Common millet species based on their phytoliths characteristics, thus making a methodological contribution to phytolith research. Our findings also have important implications in the fields of plant taxonomy, agricultural archaeology, and the culture history of Ancient Civilizations.
Houyuan Lu - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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phytolith analysis for differentiating between foxtail millet setaria italica and green foxtail setaria viridis
PLOS ONE, 2011Co-Authors: Jianping Zhang, Houyuan Lu, Naiqin Wu, Xiaoyan Yang, Xianmin DiaoAbstract:Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is one of the oldest domesticated cereal crops in Eurasia, but identifying foxtail millets, especially in charred grains, and differentiating it from its wild ancestor, green foxtail (Setaria viridis), in the archaeobotanical remains, is still problematic. Phytolithic analysis provides a meaningful method for identifying this important crop. In this paper, the silicon structure patterns in the glumes, lemmas, and paleas from inflorescence bracts in 16 modern plants of foxtail millet and green foxtail from China and Europe are examined using light microscopy with phase-contrast and a microscopic interferometer. Our research shows that the silicon structure of ΩIII from upper lemmas and paleas in foxtail millet and green foxtail can be correspondingly divided into two groups. The size of ΩIII type phytolith of foxtail millet is bigger than that from green foxtail. Discriminant function analysis reveals that 78.4% of data on foxtail millet and 76.9% of data on green foxtail are correctly classified. This means certain morphotypes of phytoliths are relatively reliable tools for distinguishing foxtail millet from green foxtail. Our results also revealed that the husk phytolith morphologies of foxtail millets from China and Eastern Europe are markedly different from those from Western Europe. Our research gives a meaningful method of separating foxtail millet and green foxtail. The implications of these findings for understanding the history of foxtail millet domestication and cultivation in Ancient Civilizations are significant.
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phytoliths analysis for the discrimination of foxtail millet setaria italica and common millet panicum miliaceum
PLOS ONE, 2009Co-Authors: Houyuan Lu, Naiqin Wu, Deke Xu, Jianping Zhang, Quan LiAbstract:Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and Common millet (Panicum miliaceum) are the oldest domesticated dry farming crops in Eurasia. Identifying these two millets in the archaeobotanical remains are still problematic, especially because the millet grains preserve only when charred. Phytoliths analysis provides a viable method for identifying this important crop. However, to date, the identification of millet phytoliths has been questionable, because very little study has been done on their morphometry and taxonomy. Particularly, no clear diagnostic feature has been used to distinguish between Foxtail millet and Common millet. Here we examined the anatomy and silicon structure patterns in the glumes, lemmas, and paleas from the inflorescence bracts in 27 modern plants of Foxtail millet, Common millet, and closely related grasses, using light microscopy with phase-contrast and microscopic interferometer. Our research shows that five key diagnostic characteristics in phytolith morphology can be used to distinguish Foxtail millet from Common millet based on the presence of cross-shaped type, regularly arranged papillae, Ω-undulated type, endings structures of epidermal long cell, and surface ridgy line sculpture in the former species. We have established identification criteria that, when used together, give the only reliable way of distinguishing between Foxtail millet and Common millet species based on their phytoliths characteristics, thus making a methodological contribution to phytolith research. Our findings also have important implications in the fields of plant taxonomy, agricultural archaeology, and the culture history of Ancient Civilizations.
Jianye Han - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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extreme flooding of the lower yellow river near the northgrippian meghalayan boundary evidence from the shilipu archaeological site in southwestern shandong province china
Geomorphology, 2020Co-Authors: Zhanfang Hou, Xuexiang Chen, Yixuan Wang, Yougui Song, Mingkui Gao, Jianrong Pan, Ming Sun, Hui Fang, Jianye HanAbstract:Abstract Understanding the societal impacts of past climate changes may deepen our insight into human adaptation and resilience against potential climate changes in the future. However, the degree and nature of climate-civilization link are still a matter of debate. Fluvial deposits preserved within a cultural stratigraphical context at archaeological sites in the lower Yellow River area may offer an exceptional framework for evaluating the role of climate changes in the rise and fall of Ancient Civilizations. Here we show evidence for great lower Yellow River floods during the Neolithic-Bronze Age transition about 4000–3500 years ago. Comparing with existing terrestrial and marine records suggests that they were a downstream manifestation of flooding in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, most likely triggered by excessive summer precipitation while a weak El Nino condition prevailed. The floods substantially modified the preexisting landscape and altered the agricultural conditions, thereby driving people dwelling on the higher mounds to move upward. Our results provide a past analogue of the linked climatic, environmental, and societal changes at a time when large and rapid climate changes occurred.