News

Researchers examining a soil profile (Photo: Martins, A. 10/2019)

Phytoliths and Soil Classification in Brazil, what do these have in common?

  • November 28, 2019
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Phytoliths and Soil Classification have many things in common!!!!! The use of a multiproxy approach to understand vegetation changes and the genesis of soils in Neotropical regions constitutes an area of investigation of great interest, which has recently attracted much attention in Brazil. In this context, the analysis of phytoliths is used as a complementary […]

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The new code for phytolith nomenclature, version 2.0 IS NOW published!

  • September 26, 2019
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The International Committee for Phytolith Taxonomy has worked hard !… The new international code for phytolith nomenclature is now available. We encourage all phytolith researchers to use it from now on! Thank you! Download the paper with its supplementary material can be downloaded for free on the Annals of Botany website

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Survey on grass phytolith identification: see the results!

  • September 26, 2019
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Caroline Strömberg and Tim Gallaher developed a machine learning and computer vision (ML&CV) tool for automatically identifying grass silica short cell phytoliths (GSSCP). To make this tool better than a human at identifying GSSCP, they asked phytolith researchers to take a test. You can still take this ~10-minute anonymous survey to try to identify 14 […]

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International Phytolith Society Board elections results

  • July 8, 2019
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Dear IPS members, The election period is now over and I am pleased to formally announce the results and congratulate our new IPS board members: President-elect Doris Barboni (23 votes) Member-at-large Yansheng Gu (18 votes) Member-at-large Katharina Neumann (15 votes) During the 30 days election period we have received a total number of 26 electronic […]

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Take a survey on grass phytolith identification!

  • May 9, 2019
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Caroline Strömberg and Tim Gallaher are developing a machine learning and computer vision (ML&CV) tool for automatically identifying grass silica short cell phytoliths (GSSCP). To make this tool better than a human at identifying GSSCP, they have to know just how good us phytolith researchers are. They need your help! Please take this ~10-minute anonymous […]

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Springs, palm groves, and the record of early hominins in Africa

  • May 6, 2019
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Barboni, D., Ashley, G.M., Bourel, B., Arraiz, H., Mazur, J.-C., 2019. Springs, palm groves, and the record of early hominins in Africa. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 266, 23–41. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2019.03.004   In this paper we explore the importance of groundwater-fed micro-habitats in Eastern Africa and provide new pollen and phytolith data to evaluate how […]

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Small-scale spatial resolution of the soil phytolith record in a rainforest and a dry forest in Costa Rica

  • May 6, 2019
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Crifò, C. and Strömberg, C.A., 2019. Small-scale spatial resolution of the soil phytolith record in a Neotropical rainforest and a dry forest in Costa Rica: applications to the deep-time fossil phytolith record. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.03.008 Our objective was to define guidelines for the collection of soil samples to conduct phytolith modern analogue studies […]

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Climate signal of soil phytolith assemblages from the Altay Mountains, Russia

  • May 6, 2019
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Solomonova, M.Y., Blinnikov, M.S., Silantyeva, M.M., Speranskaja, N.Y., 2019. Influence of moisture and temperature regimes on the phytolith assemblage composition of mountain ecosystems of the mid latitudes: a case study from the Altay Mountains. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 7, 2. dog: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00002 Reconstruction of past ecosystems requires understanding of modern deposition patterns and taphonomy […]

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Neanderthal plant use and pyrotechnology

  • May 6, 2019
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Wroth, K., Cabanes, D., Marston, J.M., Aldeias, V., Sandgathe, D., Turq, A., Goldberg, P., Dibble, H.L., 2019. Neanderthal plant use and pyrotechnology: phytolith analysis from Roc de Marsal, France. Archaeol Anthropol Sci. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-019-00793-9 The plant component of Neanderthal subsistence and technology is not well documented in many regions, partially due to the preservation constraints […]

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