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Abstract Detail


Paleobotanical Section

Ogez, Brittney [1], Jensen, Douglas [2].

Vascular Plant Diversity in the Middendorf Beds of South Carolina.

The Upper Cretaceous Middendorf beds of the Coastal Plain in South Carolina, first studied in depth by Berry (1914) contain a diverse assemblage of vascular plant leaves preserved either as impressions in a clay matrix or as a mineral precipitate upon those impressions. The Middendorf beds are considered stratigraphically as either a facies of the Black Creek Formation (Prowell et al. 2003) or as a separate formation. We studied the diversity of the plants within the type section of the Middendorf and compared the flora with that of the Black Creek. Building on prior work, we collected, prepared, and identified over 40 species (mostly Berry’s names) within the Middendorf by dégagement. The abundance of each species was estimated as the sum of all the leaf surface areas. A rank-abundance curve indicates the Middendorf to have been dominated by Ficus atavina closely followed by Sequoia reichenbachii, which together account for nearly 50% of the leaf biomass. Both the Shannon-Weiner Index and Simpson’s index show that the diversity within the Middendorf flora is comparable to that found in modern oak-hickory forests. We used Sørenson’s Community Coefficient to compare the Middendorf flora with the floras of several Black Creek localities. Our results indicate that these represent different plant communities.


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1 - Converse College, Biology, 580 E. Main St., Spartanburg, SC, 29302, USA
2 - Converse College, Department of Biology, 580 E Main St, Spartanburg, South Carolina, 29302, USA

Keywords:
Upper Cretaceous
Middendorf
Black Creek.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: CP11
Location: Williford A/Hilton
Date: Monday, July 9th, 2007
Time: 10:45 AM
Number: CP11003
Abstract ID:1927


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