About this Research Topic
Phytoliths are microscopic silica bodies deposited within and between plant cells. Due to their solid, rigid structures, phytoliths persist beyond the plant’s lifespan for up to millions of years. Consequently, phytoliths are invaluable tools for paleontological, archaeological, and evolutionary analyses.
Plant Si and phytolith research manifests an integration of life, Earth, and social science. Phytoliths in pedo-geological sediments are used for interpreting past vegetation, climate, and pedological properties/characteristics, and in archaeological sediments interpreting the subsistence of past human societies. Phytoliths and silicon in extant plants and ecosystems inform us about their formation and functioning, and the mitigation of climate change owing to the links between the silicon and carbon cycles.
The 13th International Meeting on Phytolith Research, held in the Dead Sea, Israel, in September 2023, is an opportunity to demonstrate the field’s current and future strengths, putting plant Si and phytolith research as an example of an integrative super-disciplinary field.
This Research Topic will compile a collection of the most up-to-date research in the field. The main focus should be on multi- and super-disciplinary studies that integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines, either by using knowledge from one discipline to inform another, or – preferably – merging knowledge from various disciplines in manners that form shared knowledge for all disciplines involved.
We hope that through the contributions, we will demonstrate to the broader scientific community how the field of plant Si and phytoliths is leading the way to increasing dialogue and collaboration across disciplines, and hence the merge of scientific research into a single framework.
We seek high-quality manuscripts reflecting integrative and discipline-joining approaches. While we primarily encourage the submission of research papers, all eligible manuscript types will be considered. As a rule of thumb, we expect and encourage contributions to reflect strong links between at least two of the following three disciplines: life sciences, Earth sciences, and social/human sciences.
Such topics include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Phytolith taxonomy used in plant systematics, provided that these are used in archaeology, palaeoecology, etc;
- Plant Si and phytoliths as an adaptation to environmental conditions, driver of ecosystem processes, etc;
- Phytolith analyses in palaeoecology, provided there are clear implications in topics such as plant/animal/ecosystem evolution, climate change, and human adaptations to the environment;
- Phytolith analyses in archaeology, provided that it has clear implications for human use of plant/animal/ecosystem resources, human adaptations to the environment, and human impacts on the environment;
- Phytolith analyses in soils and sediments and taphonomical aspects of them, provided that these are used in palaeo/archaeological interpretations, in biogeochemical studies related to the Si cycle.
Plant Si and phytolith research manifests an integration of life, Earth, and social science. Phytoliths in pedo-geological sediments are used for interpreting past vegetation, climate, and pedological properties/characteristics, and in archaeological sediments interpreting the subsistence of past human societies. Phytoliths and silicon in extant plants and ecosystems inform us about their formation and functioning, and the mitigation of climate change owing to the links between the silicon and carbon cycles.
The 13th International Meeting on Phytolith Research, held in the Dead Sea, Israel, in September 2023, is an opportunity to demonstrate the field’s current and future strengths, putting plant Si and phytolith research as an example of an integrative super-disciplinary field.
This Research Topic will compile a collection of the most up-to-date research in the field. The main focus should be on multi- and super-disciplinary studies that integrate knowledge from multiple disciplines, either by using knowledge from one discipline to inform another, or – preferably – merging knowledge from various disciplines in manners that form shared knowledge for all disciplines involved.
We hope that through the contributions, we will demonstrate to the broader scientific community how the field of plant Si and phytoliths is leading the way to increasing dialogue and collaboration across disciplines, and hence the merge of scientific research into a single framework.
We seek high-quality manuscripts reflecting integrative and discipline-joining approaches. While we primarily encourage the submission of research papers, all eligible manuscript types will be considered. As a rule of thumb, we expect and encourage contributions to reflect strong links between at least two of the following three disciplines: life sciences, Earth sciences, and social/human sciences.
Such topics include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Phytolith taxonomy used in plant systematics, provided that these are used in archaeology, palaeoecology, etc;
- Plant Si and phytoliths as an adaptation to environmental conditions, driver of ecosystem processes, etc;
- Phytolith analyses in palaeoecology, provided there are clear implications in topics such as plant/animal/ecosystem evolution, climate change, and human adaptations to the environment;
- Phytolith analyses in archaeology, provided that it has clear implications for human use of plant/animal/ecosystem resources, human adaptations to the environment, and human impacts on the environment;
- Phytolith analyses in soils and sediments and taphonomical aspects of them, provided that these are used in palaeo/archaeological interpretations, in biogeochemical studies related to the Si cycle.
Keywords: Phytolith, silicon, soil, palaeoecology, archaeology, anatomy, ecology, Earth System
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
