Abstract The Miocene epoch (23.03–5.33 Ma) was a time interval of global warmth, relative
to today. Continental configurations and mountain topography transitioned toward modern …

Abstract The Eocene–Oligocene transition (EOT) was a climate shift from a largely ice-free
greenhouse world to an icehouse climate, involving the first major glaciation of Antarctica …

Background Opal phytoliths (microscopic silica bodies produced in and between the cells of
many plants) are a very resilient, often preserved type of plant microfossil. With the …

Humans have grazed on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) for many thousands of years. In
recent decades, the intensity of grazing has increased and several new management …

About 3 million years ago (Ma), the I sthmus of P anama joined the A mericas, forming a land
bridge over which inhabitants of each A merica invaded the other—the G reat A merican B …

Aim Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are widely distributed soil organisms that play
critical roles in ecosystem functions. However, little is known about their global distribution …

Vegetation structure is a key determinant of ecosystems and ecosystem function, but
paleoecological techniques to quantify it are lacking. We present a method for reconstructing …

Both dust and silica phytoliths have been shown to contribute to reducing tooth volume
during chewing. However, the way and the extent to which they individually contribute to …

Building on centuries of research based on herbarium specimens gathered through time
and around the globe, a new era of discovery, synthesis, and prediction using digitized …

Phytoliths, microscopic plant silica bodies, are often preserved in modern and fossil soils
and sediment, as well as in archaeological contexts. They record unique characteristics of …