Éditeur(s) : Université de Bucarest - Université de Bretagne occidentale
Résumé : This study is focusing on the architecture and recent sedimentary evolution of the Danube channel, the youngest channel-levee system in the Danube deep-sea fan. The study was conducted as part of the BlaSON French-Romanian Project, and combined high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles and chirp profiles with multibeam bathymetry and piston cores. This data set was acquired in 1998 during a joint survey IFREMER-GeoEcoMar of the north-western Black Sea. Previous seismic and acoustic data were also used. The Danube deep-sea fan is a large passive-margin mud-rich fan. Like the other systems of this type (Amazon fan, Mississippi fan or Indus fan) the Danube fan consists of stacked channel-levee systems intercalated with mass-transport deposits. Seismic and sedimentary facies in the Danube fan are similar to those identified in most of the mud-rich systems. Nevertheless, the Danube fan is distinguished by a specific feature: its development in a freshwater environment. This is due to the peculiar water-level history of the Black Sea controlled by the link to the Mediterranean through the Strait of Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. This connexion was successively interrupted (during sea level lowstands) and re-established (when the sea level was rising above the Bosphorus). Temporary absence of marine water influx during lowstands together with large freshwater inputs from the Danube and other major rivers changed the Black Sea into a freshwater lake during times of fan activity. This peculiarity possibly favourised the development of hyperpycnal flow at the Danube mouth and the initiation of turbidity currents in the deep-sea fan. The Danube channel is directly connected to the large shelf-indenting Danube canyon (also known as Viteaz canyon). The Danube canyon is deeply incised into the shelf margin for 26 km landward of the shelfbreak. During lowstands this canyon acted as the most important path for sediment supply to the deep sea in this part of the continental margin. It consists of a main trough with steep flanks, and a meandering thalweg cut into the flat canyon floor, attesting for the development of the canyon by erosion in the entrenched axial thalweg. Sections with specific morphology, orientation and gradient identified along the canyon, are interpreted as phases of landward expansion of the canyon. Internal structure of the canyon shows several erosional surfaces, which indicate that the present morphology of the canyon is the result of its polyphasic evolution. Instability in the zone of the canyon is related to the important sediment supply at the Danube mouth, to the presence of the gas in the surficial sediment, and possibly under a structural control. The upper part of the Danube channel (between the Danube canyon and ~1400 m depth) consists in a single leveed-channel that has undergone significant overbank deposition, as attested by the well-developed levees. The levees are strongly asymmetrical, being higher and wider on the right-hand side looking downstream. This type of asymmetry is rather common in deep-sea fans, and is generally attributed to the Coriolis effect (Menard, 1955). The channel is slightly sinuous, partially filled and incised by an entrenched thalweg, connected to the axial thalweg of the Danube canyon. Detailed seismic investigation inside the channel trough documented several depositional phases within the channel fill, separated by erosional surfaces. These surfaces are associated with distinct terraces identified on the multibeam bathymetry, that can be followed downward along the main trough axis. The valley fill deposits (where not removed by the subsequent erosional event) show an axial HAR (High Amplitude Reflections) seismic facies with lateral lower amplitude continuous reflections consisting in a levee facies, as proved by sampling. This indicates that filling up was associated with flow within the channel, and not with interruption of fan activity. On the middle slope below 1400 m, this single channel bifurcates through repeated avulsions. As a result, several highly meandering channels developed. The onlap relationships between these channels indicate that only one channel was active at a time. Each phase of avulsion resulted in a depositional unit consisting in a basal unchannelized lobe defined as High Amplitude Reflection Packets (HARP, Flood et al., 1991) that underlies a channel-levee system. The deposition of HARPs was associated with the readjustment of the longitudinal profile of the channel after the breaching of a levee, which resulted in remobilization of upslope channel deposits and eroded levees. When this adjustment was complete, erosion ceased and levees began to develop above the HARPs (Pirmez et al., 1997). All the identified phases of avulsion followed the same pattern: (1) breaching of the lower and narrower left levee; (2) building of a unit of High Amplitude Reflector Packets (HARP) basinward of the bifurcation point by the unchannelized flow, while the former channel was abandoned; and (3) initiation of a new meandering leveed channel. The northward migration of the resulting units through repeated bifurcations is influenced by the asymmetry between levees (hence by the Coriolis effect), and confined between the high levees of the initial phase of the Danube channel (to the south) and the steep relief of the Dniepr fan (to the north). Structure of the fan valley fill indicate that the erosional surfaces inside the upper channel could be formed in response of successive avulsions, by the adjustment of the longitudinal profile of the channel following the breaching of a levee wall. Sediments removed by erosion formed the HARP lobes basinward of the avulsion point. When this adjustment was complete, a channel-levee system developed downward of the bifurcation, overlying the HARPs, but also upward of this point, as a confined channel-levee system inside the erosional trough of the fan valley. Fluvial incisions identified on the continental shelf, together with the coastline location during the last active period of the Danube channel, indicated that the paleo-Danube was directed towards the head of the Danube canyon. Paleo-Danube mouth was fairly close (ca. 10 km) to the Danube canyon, supplying sediment to the Danube channel. Furthermore, hyperpycnal flow probably prevailed in the freshwater environment that characterized the Black Sea during times of fan activity. These conditions would have enabled the development of a quasi-continuous river-canyon-deep-sea fan system, ensuring the effective transfer of the sediment between the coastal zone and the deep sea.
Ce travail est consacré à l'étude de l'architecture et de l'évolution sédimentaire récente de l'éventail profond du Danube, en particulier de son dernier système chenal-levée: le chenal du Danube. L'étude a été réalisée dans le cadre du projet de coopération franco-roumaine BlaSON, à partir des données sismiques, bathymétriques-acoustiques et sédimentologiques acquises en 1998 lors d'une campagne en mer Noire réalisée par IFREMER et GeoEcoMar. Des données sismiques et acoustiques antérieures ont été également utilisées. L'éventail profond du Danube s'enserre dans la catégorie des grands éventails vaseux. Comme les autres systèmes de ce genre (tel que les éventails de l'Amazone, du Mississippi ou de l'Indus) il est constitué d'une succession de systèmes chenaux-levées intercalés avec des dépôts de transport en masse. Le fonctionnement de l'éventail était conditionné par la baisse du niveau marin lors des périodes glaciaires. Ses faciès sismiques et sédimentaires s'apparentent aux faciès qui caractérisent la plupart des éventails de ce type. L'éventail du Danube constitue néanmoins un cas particulier parmi les autres systèmes étudiés, du fait de son fonctionnement dans un bassin lacustre. Ceci est dû à la situation spécifique de la mer Noire dont la connexion avec la Méditerranée, par le détroit de Bosphore et la mer de Marmara, a été successivement interrompue (au cours de périodes de bas niveau) et reprise (quand le niveau marin remontait en dépassant le seuil du Bosphore). L'absence de l'apport d'eau salée pendant les périodes glaciaires, associée avec l'augmentation de l'apport fluvial, ont déterminé l'installation d'un milieu d'eau douce dans la mer Noire à chaque fois que la baisse du niveau permettait la reprise du fonctionnement de l'éventail profond. Cette situation particulière aurait favorisé la formation des courants hyperpycnaux à l'embouchure d'un fleuve du débit du Danube qui déversait ses eaux turbides dans un bassin lacustre, et aurait donc influencé l'apparition de courants de turbidité dans l'éventail profond. Le chenal du Danube s'est développé sur la pente continentale en prolongation du canyon du Danube (ou Viteaz) auquel il est directement connecté. Le canyon est incisé de manière significative (26 km) dans la plate-forme continentale. Au cours de bas-niveaux marins il constituait la principale voie de transfert des sédiments terrigènes vers le bassin profond dans cette partie de la marge. Le canyon est constitué par une entaille avec des flancs abrupts et un talweg axial incisé, qui montre l'importance du processus d'érosion du fond pour le développement du canyon. Les segments qui ont été identifiés le long du canyon, avec des morphologies, des orientations et des pentes spécifiques, sont interprétés comme des phases d'avancement du canyon vers la côte. Plusieurs incisions sont visibles dans la structure interne du canyon et témoignent que la morphologie actuelle du canyon est le résultat de son évolution polyphasée. L'instabilité de la zone du canyon est en relation avec les apports sédimentaires importants à l'embouchure du Danube, avec la présence du gaz dans les sédiments superficiels, et possiblement sous un contrôle structural. Sur la pente supérieure (entre le canyon du Danube et environ 1400 m de profondeur) le chenal du Danube présente des levées bien développées et fortement asymétriques, avec la levée droite plus haute et plus large que la levée gauche. Ce type d'asymétrie, fréquemment décrit dans les éventails profonds est généralement attribué à l'effet Coriolis (Menard, 1955). Le chenal est légèrement sinueux, partiellement comblé et incisé par un talweg axial qui représente la continuation sur la pente du talweg incisé dans le canyon du Danube. L'analyse sismique détaillée du remplissage de la vallée montre plusieurs phases de dépôt, séparées par des discontinuités érosives. Ces surfaces d'érosion correspondent à des terrasses emboîtées, relativement parallèles le long de la vallée, visibles dans la bathymétrie. Les dépôts qui constituent le remplissage du chenal présentent un faciès sismique de type HAR (High Amplitude Reflections) dans l'axe du chenal, partiellement (ou parfois totalement) enlevé par les phases d'érosion subséquentes, qui continue latéralement avec des réflexions litées correspondant à un faciès sédimentaire de levée. Le remplissage de la vallée a été donc associé avec des écoulements dans le chenal, et non pas avec l'interruption de son fonctionnement. Sur la pente inférieure, le chenal unique bifurque plusieurs fois par avulsion et forme de nouveaux systèmes chenaux-levées méandriformes. Ces systèmes se succèdent verticalement en onlap, ce qui montre qu'un seul chenal a été actif à la fois. Chaque phase d'avulsion a eu comme résultat la mise en place d'une unité constituée par un lobe défini comme "High Amplitude Reflection Packets" (HARP, Flood et al., 1991) à la base, et un système chenal-levée au sommet. Le dépôt d'un lobe HARP est associé avec de l'érosion dans le chenal en amont du point d'avulsion pour l'ajustement de son profil après la rupture de la levée. Quand le chenal a retrouvé son profil d'équilibre, l'érosion a cessé et des levées ont commencé à se développer au-dessus des HARPs (Pirmez et al., 1997). Toutes les phases d'avulsion se sont développées d'après le même modèle: (1) la rupture de la levée gauche, plus étroite; (2) le dépôt d'un lobe HARP par les écoulements non-chenalisés en aval du point d'avulsion, et l'abandon de l'ancien chenal; (3) l'initiation d'un nouveau système chenal-levée. La migration systématique du chenal vers le nord est influencée par l'assymétrie des levées (donc par la force de Coriolis), et confinée entre les grandes levées de la phase initiale du chenal du Danube, au sud, et le relief abrupt de l'éventail du Dniepr au nord. La structure sédimentaire du chenal du Danube indique que les surfaces érosives à l'intérieur du remplissage du chenal se seraient formées en réponse aux avulsions, du fait de l'ajustement du profil du chenal après la rupture d'une levée. Les sédiments du chenal érodés au cours de ce processus ont formé les lobes HARP. Quand le chenal a retrouvé son profil d'équilibre, un système chenal-levée s'est développé en aval du point d'avulsion au dessus du lobe HARP, mais aussi en amont de ce point, où il se trouve confiné dans la vallée érosive. Les incisions fluviatiles identifiés sur la plate-forme continentale et la position de la ligne de côte pendant la dernière période d'activité du chenal du Danube montrent que le paléo-Danube se dirigeait directement vers la tête du canyon du Danube. Son embouchure était située à proximité du canyon, qui alimentait le chenal du Danube. Cependant, les courants hyperpycnaux devaient prévaloir dans le milieu de salinité réduite qui caractérisait la mer Noire lors des périodes actives de l'éventail. Ces conditions auraient favorisé la mise en place d'un système quasi-continu fleuve-canyon-éventail profond, qui contrôlait le transfert des sédiments entre la côte et le bassin profond.

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2002/these-1206.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/1206/

Résumé : Les mécanismes à l’origine du maintien de la forte diversité locale des arbres des forêts tropicales humides constituent encore une énigme pour les scientifiques. Cette thèse a pour but d’étudier et de comprendre certains facteurs biotiques et abiotiques qui influencent l’assemblage des communautés des forêts tropicales humides d’Amazonie. A l’aide d’une approche empirique conduite dans les forêts tropicales de Guyane française et du Loreto au Pérou, de nombreuses expériences de terrain ont été mises en place dans le but d’apporter des éléments de réponse sur les mécanismes impliqués dans le maintien de la diversité des communautés d’arbres et d’insectes des forêts amazoniennes. Dans un premier temps, cette thèse permet de souligner l’importance des pressions biotiques exercées sur les communautés d’arbres. En effet, les communautés d’insectes peuvent influencer la composition des communautés d’arbres le long d’un gradient environnemental conduisant à des compromis entre la défense et la croissance. Ces compromis ou tradeoff permettent de maintenir la coexistence des espèces de forêts tropicales humides en favorisant la spécialisation des arbres à leur habitat (Chapitre 1, Annexe 3). Cependant, de nombreux facteurs peuvent engendrer des variations dans les compromis d’allocation exhibés par les plantes, ce qui peut compliquer la validité de ces résultats. Dans ce sens, nous avons souligné l’influence du rôle de la cascade trophique et l’existence chez certaines espèces d’arbres de stratégies d’évitement des insectes (Chapitre 2). Dans un second temps, nous avons montré que les filtres environnementaux et les distances géographiques favorisent un fort turnover de la composition des arthropodes des forêts tropicales (chapitre 3, Annexe 2). Les résultats de cette étude ont des implications fondamentales sur les mécanismes qui expliquent la structuration des communautés d’insectes herbivores. Nous avons souligné l’importance de l’interaction des communautés des insectes herbivores et de leurs plantes associées. De plus, des prédictions sont présentées sur le degré de spécialisation des insectes à leur plante-hôte (Annexe 3), notamment sur les implications possibles dans les compromis d’allocation chez les plantes. Finalement, des perspectives de recherche sont proposées en vue de poursuivre ces travaux de recherche, et notamment des extensions de mes expériences vers d’autres régions tropicales et tempérées et l’intégration de la phylogénie pour comprendre des mécanismes de coévolution entre communautés d’arbres et insectes. Nous proposons également une intégration des résultats de cette thèse dans les stratégies locales et régionales de conservation des forêts tropicales du bassin amazonien.
The mechanisms underlying the maintenance of local diversity of trees in tropical rainforests remain under debate. This dissertation aims to study and understand some biotic and abiotic factors that may influence both tree and insect community assembly in lowland tropical forests of Amazonia. I used an empirical approach to study communities of trees and insects in tropical forests of French Guiana and Peru, to address the extent to which insect herbivores contribute to the turnover of tree species across strong environmental gradients. In Chapter 1, I studied how herbivorous insect communities can influence the composition of tree communities along an environmental gradient by reinforcing tradeoffs between defense and growth that promote habitat specialization (Chapter 1, Appendix 3). The complicated variation in the patterns of growth and defense from this study led me to pursue further observations of an alternative plant defense strategy of time-avoidance of herbivores, which I examined in detail in Chapter 2. I found evidence for coordinated leaf production in some tree species that was consistent with the satiation of herbivores, suggesting that multiple interactions between plants and their herbivores may be responsible for patterns of habitat specialization in trees. In the second part of the dissertation, I examined insect herbivore communities in detail to test for turnover in species composition across geographic and environmental gradients. In Chapter 3, I present evidence for substantial beta-diversity in arthropod communities throughout lowland Amazonian forests. In the discussion I propose research perspectives to complete this research, including the extension of observations to compare tropical and temperate regions and the integration of molecular phylogenetics information to study coevolution of plant lineages and their insect herbivores. I conclude with suggestions for the integration of the results of this thesis in local and regional strategies for the preservation and conservation of tropical forests in the Amazon basin.

http://www.theses.fr/2013AGUY0582/document

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : The Borborema Province, in the NE of Brazil, is a rather complex piece in the Brazil-Africa puzzle as it represents the junction of the Dahomeyide/Pharusian, Central African, Aracuai and Brasilia fold belts located between the West-African/Sao Luis, Congo/Sao Francisco and Amazonas craton. The correlation between the Dahomeyides from W-Africa (Ghana, Benin, Togo, and Mali) and the Borborema Province involves the Medio Coreau and Central Ceara domains. The inferred continuation of the main oceanic suture zone exposed in the Dahomeyides of W Africa is buried beneath the Phanerozoic Parnaiba Basin in Brazil (northwest of the Medio Coreau domain) where some high density gravity anomalies may represent hidden remnants of an oceanic suture. In addition to this major suture a narrow, nearly continuous strip composed of mainly mafic pods containing relics of eclogite-facies assemblages associated with partially migmatized granulite-facies metapelitic gneisses has been found further east in the NW Borborema Province. These high pressure mafic rocks, interpreted as retrograded eclogites, are located between the Transbrasiliano Lineament and the Santa Quiteria continental arc and comprise primitive to evolved arc-related rocks with either arc- or MORB-type imprints that can indicate either deep subduction of oceanic lithosphere or roots of continental and oceanic magmatic arcs. Average peak P-T conditions under eclogite-facies metamorphism (T=770 degrees C and P = 17.3 kbar) were estimated using garnet-clinopyroxene thermometry and Jd content in clinopyroxene. Transition to granulite-facies conditions, as well as later widespread re-equilibration under amphibolite facies, were registered both in the basic and the metapelitic rocks and suggest a clockwise P-T path characterized by an increase in temperature followed by strong decompression. A phenomenon possibly related to the exhumation of a highly thickened crust associated with the suturing of the Medio Coreau and Central Ceara domains, two distinct crustal blocks separated by the Transbrasiliano Lineament.
ISSN: 1342-937X

hal-00413584
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00413584
DOI : 10.1016/j.gr.2009.01.003

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Résumé : International audience
Whereas broad-scale Amazonian forest types have been shown to influence the structure of the communities of medium-to large-bodied vertebrates, their natural heterogeneity at smaller scale or within the terra firme forests remains poorly described and understood. Diversity indices of such communities and the relative abundance of the 21 most commonly observed species were compared from standardized line-transect data across 25 study sites distributed in undisturbed forests in French Guiana. We first assessed the relevance of a forest typology based on geomorphological landscapes to explain the observed heterogeneity. As previously found for tree beta-diversity patterns, this new typology proved to be a non-negligible factor underlying the beta diversity of the communities of medium-to large bodied vertebrates in French Guianan terra firme forests. Although the species studied are almost ubiquitous across the region, they exhibited habitat preferences through significant variation in abundance and in their association index with the different landscape types. As terra firme forests represent more than 90% of the Amazon basin, characterizing their heterogeneity-including faunal communities-is a major challenge in neotropical forest ecology.
ISSN: 0266-4674

hal-01502647
https://hal-agroparistech.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01502647
DOI : 10.1017/S0266467415000255

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : Integrated field, LA-MC-ICP-MS geochronology and geochemical data from the Novo Oriente Group have been investigated in order to determine their provenance and possible tectonic setting. This group in the southwestern portion of the Ceara Central Domain, is a well-preserved metavolcanosedimentary sequence, in part exhalative, composed of two distinct formations. The proximal coastal Bonsucesso Formation comprises mainly quartzite and minor basic metavolcanic rocks and is in gradational contact with the distal Caranbas Formation which constitutes a metapelitic-volcanic-carbonate sequence, including metabasic rocks with pillow structure and sheared serpentinized ultrabasic rocks. The youngest detrital zircon found in the quartzite of the Bonsucesso Formation yielded an age of ca. 2.1 Ga and well-defined peaks around 2.2.2.3-2.4 and 2.5 Ga. In addition, zircons from a related metabasalt yielded an upper intercept age of 2083 +/- 28 Ma. We interpret the zircons found in this metabasalt as inherited from the host quartzite. This fact is supported by depleted-mantle Nd model ages (T-DM age) from correlated metabasic and metaultrabasic rocks from other places in the Novo Oriente sequence, which have yielded ages between 1.36 and 1.69 Ga, that is younger than the zircon age obtained in the metabasalt extruded over the Bonsucesso quartzite. Geochemical data of the metasedimentary rocks from the Caraubas Formation indicates a provenance composed of a mixture of felsic and intermediate sources typical of old stable cratons and older continental roots of active tectonic settings. The rocks of the Crania (Medio Coreau Domain) and Bacaja Complexes (southeastern Amazonian Craton) exposed to the west of the Novo Oriente Group, and largely covered by the Phanerozoic Parnaiba intracratonic basin, are the most likely source rocks. Since the precise age of the Novo Oriente Group is not yet well constrained, two distinct settings may be proposed: (1) it may represent a more evolved basin developed from extensional processes during the Mesoproterozoic (ca. 1.5-1.3 Ga); and (2) it could constitute part of the passive margin systems developed during the break-up of the Rodinia crown copyright supercontinent (ca. 0.95-0.8 Ga), associated with a pre-Brasiliano/Pan-African ocean (e.g. Pharusian Ocean). Crown.
ISSN: 1342-937X

hal-00512825
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00512825
DOI : 10.1016/j.gr.2010.02.001

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
The Madeira Sn-Nb-Ta deposit corresponds to the albite-enriched facies of Madeira granite (Madeira Suite) that is part of a NE-SW alignment of three granitic bodies. Structural analyses suggest that the albite-enriched granite emplacement and development of related structures occurred in a different tectonic setting than earlier facies of the granitic bodies in the NE-SW alignment and that the structure was dominated by a N-NE-trending shortening related to a left-lateral motion along a NE-SW corridor within a Riedel shear. Three types of structures (flat-lying, near vertical fractures, and geodes/miaroles) concentrated the last magmatic-related fluid in the albite-enriched granite. U-Pb in situ zircon dating of the albite-enriched granite yielded an age of 1,822 ± 22 Ma. The other granitic plutons of the Madeira Suite, Água Boa granite (topaz-granite facies), and Europa per-alkaline granite formed at 1,825 ± 14 Ma, 1,831± 11 Ma, and 1,839 ± 10 Ma, respectively. The granite bodies of the Madeira Suite occur in an area occupied by a cauldron complex composed of volcanic sequences (Iricoumé Group) and associated A-type granites (Mapuera Suite), and their formation was controlled by the reactivation of the cauldron structures and the pre-existing structures. The gap between the cauldron complex and the Madeira Suite is no greater than 35 Ma. The geological evolution was reanalyzed from the perspective of an entire extensional environment where three successive episodes of A-type magmatism and basin formation (Urupi Formation) occurred. The data and interpretations of this work imply crucial constraints on the petrologic models proposed for the albite-enriched granite and, consequently, on the genesis of the Madeira deposit
ISSN: 0301-9268

insu-00939888
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00939888
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00939888/document
https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00939888/file/BastosNeto-PrecambrianResearch-2014.pdf
DOI : 10.1016/j.precamres.2013.12.021

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Wiley
Résumé :  
1. Relationships between tropical rain forest biomass and environmental factors have been determined at regional scales, e.g. the Amazon Basin, but the reasons for the high variability in forest biomass at local scales are poorly understood. Interactions between topography, soil properties, tree growth and mortality rates, and treefalls are a likely reason for this variability. 2. We used repeated measurements of permanent plots in lowland rain forest in French Guiana to evaluate these relationships. The plots sampled topographic gradients from hilltops to slopes to bottomlands, with accompanying variation in soil waterlogging along these gradients. Biomass was calculated for >175 tree species in the plots, along with biomass productivity and recruitment rates. Mortality was determined as standing dead and treefalls. 3. Treefall rates were twice as high in bottomlands as on hilltops, and tree recruitment rates, radial growth rates and the abundance of light-demanding tree species were also higher. 4. In the bottomlands, the mean wood density was 10% lower than on hilltops, the basal area 29% lower and the height:diameter ratio of trees was lower, collectively resulting in a total woody biomass that was 43% lower in bottomlands than on hilltops. 5. Biomass productivity was 9% lower in bottomlands than on hilltops, even though soil Olsen P concentrations were higher in bottomlands. 6. Synthesis. Along a topographic gradient from hilltops to bottomlands there were higher rates of treefall, which decreased the stand basal area and favoured lower allocation to height growth and recruitment of light-demanding species with low wood density. The resultant large variation in tree biomass along the gradient shows the importance of determining site characteristics and including these characteristics when scaling up biomass estimates from stand to local or regional scales.
ISSN: 0022-0477

hal-01032100
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032100

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Botanical Society of America
Résumé : Premise of the study : Wood density correlates with mechanical and physiological strategies of trees and is important for estimating global carbon stocks. Nonetheless, the relationship between branch and trunk xylem density has been poorly explored in neotropical trees. Here, we examine this relationship in trees from French Guiana and its variation among different families and sites, to improve the understanding of wood density in neotropical forests. Methods : Trunk and branch xylem densities were measured for 1909 trees in seven sites across French Guiana. A major-axis fit was performed to explore their general allometric relationship and its variation among different families and sites. Key results : Trunk xylem and branch xylem densities were significantly positively correlated, and their relationship explained 47% of the total variance. Trunk xylem was on average 9% denser than branch xylem. Family-level differences and interactions between family and site accounted for more than 40% of the total variance, whereas differences among sites explained little variation. Conclusions : Variation in xylem density within individual trees can be substantial, and the relationship between branch xylem and trunk xylem densities varies considerably among families and sites. As such, whole-tree biomass estimates based on non-destructive branch sampling should correct for both taxonomic and environmental factors. Furthermore, detailed estimates of the vertical distribution of wood density within individual trees are needed to determine the extent to which relying solely upon measures of trunk wood density may cause carbon stocks in tropical forests to be overestimated.
ISSN: 0002-9122

hal-01032401
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01032401
DOI : 10.3732/ajb.1000034

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union
Résumé : International audience
Measurements of branch xylem density, D_x, were made for 1466 trees representing 503 species, sampled from 80 sites across the Amazon basin. Measured values ranged from 240 kg m^?3 for a Brosimum parinarioides from Tapajos in West Pará, Brazil to 1130 kg m^?3 for an Aiouea sp. from Caxiuana, Central Pará, Brazil. Analysis of variance showed significant differences in average D_x across the sample plots as well as significant differences between families, genera and species. A partitioning of the total variance in the dataset showed that geographic location and plot accounted for 33% of the variation with species identity accounting for an additional 27%; the remaining "residual" 40% of the variance accounted for by tree to tree (within species) variation. Variations in plot means, were, however, hardly accountable at all by differences in species composition. Rather, it would seem that variations of xylem density at plot level must be explained by the effects of soils and/or climate. This conclusion is supported by the observation that the xylem density of the more widely distributed species varied systematically from plot to plot. Thus, as well as having a genetic component branch xylem density is a plastic trait that, for any given species, varies according to where the tree is growing and in a predictable manner. Exceptions to this general rule may be some pioneers belonging to Pourouma and Miconia and some species within the genera Brosimum, Rinorea and Trichillia which seem to be more constrained in terms of this plasticity than most species sampled as part of this study.
ISSN: 1810-6277

hal-00298004
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00298004
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00298004/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00298004/file/bgd-5-2003-2008.pdf

Résumé : En raison de sa richesse en ressources génétiques, et des utilisations traditionnelles locales qui en sont faites, la biodiversité végétale issue du bassin amazonien constitue une véritable source de principes actifs à valoriser. L’espèce Euterpe oleracea Mart., vernaculairement appelée baie d’açai, qui connaît un intérêt scientifique important, est le parfait exemple de ressources naturelles bioactives valorisées issues de cette zone géographique. Les études scientifiques lui confèrent de très nombreuses propriétés biologiques, mais, la plus connue et la plus médiatisée est sa capacité antioxydante liée majoritairement à sa composition polyphénolique. En Guyane française, on peut parler de « diversité » au sein de la famille des Palmiers puisque plus de 75 espèces y ont été recensées. Parmi lesquelles, on peut citer une espèce très commune ayant des propriétés surtout alimentaires, et dont la connaissance phytochimique reste, à l’heure actuelle, très limitée : l’Oenocarpus bataua Mart dit patawa. Ce sujet de thèse de doctorat s’articule autour de la mesure de l’activité antioxydante du fruit mûr de ce palmier, et de la détermination des polyphénols responsables de cette dernière. La singularité de ce travail réside dans l’étude des différentes composantes tissulaires du fruit : mésocarpe, épicarpe et mélange épicarpe/mésocarpe (MEM). Dans un premier temps, les conditions les plus favorables d’extraction de biomolécules (notamment de l’épicarpe et du mésocarpe) ont été définies à l’aide du test DPPH. Les tests préliminaires effectués sur les tissus pris séparément, ont conduit à sélectionner un mélange acétone/eau (70/30, v/v) pour révéler, au mieux, la capacité antioxydante de chaque partie du fruit. Une étape de délipidation initiale s’est avérée nécessaire dans le cas de l’étude du mésocarpe. La confirmation de l’activité antioxydante a été réalisée au moyen d’autres tests d’activité chimique (TEAC, FRAP, ORAC), et a été complétée par l’utilisation d’un test d’activité biologique (KRL) en raison de ses mécanismes réactionnels plus complets. Il en ressort que le tissu végétal le plus antioxydant est le mésocarpe qui contient des proanthocyanidines, famille de composés phénoliques connue pour ses nombreuses activités biologiques.Le même travail a été effectué sur les tissus regroupés (fruit global ou MEM). Ainsi, a été retenue l’utilisation du solvant mixte acétone/eau sans étape de délipidation initiale. La capacité antioxydante du fruit étudié a été comparée à celle de l’açai, espèce choisie comme référence. Il s’avère que les extraits d’açai ont une activité antioxydante très supérieure à celle du patawa lorsqu’ils sont testés vis-à-vis de l’ORAC et du KRL. Le tissu mésocarpe a, lui, démontré une capacité antioxydante supérieure à celle de l’açai. Ces résultats sont à associer avec la composition phytochimique propre à chaque fruit. La composition polyphénolique du fruit de patawa, déterminée par UPLC/MSn, supposerait la présence d’anthocyanes, de tanins condensés, de stilbènes et d’acides phénoliques. Ces travaux, qui méritent d’être approfondis, en particulier pour le mésocarpe, ouvrent de nouvelles perspectives d’utilisation du fruit patawa, en particulier l’incorporation de composés phénoliques issus du mésocarpe dans des formulations galéniques ayant attrait aux domaines de la Nutrition, de la Cosmétique et de la Pharmaceutique.
Due to its wealth in genetic resources, and to traditional uses, plant biodiversity issued from the Amazonian Basin is a real source of active process to valorize. The specie Euterpeoleracea Mart., usually called acai berry, which is experiencing a huge scientific interest, is the perfect example of valued natural bioactive resources from the geographic area. Scientific studies give it many biological properties, but the most known is its antioxidant property mainly due to its polyphenolic composition. In French Guiana, we can use the term “diversity” within the palm family with more than 75 species identified. Among them is a common species, Oenocarpus bataua Mart., called “Patawa”, mainly with alimentary properties but for which knowledge of phytochemical properties is until now very poor. The present research deals with determining the antioxidant activity of this palm fruit and with the identification of the polyphenols responsible for it.The uniqueness of this work lays in the study of the different tissue components of this fruit namely the mesocarp, the epicarp and mixing epicarp / mesocarp (MEM). In a first time, the most favorable extraction conditions of biomolecules (particularly of the epicarp and mesocarp) were defined using the DPPH test. The preliminary tests performed on those tissues taken separately, have led to select an acetone / water (70/30, v / v) to reveal, at best, the antioxidant capacity of each part of the fruit. An initial defatting step was necessary in the case of the study of the mesocarp. The confirmation of the antioxidant activity was carried out by other tests of chemical activity (TEAC, FRAP, ORAC), and was supplemented by the use of a bioassay (KRL) due to its more complete reaction mechanisms. Results point out that the most antioxidant tissue is the mesocarp that contains proanthocyanidins, phenolics of a chemical family known for its numerous biological activities.The same work was performed on tissues combined (overall result). The mixed solvent acetone / water, without initial defatting step, has been selected. The antioxidant capacity of fruit was compared to that of the Acai specie chosen as a reference. It turns out that acai extracts have antioxidant activity much greater than that of Patawa when tested vis-à-vis of ORAC and KRL. In contrary, mesocarp tissue has a greater antioxidant capacity than that of Acai. These results can be associated with the phytochemical composition of each fruit. The polyphenolic composition of the fruit of Patawa determined by UPLC / MSn, reflects the presence of anthocyanins, condensed tannins, stilbene and phenolic acids. This work, which deserves to be deepened, especially for the mesocarp tissue, opens new prospects for the use of Patawa fruit, especially the incorporation of phenolic compounds from the mesocarp in pharmaceutical formulations linked to the fields of Nutrition, of Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals.

http://www.theses.fr/2012AGUY0573/document

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier Masson
Résumé : 14 pages
International audience
Central Africa hosts the world's second largest tropical forest after the Amazonian basin. However, as compared to its Amazonian counterpart, the Central Africa forests receive much less rain (∼1500 mm/year in mean spread over two rainy seasons in March-May and September-November, and two dry seasons). They also experience a slower deforestation rate, so that the main threat for the next decades might come from climate variations. Nonetheless, their response to the annual cycle of solar radiation and rainfall/clouds is still poorly known. Analysing high resolution remote sensing data of Enhanced Vegetation Index, rainfall, cloudiness, and solar radiation for a target region located between 0 and 5°N and 12–19°E, we explore the climatic drivers of the forests greenness mean annual cycle. Three main points emerge; first, the diurnal cycle is a key-scale for understanding the mean annual cycles of rainfall and incoming solar radiation at surface, then how climate shapes the greenness mean annual evolution; second, neither the two dry seasons nor the two rainy seasons resemble each other in terms of cloud cover, solar radiation and rainfall, and their links with greenness levels; third, whereas the first rainy season (March-May) appears optimal for greenness especially because of favorable light conditions, water availability is the main controlling factor during the main dry season and at the start of the first vegetative season (February). Regarding the little dry season (mid-June-mid-August) and the second rainy season (September-October), light availability might be the main limiting factor. These findings pave the way for further studies of the climate interannual variability and change impacts on the Central Africa forests, taking into account time-scale interactions.
ISSN: 0168-1923

hal-01309565
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01309565
DOI : 10.1016/j.agrformet.2016.04.005

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Société géologique de France
Résumé : International audience
New geodynamical data from West Africa bring consistent informations on the pre-Mesozoic reconstruction within a large area running from the western Sahara to the Colombian cordillera. These new data support a Neoproterozoic Ocean (WANO) between the Amazonian (AMC) and West African (WAC) cratons previously to the Iapetus and Rheic oceans. We delineate 31 blocs detached from the surrounding three continents: NAC (North American Craton), AMC and WAC. 7 came from the WAC margin, 7 from the NAC, 6 from the AMC and 11 from an intermediate volcano sedimentary domain (COB) built on a 1200-1000 Ma oceanic crust. These imbricated blocks formed a tight mosaic by the Hercynian/Alleghanian tectonic event which gave way to the Pangea super-continent. But, during the Atlantic Ocean opening these blocks began to move. They were separated by new oceanic basins. However, previously to the Pangea, blocks from the COB domain formed two sets of garlands located on the northwestern Gondwana margin. The northern one moved to the North until the Silurian to collide the NAC (Taconic tectonic event) meanwhile the southern one remains on the Gondwana margin. All together were gathered by the Carboniferous/Permian time. Then, the framework for the opening of the Atlantic Ocean was not totally disconnected from the "Variscan" collage and many variscan weakness zones were re-used as initial breaking zones. Beyond this tectonic impact, the pre-mesozoic assemblage allows us to compare this "Caribbean" island arc with another one: the Indonesian "Banda" arc. Thus, West Africa is a geological key area for correlations between the Caribbean, the Appalachian, the Brazilian "Nordeste" and the West European domains and for the understanding of the Atlantic Ocean opening process.
EISSN: 1777-5817

hal-00842747
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00842747
DOI : 10.2113/gssgfbull.184.1-2.5

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : URL de l'article : http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6WPN-4XY3KDK-2/2/fd8508af63d82e29b4f9829c65194e26
The impact of climatic changes that occurred during the last glacial maximum and the Holocene on vegetation changes in the Amazon Basin and the Guiana Shield are still widely debated. The aim of our study was to investigate whether major changes in vegetation (i.e. transitions between rainforests and C4 savannas) occurred in northern French Guiana during the Holocene. We measured variations in the δ13C of soil organic matter at eight sites now occupied by forest or savannah. The forest sites were selected to cover two regions (forest refugia and peneplains) which are thought to have experienced different intensities of disturbance during the latest Pleistocene and the Holocene. We found that none of the forest sites underwent major disturbances during the Holocene, i.e. they were not replaced by C4 savannahs or C4 forest savannahs for long periods. Our results thus suggest that tropical rainforests in northern French Guiana were resilient to drier climatic conditions during the Holocene. Nevertheless, geographical and vertical variations in the 13C of SOM were compatible with minor changes in vegetation, variations in soil processes or in soil physical properties.
ISSN: 0033-5894

halshs-00551758
https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00551758
DOI : 10.1016/j.yqres.2009.11.007