ResPine: A long-term actuotaphonomical survey of organism trapping in plant resins

Abstract : Preservation of organisms (micro- and macro-organisms) in plant resins is documented since several centuries (for details see Perrichot, 2005; Girard, 2010). Such studies greatly improved our knowledge about evolutionary history of diverse groups of plants, arthropods and microorganisms and provided many important data about the ecology and structure of past forests. However current researches face a major problem: the lack of long-term survey of organism trapping in plant resins. Indeed only sporadic experiments of organism trapping in plant resins and/or episodic collects of resin flows in modern forests have been led. The ResPine project will contribute to beUer understand the mechanism of organisms trapping and preservation of organisms in plant resins by studying three spots with different Pinaceae of the Montpellier region (Southern France) during 10 years. The Pinaceae was chosen because of their important resin production and, for some of them, of their Mediterranean endemism (local interest such for Pinus halepensis Miller and P. nigra subsp. salzmannii (Dunal) Franco). The three spots will have different environmental characteristics: one under clear sea influences, a second located in the Montpellier hinterland and the last one located in a more mountainous area of Montpellier region. On each spot, plant and organisms diversity will be studied at the beginning of the survey and environ mental parameters (such as temperature and humidity) will be measured. These data will be completed during the 10 years of the survey. Resin sampling will be realized each two months and organism diversity in resin flows will be analyzed in the lab. Such data will be accompanied by analyses of soil water in order to highlight a possible influence of resin chemistry (Aquilina et al., 2013) on the organism trapping. Aiso the fate of resin after solidification on the tree bark will be surveyed. Mechanisms of fossilization and burying will be analyzed. The ResPine project will thus constitute a solid and huge database on organism trapping in plant resin and will thus contribute to the improvement of ecological reconstruction of past forest ecosystems.