Paleoenvironments of root casts from the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya.

A study of fossil roots and root casts from E Turkana, Kenya, has shown them to be useful paleoenvironmental indicators. Fossil root casts were obtained from the Pleistocene, Upper Member of the Koobi Fora Formation, deposited within the Lake Turkana Basin. Lithofacies and biofacies analysis of the study locality allows the discrimination of several important environments which contain root casts, notably fluvial channels and shallow lacustrine conditions. Studies of plant associations in the Lake Turkana area, and work on modern root morphologies suggest a probable explanation for the associations observed. In arid environments, water availability is a dominant factor in root morphology. A study of root cast morphologies may allow for an assessment of paleogroundwater conditions in nonmarine sediments. -from Author fossil roots paleoenvironmental indicators lithofacies biofacies lacustrine arid environments