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Distribution and abundance of charcoal in coal seams (in form of pyrogenic macerals of the inertinites group) have been considered as a reliable tool to interpret the local and regional palaeo-wildfire regimes in peat-forming depositional environments. Although the occurrence of inertinites is globally well documented for the Late Palaeozoic, the description of palaeobotanical evidence concerning the source plants of such charcoal is so far largely missing. In the present study, we provide the first detailed analysis of macro-charcoal preserved in the Barro Branco coal seam, Rio Bonito Formation, Cisuralian of the Paraná Basin, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Charcoal, in form of macro-charcoal and inertinites, was documented in all the six coal-bearing strata that compose the succession, confirming the occurrence of recurrent palaeo-wildfires during its deposition. Reflectance values indicated a mean charring temperature reaching ~515°C (and up to 1,045°C in excess) and the macro-charcoal exhibits anatomical features of secondary xylem of Agathoxylon. Combination of results derived from palaeobotanical and petrological data demonstrates that gymnosperm-dominated vegetation was repeatedly submitted to fire events and reinforced the hypothesis that Gondwanan mires were high-fire systems during the Cisuralian.

The Tocantins-Araguaia Basin is one of the largest river systems in South America, located entirely within Brazilian territory. In the last decades, capital-concentrating activities such as agribusiness, mining, and hydropower promoted extensive changes in land cover, hydrology, and environmental conditions. These changes are jeopardizing the basin’s biodiversity and ecosystem services. Threats are escalating as poor environmental policies continue to be formulated, such as environmentally unsustainable hydropower plants, large-scale agriculture for commodity production, and aquaculture with non-native fish. If the current model persists, it will deepen the environmental crisis in the basin, compromising broad conservation goals and social development in the long term. Better policies will require thought and planning to minimize growing threats and ensure the basin’s sustainability for future generations.

Este artigo apresenta os resultados obtidos a partir da aplicação de estratégias educativas voltadas à divulgação do conhecimento paleontológico e integração comunidade-meio científico em duas escolas da Rede Estadual de Ensino Médio de Porto Nacional (TO) desenvolvidas como parte do projeto institucional de extensão “Tecendo redes de saberes e experiências através do ensino de Paleontologia em escolas municipais e estaduais, no município de Porto Nacional, TO”.  A metodologia utilizada consistiu na aplicação de dois questionários aos estudantes, (no início e no final das atividades de intervenção), com a finalidade de diagnosticar e avaliar o nível de conhecimento sobre Paleontologia, bem como verificar a eficácia das atividades de intervenção no processo de ensino e aprendizagem. As atividades consistiram de palestra, oficina de réplicas de fósseis e visita aos Laboratórios do Curso de Ciências Biológicas da Universidade Federal do Tocantins (UFT). Os estudantes de ambas as escolas demonstraram-se semelhante quanto ao nível de conhecimento a respeito de Paleontologia. Inicialmente foi possível constatar um baixo nível de conhecimento paleontológico por parte dos estudantes. A aplicação das atividades de intervenção pedagógica demonstrou-se eficaz na apropriação do conhecimento, visto que após essas atividades, percebeu-se uma mudança no nível de conhecimento dos alunos.

The first record of palaeo-wildfire evidence in the form of charcoal is documented from the Late Permian Zewan Formation of the Kashmir region, northwest Himalaya. This evidence is in the form of fragments of tracheids that show homogenized cell walls, a characteristic feature of charcoal. Considering that palaeo-wildfire studies provide important palaeoecological information, the present study is significant, as it allows reconstructing new information about environmental conditions during the deposition of the sediments of the Late Permian Zewan Formation.