The Ichnofabric Concept

The ichnofabric concept focuses on recognition of characteristic ways in which the texture and fabric of a sediment has been affected by organism activity. Semiquantitative ichnofabric indices can be used as a practical method for assessing the degree or intensity of bioturbation. Because ichnofabric reflects sediment consistency and sedimentary dynamics within the depositional environment, it may be a crucial tool in interpreting event sedimentation. The dynamics of interstitial oxygen concentrations also will be reflected in different ichnofabrics. Paleoecological information about the endobenthic community may be interpreted from the ichnofabric, including the vertical tiering structure of the ichnocoenosis. Ichnofabric contributes to the diagenetic fabric that results from lithification of a burrowed sediment. Recurrent ichnofabrics can be identified for stratigraphical correlation within sedimentary basins, and the analysis of ichnofabrics can be used as a powerful describer of reservoirs.