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New Zealand sub-Antarctic phytoliths and their potential for past vegetation reconstruction

Part of: Antarctic Science International Bursary collection: Geosciences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 October 2007

Vanessa C. Thorn
Vanessa C. Thorn
Affiliation:
Earth Sciences, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UKv.thorn@see.leeds.ac.uk
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Abstract

Phytoliths in the modern vegetation of sub-Antarctic Campbell Island are compared with those in the soil beneath to assess the accuracy of vegetation reconstructions made from dispersed phytolith assemblages. The soil phytoliths alone suggest the source vegetation is a grassland association for all study sites, which reflects none of the herb, fern or shrub component of the overlying vegetation. It is concluded that at this locality dispersed phytoliths on their own are not reliable indicators of source vegetation and should be used with caution in this context for palaeoecological studies. However, they can provide useful botanical information where all other organic material is absent. With further research, based on the abundance and diversity of Poaceae phytoliths observed in this and other studies, dispersed phytoliths from the fossil record have the potential to contribute significantly to the understanding of grassland ecosystem development in the geological past.

Keywords

AntarcticaCampbell Islandpalaeoecologyphytoliths
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , February 2008 , pp. 21 - 32
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2008

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