Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:18:12.077Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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, [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allen, R.B. 1992. RECCE - an inventory method for describing New Zealand vegetation: a field manual. Forest Research Institute Bulletin, No. 176, 25 pp.Google Scholar
Ashworth, A.C. & Cantrill, D.J. 2004. Neogene vegetation of the Meyer Desert Formation (Sirius Group) Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 213, 65–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Askin, R.A. 1992. Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary Antarctic outcrop evidence for past vegetation and climate. Antarctic Research Series, 56, 61–75.Google Scholar
Askin, R.A. 2000. Spores and pollen from the McMurdo Sound Erratics, Antarctica. Antarctic Research Series, 76, 161–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beggs, J.M. 1978. Geology of the metamorphic basement and Late Cretaceous to Oligocene sedimentary sequence of Campbell Island, southwest Pacific Ocean. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 8, 161–177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bestic, K.L., Duncan, R.P., McGlone, M.S., Wilmshurst, J.M. & Meurk, C.D. 2005. Population age structure and recent Dracophyllum spread on subantarctic Campbell Island. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 29, 291–297.Google Scholar
Birkenmajer, K. 1997. Tertiary glacial/interglacial palaeoenvironments and sea-level changes, King George Island, West Antarctica: an overview. Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences - Earth Sciences, 44, 157–181.Google Scholar
Birkenmajer, K. & Zastawniak, E. 1989. Late Cretaceous–early Tertiary floras of King George Island, West Antarctica: their stratigraphic distribution and palaeoclimatic significance. In Crame, J.A., ed. Origins and evolution of the Antarctic biota. Geological Society of London Special Publication, 147, 227–240.Google Scholar
Campbell, I.B. 1980. Soil pattern of Campbell Island. New Zealand Journal of Science, 24, 111–135.Google Scholar
Carnelli, A.L., Theurillat, J.-P. & Madella, M. 2004. Phytolith types and type-frequencies in subalpine-alpine plant species of the European Alps. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 129, 39–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cookson, I.C. 1947. Plant microfossils from the lignites of Kerguelen Archipelago. British, Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition, 1929–1931, Reports Series A, 2(8), 127–142.Google Scholar
De Lisle, J.F. 1965. The climate of the Auckland Islands, Campbell Island and Macquarie Island. Proceedings of the New Zealand Ecological Society, 12, 37–44.Google Scholar
Edwards, W.N. 1921. Fossil coniferous wood from Kerguelen Island. Annals of Botany, 35, 609–617.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Francis, J.E. 1999. Evidence from fossil plants for Antarctic palaeoclimates over the past 100 million years. Terra Antartica Reports, 3, 43–52.Google Scholar
Horrocks, M. & Ogden, J. 2000. Evidence for Late-glacial and Holocene tree-line fluctuations from pollen diagrams from the Subalpine zone on Mt Hauhungatahi, Tongariro National Park, New Zealand. The Holocene, 10, 61–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacPhail, M.K. & Cantrill, D.J. 2006. Age and implications of the Forest Bed, Falkland Islands, southwest Atlantic Ocean: evidence from fossil pollen and spores. Palaeogeography, Palaeoecology, Palaeoclimatology, 240, 602–629.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Madella, M., Alexandre, A. & Ball, T. 2005. International code for phytolith nomenclature 1.0. Annals of Botany, 96, 253–260.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marx, R., Lee, D.E., Lloyd, K.M. & Lee, W.G. 2004. Phytolith morphology and biogenic silica concentrations and abundance in leaves of Chionochloa (Danthonieae) and Festuca (Poeae) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany, 42, 677–691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGlone, M.S. 2002. The late Quaternary peat, vegetation and climate history of the Southern Oceanic Islands of New Zealand. Quaternary Science Reviews, 21, 683–707.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGlone, M.S. & Meurk, C.D. 2000. Modern pollen rain, subantarctic Campbell Island, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 24, 181–194.Google Scholar
McGlone, M.S., Wardle, P. & Meurk, C.D. 1997. Late-glacial and Holocene vegetation and environment of Campbell Island, far southern New Zealand. The Holocene, 7, 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meurk, C.D. & Given, D.R. 1990. Vegetation map of Campbell Island, 1:25000. Christchurch, New Zealand: DSIR Land Resources.Google Scholar
Meurk, C.D., Foggo, N.M. & Bastow, W.J. 1994a. The vegetation of subantarctic Campbell Island. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 18, 123–168.Google Scholar
Meurk, C.D., Foggo, M.N., Thomson, B.M., Bathurst, E.T.J. & Crompton, M.B. 1994b. Ion-rich precipitation and vegetation pattern on subantarctic Campbell Island. Arctic and Alpine Research, 26, 281–289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michaux, B. & Leschen, R.A.B. 2005. East meets west: biogeology of the Campbell Plateau. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 86, 95–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
New Zealand Meteorological Service. 1973. Summaries of observations to 1970. New Zealand Meteorological Service Miscellaneous Publication, No. 143, 77 pp.Google Scholar
Oliver, R.L., Finlay, H.J. & Fleming, C.A. 1950. The geology of Campbell Island. Cape Expedition Series Bulletin, 3, 62 pp.Google Scholar
Pearsall, D.M. 2000. Paleoethnobotany - a handbook of procedures. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 700 pp.Google Scholar
Piperno, D.R. & Pearsall, D.M. 1998. The silica bodies of tropical American grasses: morphology, taxonomy, and implications for grass systematics and fossil phytolith identification. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany, 85, 1–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prebble, J.G., Raine, J.I., Barrett, P.J. & Hannah, M.J. 2006. Vegetation and climate from two Oligocene glacioeustatic sedimentary cycles (31 and 24 Ma) cored by the Cape Roberts Drilling Project, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 231, 41–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raine, J.I. & Askin, R.A. 2001. Vegetation history and climate from the Early Oligocene to Early Miocene, Cape Roberts, Ross Sea region, Antarctica. Terra Antartica, 5, 539–548.Google Scholar
Rogers, G. & Walker, S. 2005. Evolution of the New Zealand vascular flora: regional and provincial patterns of richness, radiation and endemism. New Zealand Journal of Botany, 43, 381–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rovner, I. 1971. Potential of opal phytoliths for use in paleoecological reconstruction. Quaternary Research, 1, 343–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorn, V.C. 2001. Oligocene and early Miocene phytoliths from CRP-2/2A & CRP-3, Victoria Land Basin, Antarctica. Terra Antartica, 8, 407–422.Google Scholar
Thorn, V.C. 2004. Phytoliths from subantarctic Campbell Island: plant production & soil surface spectra. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 132, 37–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorn, V.C. 2006. Vegetation reconstruction from soil phytoliths, Tongariro National Park, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany, 44, 397–413.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Truswell, E.M., Quilty, P.G., McMinn, A., MacPhail, M.K. & Wheller, G.E. 2005. Late Miocene vegetation and palaeoenvironments of the Drygalski Formation, Heard Island, Indian Ocean: evidence from palynology. Antarctic Science, 17, 427–442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turnbull, I.M., Adams, C.J., Beavan, J., Forsyth, P.J., Garnock-Jones, P.J., Hayward, B.W., Raine, J.I., Thorn, V.C. & Vajda, V. 2004. Report on visit to subantarctic islands, March 2004. Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited Science Report, 2004/09, 34 pp.Google Scholar