New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts

---

Consequences of long-distance dispersal of plant macrofossils

Robert S. Hill

Department of Botany, University of Tasmania, Box 252C, G.P.O., Hobart, Tasmania, Australia 7001

Abstract Long-distance dispersal of plant macrofossils is a commonly recognised phenomenon, but in most fossil assemblages it is difficult to determine its extent. Long-distance dispersal will probably affect any analysis based on foliar physiognomy (leaf size and margin type), particularly if it causes species from more than one vegetation type to be present in the assemblage. More serious objections to the use of foliar physiognomy, particularly for estimating palaeoclimates and vegetation types, are the frequent over-abundance of stream-and lake-side plants in deposits and the current lack of knowledge of the representation of surrounding vegetation in depositional sites.

Keywords macrofossils; long-distance dispersal; palaeoclimates; Tertiary; Quaternary

Received 24 November 1980
New Zealand Journal of Botany, 1981, Vol. 19:241-242

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (193K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

---

This year's abstracts | Journal home page | All abstracts | Publishing home page