New Zealand Journal of Botany abstract

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B97002

Received 6 January 1997; accepted 2 May 1997

New Zealand Journal of Botany, 1997, Vol. 35: 545-553

0028-825X/97/3504-0545 $7.00 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand 1997

A macrofossil flora from early Aranuian lake-bed deposits, Doubtful River, Waiau-uha catchment, North Canterbury, New Zealand

C. J. BURROWS

Department of Plant and Microbial Sciences
University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch, New Zealand

Abstract  Sediments deposited in an early Aranuian lake in a mountain valley contain abundant, well-preserved fossil wood, leaves, and seeds. Radiocarbon dates ranging from 13 300 to 10 800 yr B.P. have been obtained for wood samples. The macrofossil species represented all grow in the region today. By analogy with modern plant communities, the fossil assemblage appears to be drawn from two main kinds of vegetation complex: hillside scrub, with Phyllocladus alpinus a major component; and valley-floor communities, including river floodplain, with Racomitrium lanuginosum abundant and associated grassland with dwarf shrubs (Leucopogon fraseri) and thorn scrub (Discaria toumatou). The scarcity of Podocarpus hallii fossils suggests that the climate was cooler than now. Archeria traversii fossils indicate that precipitation was at least as high as now.

Keywords  early-Aranuian; lake bottomset beds; foreset beds; radiocarbon dates; plant fossils; environmental interpretation

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