New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts
Vegetation reconstruction from soil phytoliths, Tongariro
National Park, New Zealand
Vanessa C. Thorn
Antarctic Research Centre
Victoria
University
of Wellington
PO Box 600
Wellington, New
Zealand
Present
address:
Earth Sciences, School of Earth
and Environment, University
of Leeds,
Leeds, LS2 9JT,
UK.
Abstract Phytoliths are
microscopic
particles of
opaline silica (SiO2.nH2O) formed by the
accumulation and solidification of siliceous gel between and within the
cells
of many plants. Soil surface phytolith assemblages are assessed for
their
potential to accurately reconstruct the overlying vegetation community
within
the subalpine zone of Tongariro National Park,
New Zealand. The
results provide important new
evidence that phytoliths are an under-exploited tool for reconstructing
past
vegetation patterns. A new technique has been developed to
quantitatively
compare phytolith supply with accumulation. From four study sites,
plants and
soil were collected for phytolith extraction, and vegetation height and
canopy
cover were surveyed. The results indicate that at three of the four
sites,
source vegetation could be satsifactorily reconstructed at a broad
community
level from the dispersed soil phytolith record implying similar
expectations
for the application of this technique to the fossil phytolith record.
Keywords phytoliths;
palaeoecology; biogenic
silica; New Zealand;
Tongariro National
Park
New Zealand
Journal of Botany, 2006, Vol. 44: 397–413
0028–825X/06/4404–0397 © The Royal Society
of New Zealand
2006
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