Lucrecia Gallego1, Roberto A Distel. 1. Departamento de Agronomía, Universidad Nacional del Sur and CERZOS, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de la República Argentina, San Andrés 800, 8000-Bahía Blanca, Argentina.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Phytolith reference collections are a prerequisite for accurate interpretation of soil phytolith assemblages aimed at reconstructing past vegetation. In this study a phytolith reference collection has been developed for several grasses native to central Argentina: Poa ligularis, Piptochaetium napostaense, Stipa clarazii, Stipa tenuis, Stipa tenuissima, Stipa eriostachya, Stipa ambigua, Stipa brachychaeta, Pappophorum subbulbosum, Digitaria californica, Bothriochloa edwardsiana and Aristida subulata. METHODS: For each species, phytoliths present in the leaf blades were classified into 47 morphotypes, and their relative frequency determined by observing 300-400 phytoliths per sample (n = 5). Data were analyzed by complete linkage cluster analysis, using the Morisita Index as measure of association. KEY RESULTS: The results showed differentiation among phytolith assemblages at species level or at plant functional type level. Cluster analysis separated C3 from C4 species and palatable from non-palatable species. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the possibility of reconstructing past vegetation in central Argentina grasslands through the analysis of soil phytolith assemblages.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Phytolith reference collections are a prerequisite for accurate interpretation of soil phytolith assemblages aimed at reconstructing past vegetation. In this study a phytolith reference collection has been developed for several grasses native to central Argentina: Poa ligularis, Piptochaetium napostaense, Stipa clarazii, Stipa tenuis, Stipa tenuissima, Stipa eriostachya, Stipa ambigua, Stipa brachychaeta, Pappophorum subbulbosum, Digitaria californica, Bothriochloa edwardsiana and Aristida subulata. METHODS: For each species, phytoliths present in the leaf blades were classified into 47 morphotypes, and their relative frequency determined by observing 300-400 phytoliths per sample (n = 5). Data were analyzed by complete linkage cluster analysis, using the Morisita Index as measure of association. KEY RESULTS: The results showed differentiation among phytolith assemblages at species level or at plant functional type level. Cluster analysis separated C3 from C4 species and palatable from non-palatable species. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the possibility of reconstructing past vegetation in central Argentina grasslands through the analysis of soil phytolith assemblages.
Authors: Ciprian F Ardelean; Lorena Becerra-Valdivia; Mikkel Winther Pedersen; Jean-Luc Schwenninger; Charles G Oviatt; Juan I Macías-Quintero; Joaquin Arroyo-Cabrales; Martin Sikora; Yam Zul E Ocampo-Díaz; Igor I Rubio-Cisneros; Jennifer G Watling; Vanda B de Medeiros; Paulo E De Oliveira; Luis Barba-Pingarón; Agustín Ortiz-Butrón; Jorge Blancas-Vázquez; Irán Rivera-González; Corina Solís-Rosales; María Rodríguez-Ceja; Devlin A Gandy; Zamara Navarro-Gutierrez; Jesús J De La Rosa-Díaz; Vladimir Huerta-Arellano; Marco B Marroquín-Fernández; L Martin Martínez-Riojas; Alejandro López-Jiménez; Thomas Higham; Eske Willerslev Journal: Nature Date: 2020-07-22 Impact factor: 49.962