Fluorescence microscopy of pollen and spores: a tool for investigating environmental change |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Paleobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, S-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden;2. Geological Survey of Western Australia, Department of Mines and Petroleum, 100 Plain Street, East Perth, WA 6004, Australia;3. 119a Merrigang St. Bowral 2576, New South Wales, Australia;1. División Paleobotánica, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, CONICET. Av. Ángel Gallardo 470, 1405 Buenos Aires, Argentina;2. Université Lyon 1, CNRS, UMR 5023 LEHNA, 7-9 rue Raphaël Dubois, Villeurbanne cedex F-69622, Lyon, France;1. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion (ANCEFN – CONICET), Labardén 200, CC22 - B1642HYD - San Isidro, Buenos Aires. Argentina;2. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina.;3. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia”, Avda. Ángel Gallardo 470, Buenos Aires 1405, Argentina;1. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology and Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;2. School of Earth Sciences & Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources in Western China (Gansu Province), Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China;3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China;1. Department of Palaeobiology, Naturhistoriska riksmuseet, Box 50007, S-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden;2. School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, 9 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia;3. Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Locked Bag 20000, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Australia;4. Department of Geology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5E1, Canada |
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| Abstract: | Fluorescence microscopy of fossil pollen and spores has only been exploited by palynologists for geological time scales. A reconstruction of ecological change, blanket peat erosion and consequent sediment flux within an area of moorland in the north of England during the late Holocene has provided an opportunity to evaluate whether fluorescence microscopy of pollen and spores can be used as a tool for reconstructing environmental change at shorter and more recent timescales.The fluorescence properties of pollen and spores in samples of blanket peat (sediment source) and reservoir sediments (sediment sink) were assessed during routine pollen counts. Fluorescence varied with taxon. Bog surface processes such as moorland fire and dessication were observed to have no visible effect on fluorescence, but air pollution deposition (indicated by Pb) did have an effect, although exactly which pollutant(s) is responsible is unclear.The effect on fluorescence of the physical processes associated with peat erosion and re-sedimentation in reservoirs was examined. Spores of lower plants found in reservoir sediment samples with a high content of eroded peat were well preserved (fluorescing at blue-green wavelengths), suggesting that the eroded peat was transported from the bog surface to the reservoir as peat fragments containing pollen and spores. There is a direct correlation between the proportions of pollen and spores with extinguished fluorescence (very poor preservation state) in sediment samples, and sediment accumulation rate. This relationship is probably not applicable for quantitatively estimating sedimentation rate at other sites due to the effect of local factors. However, the relationship can provide the basis for a simple, quick and relatively inexpensive method of examining qualitative shifts in sediment flux, which can be conducted during routine pollen counts. |
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