Abstract
The shapes of individual opal phytoliths from grasses, silica bodies formed in the epidermal cells of the leaf, are indicators of the C3 and C4 photosynthetic pathways. Pooid phytoliths are circular, rectangular, elliptical, crescent or oblong forms and occur primarily in C3 grasses, which are concentrated in high latitudes or high elevations. Chloridoid phytoliths are saddle-shaped, and occur dominantly in C4 grasses that grow in warm, arid to semiarid regions in which the available soil moisture is very low. Panicoid phytoliths include many variations of crosses and dumbbells, and occur largely in C4 grasses that flourish in warm, tropical to subtropical regions with a moderate amount of available soil moisture.
Identifiable grass phytoliths, concentrated from soils, paleosols, sediment, archaeological sites and sedimentary rock, can be used to reconstruct the Cenozoic environment of a site or region. Taxa of the subfamily Pooideae grow in the higher latitudes and elevations. Taxa of subfamilies Chloridoideae and Panicoideae are restricted to the tropics and subtropics. The majority of extensive grasslands occur in continental interiors and are the dominant sources of identifiable phytoliths. High ratios of pooid to total pooid, chloridoid and panicoid phytoliths imply cool temperatures in the region. High ratios of chloridoid to total chloridoid and panicoid phytoliths imply a warm arid or semiarid region. Because the sources of phytoliths may be local or remote, the locations and directions of major wind belts and ocean currents must be considered in any interpretation.
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Twiss, P.C. (1992). Predicted World Distribution of C3 and C4 Grass Phytoliths. In: Rapp, G., Mulholland, S.C. (eds) Phytolith Systematics. Advances in Archaeological and Museum Science, vol 1. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1155-1_6
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