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Applications of Paleoenvironmental Techniques in Estuarine Studies pp 441–468Cite as

Applications of Pollen Analysis in Estuarine Systems

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Part of the book series: Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research ((DPER,volume 20))

Abstract

Pollen and spores have an outer covering that is resistant to decay in anaerobic estuarine sediment, and their morphological and textural features, such as shape, size, aperture type and ornamentation, enable microscopic identification. Pollen analysis compares assemblages of pollen and spores in stratigraphic cores relative to the modern environment to reconstruct vegetation assemblages of past environments. Stratigraphic cores from estuarine deposits provide time-depth sequences of sediment samples, and the laboratory procedure in pollen analysis involves concentration of the pollen and spores. Microscopic examination allows identification, although it is difficult or impossible to distinguish between some genera and species, and down-core assemblages can be interpreted by comparison with those found in surface sediment samples and local and regional community structures of vegetation. Both relative abundance, and absolute concentration, are used to interpret the palaeo environment. Records have shown vegetation changes to be controlled by relative sea level change, and estuarine evolution such as progradation, infill, shoreline retreat, and by human influences. Estuarine sediments with high mixing and inorganic sediment content generally yield poorer pollen analysis records relative to estuarine sediments with an undisturbed time/depth sequence of stratigraphy and with limited reworking. Lower energy zones in central areas of wave and tide dominated estuaries have proven to be most useful for palaeo-environmental reconstruction by pollen analysis.

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Acknowledgements

This research was partly funded by the UNEP GEF project “Coastal Resilience to Climate Change: Developing a Generalizable Method for Assessing Vulnerability and Adaptation of Mangroves and Associated Ecosystems” awarded to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The author is grateful to Gordon Ajonina (Cameroon Wildlife Conservation Society) for fieldwork assistance, Pippa Strickland for the Cameroon laboratory analyses, Michael Helman who drew Figs. 18.7 and 18.8, and five anonymous reviewers whose comments allowed improvements to the chapter.

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  1. School of Land and Food, University of Tasmania, Locked Bag 1370, Launceston, TAS, 7250, Australia

    Joanna C. Ellison

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  1. Joanna C. Ellison
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Correspondence to Joanna C. Ellison .

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  1. Department of Glaciology and Climate, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Kaarina Weckström

  2. Institute of Geography and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Krystyna M. Saunders

  3. Water Research Network, Faculty of Science and Technology, Federation University Australia, Mt Helen, Victoria, Australia

    Peter A. Gell

  4. School of Life Sciences, Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia

    C. Gregory Skilbeck

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Ellison, J.C. (2017). Applications of Pollen Analysis in Estuarine Systems. In: Weckström, K., Saunders, K., Gell, P., Skilbeck, C. (eds) Applications of Paleoenvironmental Techniques in Estuarine Studies. Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research, vol 20. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-0990-1_18

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