Modern Pollen-Rain Characteristics of Tall Terra Firme Moist Evergreen Forest, Southern Amazonia

• Published in: Quaternary research Vol. 64; no. 3; pp. 284 - 297
• Main Authors: Gosling, William D., Mayle, Francis E., Tate, Nicholas J., Killeen, Timothy J.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.11.2005; Elsevier Inc; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alchornea; Amazon; Arecaceae; Bgi / Prodig; Bolivia; Celtis; Didymopanax; Euterpe; Melastomataceae; Modern pollen rain; Moist evergreen forest; Moraceae; Moraceae/Urticaceae; Neotropics; Palaeogeography; Physical geography; Pollen trap; Quaternary; Special issue articles; Urticaceae; Bolivia; Amazon Basin; Modern pollen rain; Pollen trap; Moist evergreen forest; Moraceae/Urticaceae; Amazon; Bolivia; Neotropics; Palynology; Palaeo-ecology; Quaternary; Taxonomy; Interannual variability; Tropical zone; Tropical rain forest; Pollen; Spatial variation
• ISSN: 0033-5894; 1096-0287
• DOI: 10.1016/j.yqres.2005.08.008

The paucity of modern pollen-rain data from Amazonia constitutes a significant barrier to understanding the Late Quaternary vegetation history of this globally important tropical forest region. Here, we present the first modern pollen-rain data for tall terra firme moist evergreen Amazon forest, collected between 1999 and 2001 from artificial pollen traps within a 500 × 20 m permanent study plot (14°34′50″S, 60°49′48″W) in Noel Kempff Mercado National Park (NE Bolivia). Spearman's rank correlations were performed to assess the extent of spatial and inter-annual variability in the pollen rain, whilst statistically distinctive taxa were identified using Principal Components Analysis (PCA). Comparisons with the floristic and basal area data of the plot (stems ≥10 cm d.b.h.) enabled the degree to which taxa are over/under-represented in the pollen rain to be assessed (using R-rel values). Moraceae/Urticaceae dominates the pollen rain (64% median abundance) and is also an important constituent of the vegetation, accounting for 16% of stems ≥10 cm d.b.h. and ca. 11% of the total basal area. Other important pollen taxa are Arecaceae (cf. Euterpe), Melastomataceae/Combretaceae, Cecropia, Didymopanax, Celtis, and Alchornea. However, 75% of stems and 67% of the total basal area of the plot ≥10 cm d.b.h. belong to species which are unidentified in the pollen rain, the most important of which are Phenakospermum guianensis (a banana-like herb) and the key canopy-emergent trees, Erisma uncinatum and Qualea paraensis.