phytoliths from loess in southland, new zealand

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This article was downloaded by: [University of Wisconsin Oshkosh] On: 04 October 2014, At: 07:44 Publisher: Taylor & Francis Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK New Zealand Journal of Botany Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tnzb20 Phytoliths from loess in Southland, New Zealand John A. Carter a a School of Earth Sciences , Victoria University of Wellington , P.O. Box 600, Wellington, New Zealand Published online: 17 Mar 2010. To cite this article: John A. Carter (2000) Phytoliths from loess in Southland, New Zealand, New Zealand Journal of Botany, 38:2, 325-332, DOI: 10.1080/0028825X.2000.9512684 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.2000.9512684 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms- and-conditions

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This article was downloaded by: [University of Wisconsin Oshkosh]On: 04 October 2014, At: 07:44Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

New Zealand Journal of BotanyPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tnzb20

Phytoliths from loess in Southland, NewZealandJohn A. Carter aa School of Earth Sciences , Victoria University of Wellington , P.O.Box 600, Wellington, New ZealandPublished online: 17 Mar 2010.

To cite this article: John A. Carter (2000) Phytoliths from loess in Southland, New Zealand, NewZealand Journal of Botany, 38:2, 325-332, DOI: 10.1080/0028825X.2000.9512684

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0028825X.2000.9512684

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, ouragents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to theaccuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions andviews expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and arenot the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should notbe relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information.Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands,costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arisingdirectly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of theContent.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

New Zealand Journal of Botany, 2000, Vol. 38: 325-3320028-825x/00/3802-0325 $7.00 0 The Royal Society of New Zealand 2000

325

Phytoliths from loess in Southland, New Zealand

JOHN A. CARTERSchool of Earth SciencesVictoria University of WellingtonP.O. Box 600Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract This pilot study establishes and quanti-fies phytoliths in five cores of loess fiom differentsites in Southland, New Zealand. A total of 48 Sam-ples were processed and phytoliths were present inthe upper portions of all cores. Phytolith analysisprovides information on vegetation changes inSouthland in response to climate for about the 1st24 000 years. High numbers of both grass and treephytoliths at about the Oxygen Isotope Stage 213boundary suggest an open tree-land. This abruptlychanges to a landscape dominated by cold-climatetussock grasses. Problems associated with phytolithpreservation in the bottom of all cores have beenidentified and possible solutions suggested.

Keywords phytolih; loess; Southland; New Zea-land; vegetation change

INTRODUCTION

Many palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic re-constructions have been made of New Zealand, andthey cover the period fiom around the Last GlacialMaximum (18 ooo yr B.P.) thfough to the presentday (McGlone 1988). T~ date, pollen analysis hasprovided the best direct indicator of late Quaternaryenvironmental and climate change. Interpretation ofthe Late Quaternary vegetational history of the Ea tCoast of the South Island is difficult. Sites with apollen record dating to the last glacial maximum are

B99023Received 1 June 1999; accepted 11 November 1999

uncommon, scattered, occur at different altitudes,and often span only a short period of time (Moar1980; McGlone 1988; Moar& Suggate 1996). How-ever, loessic deposits ranging in depth from 30 cmto over 20 m are widespread over the eastern andsouthern downlands, hills, and plains of the SouthIsland from Marlborough to Southland (Raeside1964; Bruce et al. 1973; Ehce 1996). Loess doesnot, as a rule, Preserve pollen. By contrast, phytolithscan be well preserved in loess deposits (Raeside1964) Providing another method of extracting Proxyenvironmental and climatic information fiom Qua-ternary wdk~~nts.

Phytoliths are silica microfossils that originate incertain higher living Plants. They are produced whensoluble silica (monosilicic acid) is absorbed alongWith fPmd watfl during Plant S O * - This soluableSilica iS eventually deposited as solid silica withinand between the Plant cells Walls. When a Plant diesand decays, most of its Phfloliths are releaseddirectly to the soil, creating a highly localised, in situassemblage (Piperno 1988; Pearsall 1989; Rapp &Mulholland 1992). However, studies have shownthat wind can transport phytoliths thousands ofkilometres (Pokras & Mix 1985).

Phytoliths are morphologically distinct, consist-ent, and are resistant to decomposition in most sedi-mentary environments (Carbone 1977). As anexample of their resistance, phytoliths have recentlybeen extracted f?om Devonian* pemian, and TriassicAntarctic sediments (Carter 1999). The s h W of thephytoliths in many plants are highly distinctive andin Some CaSeS are identifiable to species level(Piperno 1988)-

In New Zea1and there has been limited researchusing PhYtoliths. bes ide (1964, 1970) describedPhytoliths found in Some south Island Soils.W e a t h e a d (1988) produced a morphologicalclassification of phytoliths found in particular NewZealand soils. He made no attempt to correlate theoccurrence of the phytoliths with any particularvegetation but suggested a relationship betweenphytoliths in the soil and the genetic classificationof the soil. In a study of loessial soil in the Manawatu

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326 New Zealand Journal of Botany, 2000, Vol. 38

166° 167° 168° 169°43°

44°

45°

46°

47°

170"E43° Fig. 1 Location of core sites.

0 SO 100

1Stewarts ClaBantra •

Waimatuku

V. ̂Pukerau^/s^

1) Romahapa

44°

45°

46°

47° S166° 167° 168° 169° 170°

(Tokomaru silt loam), Wallace & Neall (1986) usedphytoliths in a palaeoenvironmental reconstructionof the Ohakea to Aranuian transition. Sase et al.(1987) used phytoliths to reconstruct the vegetationhistory of a tephra-bearing section in the Rotoruabasin. They described the soil-vegetationrelationship for the last 20 OOO years using phytolithsfound in the A horizons of buried soils. Kondo et al.(1994) separated a wide range of phytoliths fromliving New Zealand native grasses, trees, and soils.They described the shapes of the phytolithsaccording to terminology and classes previouslyused in studies in Europe and Japan. They presentedelectron micrographs of a range of phytoliths, andused phytolith analysis to determine the major typesof vegetation contributing to the accumulation ofsome modem and buried soils. Shulmeister et al.

(1999) used phytolith analysis in conjunction withpollen and diatom analysis to describe thepalaeoenvironment on Banks Peninsula throughthree glaciation-interglaciation cycles.

METHODS

A total of 48 samples were collected from five cores:Bantra (top 1.2 m, Grid reference NZMS 260 E451613443, 6 samples at 0.20-m intervals); StewartsClaim (top 2 m, Grid reference NZMS 260 F451036679, 16 samples at approx. 0.25-m intervals);Pukerau (top 9.5 m, Grid reference NZMS 260 F451089493, 14 samples at approx. 0.5-m intervals);Waimatuku (top 3 m, Grid reference NZMS 260E461345268, 6 samples at 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.30,

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Carter—Phytoliths from Southland loess 327

2.00, and 3.00-m intervals); Romahapa (top 5.5 m,Grid reference NZMS 260 H4615842363 6 samplesat approx. 1-m intervals) (Fig. 1) (Table 1).

The cores were dri11ed using a B40H drilling rigwith a 150 mm diameter x 900 mm auger core bar-rel by the New Zealand soil Bureau (197os*arlY1980s) then stored at the Institute of Geological andNuclear Sciences. Some are enclosed in plastic pipeand others in degraded Polythene wrapping. Thecores have their Original namesy numbers7 and dqths(in feet) on the outside coverings. In order to mini-mise error in recording sample depths, the individualcore sections from each site were laid end to end andmeasured in metres. To avoid contamination andfurther degradation, a hole saw was used to cutthrough the plastic casing to collect contamination-free samples from the cores enclosed in plastic pipe,with minimal disturbance to the core. For the coreswrapped in polythene, a cut was made and a sampletaken using the hole saw.

The method of phytolith extraction described hereis similar to methods described by Piperno (1988)and Hart (1988). The organic component was re-moved by heating in 27% H202. After washing, toremove H202, the residue was wet-sieved at 250 mmand the coarser material discarded. Ultrasonic treat-ment was used to break down the organic and claycomplexes to release phytoliths. Clay-sized particles<5 mm were removed by settling and any remain-ing organic material was removed by digestion in"Schulzes Solution" (Traverse 1988). The phytolithswere then floated off from the other mineral silicatesusing a Na polytungstate solution diluted to a spe-cific gravity of 2.3 kg m-3.

Phytoliths were mounted with Canada balsam onglass slides for visual examination, and 300 phytolithgrains were counted per slide. The numbers wereconverted to percentages, classed as trees, ferns, orgrasses, and a stratigraphic frequency diagramplotted. The phytolith classification used is thatdeveloped by Kondo et al. (1994). Examples of allthe types of phytolith forms extracted from the coresare shown in Fig. 2.

RESULTS

Phytoliths were recovered from the top sections ofall the cores (Table 1). However, there are somerapid transitions from assemblages of grass, fern, andtree phytoliths to an assemblage consisting of zeoliteplatelets.

BantraPhytoliths were recovered from the full 1.2 m of thecore. The assemblage is dominated by grassphytoliths (Fig. 3) except at 1.O m. Chloridoid (Fig.2(1)) and chionochloid (Fig. 2 (2)) forms dominatethe assemblage. Panicold (Fig. 2 (3)) and festucoid(Fig. 2 (4)) have a reciprocal relationship to thechloridoid and chionochloid forms. n e remainderof the grass phytolith assemblage is made up ofelongate forms (Fig. 2 (6)). Tree/shrub forms,spherical (~i~. 2 (7)), and p o l y h e a (~i~. 2 (8)) arepresent in dl sh B ~ ~ samples, but are rare in theupper 0.6 m of the core. Below 0.6 m, sphericalforms increase to dominate at 1.00 m. Below 1.00 m,spherical forms decrease and grass forms increase.F~~ forms (~i~. 2 (9)) are present in very smallnumbers in dl samples, peaking at 0.6 m.

Stewarts ClaimPhytoliths were recovered down to 1.95 m. At2.05 m and below only zeolite platelets were presentwith no identifiable phytolith formS. The top 1.7 mof the core is dominated by chloridoid andchionochloid grass phytolith forms pig. 3). p h m i dand festucoid grass phytolith forms have their high-est percentages in the top 0.15 m. Chionochloidforms have two peaks at 0.45 m and 1.2-1.4 m, withchloridoids between them at 0.70-1.O m. Sphericalphytoliths are present in low numbers in all samplesbut increase dramatically to 37% at 1.95 m. Polyhe-dral tree/shrub phytoliths are also present in lownumbers in all samples. Fern phytolith forms arepresent in small numbers at 1.2 m and 1.5 m andbetween 3.5 and 4.5 m.

PukerauAlthough the longest of the five Cores sampled thisCore Contained Phytoliths down to 2.1 m- Fr0m 3-o mdown, only zeolite Platelets are Present with noidentifiable Phytolith forms* The top 1.5 m isdominated by grass phytoliths (Fig. 3). Chionochloidphytoliths make up the greatest number in the grassassemblage with significant chloridoid, elongate,bulliform (Fig. 2 (5)), and festucoid phytoliths. From1.5 m to 2.1 m there is an increase in tree phytolithsto a maximum 21% at 2.1 m.

WaimatukuPhytoliths were recovered down to 1.3 m. At 2.0 mand 3.0 m only zeolite platelets were present. Grassphytoliths dominate the top 0.75 m. Chloridoidphytolith forms make up the largest numbers of grass

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328 New Zealand Journal of Botany, 2000, Vol. 38

Fig. 2 Phytolith forms recovered from the cores. 1, Chionochloid:Very distinctive spool shape (Chionochloa ). 2, Chloridoid: Battle-axesaddle-shaped (snow and red tussocks). 3, Panicoid: These forms aredumbbell and complex dumbbell-shaped (warm climate grasses). 4,Festucoid: Elongate boat-shaped with saw-tooth edges (Poa andFestuca). 5, Elongate: Rectangular (grasses). 6, Bulliform: Fan-shapedor rectangular (Rytidosperma spp.). 7, Spherical verrucose: Sphericalshape with some surface decoration (trees, shrubs, and herbs). 8, Poly-hedral epidermal: Platey shape with four to eight sides (trees, e.g.,Nothofagus spp., and herbs). 9, Fern tissue (Jigsaw Anticlinal): Plateyjigsaw-shaped (ferns). Scale bars 10 (im.

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Carter—Phytoliths from Southland loess 329

forms at the top (0.25 m) of the core with fewerchionochloid, elongate, panicoid, and festucoid.Chionochloid fom reach a maximum of about 71%at 0.75 m. Spherical and/or polyhedral phytoliths areminor components or absent except at 1.3 m wherethey dramatically increase to form 75% of theassemblage. Fern forms are present in small numbersin all samples containing phytoliths, reaching amaximum of about 3% at 0.5 m.

RomahapaOnly two samples from this core containedphytoliths, at 0.5 and 1.4 m. The distributions aresimilar to the other cores with grass phytolith formsdominant near the top of the core (Fig. 3). The bulkof the grass assemblage was made up ofchionochloid and chlorodoid forms. Chionochloidsincrease down core to a maximum of 55% at 1.4 m,

while chlorodoid, bulliform, and elongate forms alldecrease down core. Spherical forms increase downcore. Fern phytolith forms are low in concentration.Zeolite platelets were present at 3.1 m and below, butno identifiable phytolith forms.

DISCUSSION

The chionochloid and chloridoid forms which makeup the greatest percentages of grass-derivedphytoliths in all the cores, dominate all assemblages.These forms originate from cold-climate tussockgrasslands (Kondo et al. 1994). Panicoid andfestucoid forms, which possibly represent pasturegrasses, are present in approximately the top 0.25 mof the B a n - Stewarts Claim, and Waimatuku cores.Spherical and polyhedral phytoliths derived from

Table 1 Sampling depths and % Frequency of phytolith forms recovered.

Location

BantraBantraBantraBantraBantraBantra

stewarts c .Stewarts c .Stewarts c .Stewarts c .Stewarts c .Stewarts c .Stewarts c .Stewarts c .Stewalis c .Stewarts c .Stewarts c .Stewarts c .

PukerauPukerauPukerauPukerau

WaimatukuWaimatukuWaimatukuWaimatukuWaimatuku

RomahapaRomahapaRomahapa

Depth (m)

0.20.40.60.81.o1.2

0.150.350.450.70.851.o1.21.41.5I.741.952.05

0.751.52.I3.0

0.250.50.75I.32.0

0.5I.42.2

Panicoid

310000

1152I00001000

0000

70000

100

Festucoid

511000

1600000000000

2000

71000

300

Chionochloid Chloridoid Bullifom

374756501738

15395243455361646152230

5861370

20547100

33550

3337292783

2126224039372820172190

2118240

43101500

27180

000000

895000010000

1000

21000

810

Elongate

1791057

35

241612131399131718300

1716180

1924I200

1710

Fern

112113

034000102000

0100

13100

130

Spherical

442176621

3233311227

370

12140

171

750

9220

Polyhedral

0000I0

200000000210

0270

000

250

100

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Bantra StewartsClaim

New Zealand Journal of Botany, 2000, Vol. 38

Pukerau Waimatuku Romahapa

0.3

2.0

0 40 «0 0 40 80

Fig. 3 Stratigraphic frequency diagrams for Bantra, Stewarts Claim, Waiatuku, Romahapa, and hkerau cores. Relativechanges in percentages of tree ( ), fern (. . ..), and grass (-—--) phytoliths down the cores. xxxx, Kawakawa Tephra.

trees and shrubs are present in all cores, with smallnumbers at the top but increasing in abundance withdepth.

At certain depths there are major reductions in iden-tifiable forms which are replaced by polyhedral-likeplatelets. These forms are very similar in appearanceto polyhedral epidermal phytoliths. They have thesame specific gravity (2.3 kg m-3) as the opailsed silicaof phytoliths as well as being optically isotropic. Theydominate the lower sections of all cores to the exclu-sion of all identifiable phytoliths. If these platelets werepolyhedral phytoliths, derived from trees and shrubs,other identifiable forms such as spherical phytolithswould have to be present. The exclusion of all other

forms suggests that the platelets originate h m a min-eral rather than a plant source. One possible source forthe platelets is zeolites. These can be present as a min-eral component of the loess derived &om greywacke.However, Bruce et al. (1973) stated that loess inSouthland is probably derived from two differentrocks, metamorphic (schist) and tuffaceous greywacke.Alternatively, zeolites can form in soil as a responseto changes in soil chemistry and/or soil moisture(Gottardi 1989). Zeolite crystals can also form amor-phous platelets following treatment with acids (W.Dickinson per. comm. 1999). Further research into thesource of these platelets remains beyond the scope ofthis study.

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Carter—Phytoliths fiom Southland loess 331

Chronology for the cores is generally not wellconstrained. However, Eden et al. (1992) extracteda small number of volcanic glass shards fiom depthsof approximately 1.7 m in the Stewarts Claim coreand 1.0 m in the Romahapa core. These have beententatively identified as Kawakawa Tephra (22.5 kaB.P.; Wilson et al. 1988).

The coarse resolution of sampling and thedisappearance of phytoliths below a maximum depthof 2.1 m prevent detailed palaeoenvironmentalreconstruction. However, a generalised interpretationsuggests that the Kawakawa Tephra was depositedon a landscape that was in the process of changingfiom partly forested to grassland. This may representthe boundary between the Oxygen Isotope Stages 3and 2 (24 ka B.P.; Martinson et al. 1987). The highnumbers of cold climate grass phytoliths possiblyrepresent Oxygen Isotope Stage 2.

The phytolith record presented here is simi1ar topollen ana1ysis resu1ts (McG1one &t Bathgate 1983)Showing that before 12 ooo Yr B.P. Coastal southlandwas covered with a sparse grassland-shrubland.However, pollen records h m Southland and CentralOtago (McGlone 1980; McGlone & Bathgate 1983;McGlone et al. 1995) show that forests becameestablished after 12 000 yr, whereas this phytolithrecord implies persistence of grassland.

The lack of forest in the phytolith record couldresult fiom several reasons. The most probable is thatthe section of loess containing tree phytoliths, i.e.,the Holocene soil surface, has been eroded. Theburning of forest during strong winds creates con-ditions favourable for the removal of loess by wind.There is a record of natural pre-Polynesian forestfires fiom nearby Central Otago where four charcoallayers have been dated at 7900 yr C14 (J. G. Brucepers. c o r n . 1999). McGlone (1983) has noted thatfollowing the arrival of Polynesians, the record Offorest burn increased dramatically. The arrival ofEuropeans further accelerated destruction of forestsby their farming practice of burning and clearingforests followed by Ploughing and sowing to createpasture (Amold 1994). Some or all of these condi-tions could lead to the erosion of the loess contain-ing forest phytoliths. Following forest CkamnCe byEuropean settlers, the land was oversown with pas-ture grasses which show up in the phytolith recordsas panicoid and festucoid forms.

The presence of identifiable phytoliths in loess inSouthland provides a relatively new method of ob-taining palaeoenvironmental proxy information.Phytolith analysis has potential as a method ofpalaeoenvironmental reconstruction. It is especially

useful in loess and tephra deposits where other plantand animal fossils are not preserved. In this study,phytoliths have given a coarsely defined indicationof environment and climate through up to 25 000years. The full potential for extractingpalaeoenvironmental information from loess inSouthland will only be achieved by further work.This would include re-sampling the loess and re-searching the reason for the presence of the zeoliteplatelets. At present our knowledge of the origin ofa particular phytolith to genera and species level islimited to a small number. The method will onlyreach its full potential when most phytoliths are iden-tified to genera.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank the Miss E. L. Hellaby Indigenous GrasslandResearch Trust for financial support for this study. I thankWarren Dickinson for helpful comments and review, andBrian Dawkins of ISOR, Victoria University of Welling-ton, for help in formatting the stratigraphic frequencydiagram.

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Wilson, C. N. J.; Switsur, V. R.; Ward, A. P. 1988: A new14C age for the Oruanui (Wairaki) eruption, NewZealand. Geological Magazine 125: 297-300.

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Fig. 2 Phytolith forms recovered from the cores. 1, Chionochloid:Very distinctive spool shape (Chionochloa ). 2, Chloridoid: Battle-axesaddle-shaped (snow and red tussocks). 3, Panicoid: These forms aredumbbell and complex dumbbell-shaped (warm climate grasses). 4,Festucoid: Elongate boat-shaped with saw-tooth edges (Poa andFestuca). 5, Elongate: Rectangular (grasses!. 6. Bulliform: Fan-shapedor rectangular (Rytidosperma spp.). 7, Spherical verrucose: Sphericalshape with some surface decoration (trees, shrubs, and herbs). 8, Poly-hedral epidermal: Platey shape with four to eight sides (trees, e.g.,Nothofagus spp., and herbs). 9, Fern tissue (Jigsaw Anticlinal): Plateyjigsaw-shaped (ferns). Scale bars 10 |im.

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