Estd.: 1981
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, Lucknow-226007, India
* E-mail: quamar_bot@yahoo.co.in
The present paper seeks to establish relationship between modern pollen assemblages and present-day vegetation through pollen analysis of surface samples/moss polsters collected from Manendragarh Forest Range in Koriya District of Chhattisgarh State, Central India. The palynoassemblages revealed the dominance of non-arboreal pollen taxa (herbs) over the arboreal pollen taxa (trees and shrubs). The trees constitute average 35% pollen in the total pollen rain, whereas the average contribution of shrubs is only 3%. The prominent tree taxa are Madhuca, Terminalia, Emblica and Sapotaceae. Acanthaceae and Rungia are well-known shrubs. Among herbs, Poaceae (grasses) have relatively high frequencies followed by Cerealia, Cheno/Am and Tubuliflorae. Xanthium, Evolvulus alsinoides are other important herbaceous constituents. However, Liguliflorae, Malvaceae, Justicia, Tribulus, Pedalium etc. are comparable with their scanty presence in the herbaceous complex, constituting 61.78% average terrestrial pollen in the total pollen rain. Cerealia, Cheno/Am, Caryophyllaceae, Brassicaceae, Artemisia and Alternanthera document the agrarian activities in the study area. Cyperaceae, Chlorophytum, Hydrocotyl, Solanum sp., Pimpinella is suggestive of the marshy condition around the sampling site. Typha, Lemna and Potamogeton reflect some sort of aquatic nature of the study area too. Pinus, Cedrus, Abies, Picea, Alnus and Betula (in low frequencies) advocate their exclusive wind transportation from the Himalayas. Trilete and monolete (meagre) fern spores and lycopods indicate humid climatic condition. The comparative database generated on pollen rain/vegetation relationships will serve as modern analogue for the precise appraisal of the pollen sequences from the sediments in terms of past vegetation and climate.
Keywords: Pollen analysis, Pollen rain, Pollen assemblage, Vegetation, Tropical deciduous forests, Koriya, Chhattisgarh, Central India