en
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Fig.1: Pollen grain of Caryophyllaceae © AG Litt

Pollen and plant macrofossil analysis

Pollen analysis examines fossil sporomorphs. Pollen grains contain the male germ cells of plants. They are passively transmitted to the female flower by wind or insects. The protective outer exine is resistant to mechanical and chemical influences. In suitable deposits (e.g., in lake sediments or in bogs), they are embedded and do not decay due to the absence of atmospheric oxygen. Through drilling, samples are obtained and chemically processed in the laboratory. The pollen-enriched residue is analyzed under the microscope. Based on the shape of the fossil pollen grains, an identification to certain plants can be made (usually at genus level, more rarely up to the species level). Using pollen diagrams, quantitative changes in vegetation composition over time can be shown (Fig.2).

The analysis of plant macrofossil remains focuses on the identification of fruits and seeds as well as leaves and wood. Frequently, an identification up to the species level is possible. However, plant macrofossil remains are less common than pollen in corresponding deposits. Moreover, the environmental conditions in lakes and bogs often only detect residues of aquatic and marsh plants. In contrast to the pollen analysis, it is thus possible to gain an insight into the local vegetation. A combination of both methods is therefore useful for the paleoecological or paleoclimate interpretation.

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Fig.2: Holocene pollen diagram (Interglacial). © AG Litt
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Fig.3: Plant macrofossil sample with fruits and seeds predominantly of water andswamps plants. © AG Litt

Selected Literature:

Chen, C. and Litt, T. 2018. „Dead Sea pollen provides new insights into the paleoenvironment of the southern Levant during MIS 6–5“. Quaternary Science Reviews. 188: 15-27.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.03.029
Litt, T., Anselmetti, F.S., Baumgarten, H., Beer, J., Cagatay, N., Cukur, D., Damci, E., Glombitza, C., Haug, G., Heumann, G., Kallmeyer, J., Kipfer, R., Krastel, S., Kwiecien, O., Meydan, F., Örcen, S., Pickarski, N., Randlett, M.-E., Schmincke, H.-U., Schubert, C.J., Sturm, M., Sumita, M., Stockhecke, M., Tomonaga, Y., Vigliotti, L., Wonik, T., and the PALEOVAN Scientific Team 2012. „500, 000 Years of Environmental History in Eastern Anatolia: The PALEOVAN Drilling Project.“. Scientific Drilling. 14: 18-29.
Litt, T., Krastel, S., Sturm, M., Kipfer, R., Örcen, S., Heumann, G., Franz, S.O., Ülgen, U.B. and Niessen, F. 2009. „‘PALEOVAN’, International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP): site survey results and perspectives“. Quaternary Science Reviews. 28(15-16): 1555-1567.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.03.002
Litt, T., Ohlwein, C., Neumann, F.H., Hense, A. and Stein, M. 2012. „Holocene climate variability in the Levant from the Dead Sea pollen record“. Quaternary Science Reviews. 49: 95-105.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.06.012
Litt, T., Pickarski, N., Heumann, G., Stockhecke, M. and Tzedakis, P.C. 2014. „A 600, 000 year long continental pollen record from Lake Van, eastern Anatolia (Turkey)“. Quaternary Science Reviews. 104: 30-41.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.03.017
LITT, T., SCHÖLZEL, C., KÜHL, N. and BRAUER, A. 2009. „Vegetation and climate history in the Westeifel Volcanic Field (Germany) during the past 11 000 years based on annually laminated lacustrine maar sediments“. Boreas. 38(4): 679-690.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2009.00096.x
Miebach, A., Chen, C., Schwab, M.J., Stein, M. and Litt, T. 2017. „Vegetation and climate during the Last Glacial high stand (ca. 28–22 ka BP) of the Sea of Galilee, northern Israel“. Quaternary Science Reviews. 156: 47-56.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.11.013
Miebach, A., Niestrath, P., Roeser, P. and Litt, T. 2016. „Impacts of climate and humans on the vegetation in northwestern Turkey: palynological insights from Lake Iznik since the Last Glacial“. Climate of the Past. 12(2): 575-593.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-575-2016
Miebach, A., Stolzenberger, S., Wacker, L., Hense, A. and Litt, T. 2019. „A new Dead Sea pollen record reveals the last glacial paleoenvironment of the southern Levant“. Quaternary Science Reviews. 214: 98-116.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.04.033
Pickarski, N., Kwiecien, O., Djamali, M. and Litt, T. 2015. „Vegetation and environmental changes during the last interglacial in eastern Anatolia (Turkey): a new high-resolution pollen record from Lake Van“. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 435: 145-158.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.06.015
Pickarski, N., Kwiecien, O., Langgut, D. and Litt, T. 2015. „Abrupt climate and vegetation variability of eastern Anatolia during the last glacial“. Climate of the Past. 11(11): 1491-1505.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1491-2015
Pickarski, N. and Litt, T. 2017. „A new high-resolution pollen sequence at Lake Van, Turkey: insights into penultimate interglacial–glacial climate change on vegetation history“. Climate of the Past. 13(6): 689-710.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-689-2017
Schiebel, V. and Litt, T. 2018. „Holocene vegetation history of the southern Levant based on a pollen record from Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Israel“. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. 27(4): 577-590.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-017-0658-3