Abstract
Recent studies have shown that pollen analyses of natural substrates can produce data valuable for understanding the local pollen productivity and dispersal, deposition, and preservation potential of pollen grains. In this study, we aimed to acquire novel information about the dynamics and preservation of pollen in Caatinga environment through the palynological study of moss polsters. Samples of moss polsters in soil (MPS) and on rock (MPR) were collected from the Canudos Biological Station in the Bahia State (Brazil) and subjected to standard chemical treatments for the extraction of pollen residues. In total, 372 pollen types were recorded from the samples of which the taxonomical affinity of 140 was determined. The most represented families were Fabaceae (23 pollen types/16.42%) and Asteraceae (12 pollen types/8.57%). The MPS samples had a higher pollen concentration (21,042.04 pollen grains/cm²) than the MPR samples (7,829.35 pollen grains/cm²). On the other hand, the MPR samples had a greater diversity (68.26% of the identified pollen types). Qualitative analysis showed that the plants of shrub and subshrub habits had the greatest representation among the pollen types (35.0%). Overall, moss polsters proved to be excellent natural air pollen collectors in Caatinga environment, provided they had moist microhabitats for their development.
Highlights
Aerobiology is the study of the release, retention, dispersion, deposition and atmospheric incidence of airborne particles such as pollen, spores and bacteria (Pathirane 1975). Fontana (2003) stated that the relationship between modern pollen and current vegetation and the establishment of modern analogies between them help in interpreting paleoenvironments
This region experiences average monthly temperatures ranging from 20.7°C to 26.8°C, with the warmest period being from November to March and coinciding with the rainy season, and annual rainfall is generally less than 800 mm (SEI 2013)
Throughout the analysis, the high number of pollen types was surprising considering that the samples came from a semiarid area that generally does not have ideal conditions for the preservation of palinomorphs
Summary
Aerobiology is the study of the release, retention, dispersion, deposition and atmospheric incidence of airborne particles such as pollen, spores and bacteria (Pathirane 1975). Fontana (2003) stated that the relationship between modern pollen and current vegetation and the establishment of modern analogies between them help in interpreting paleoenvironments. Fontana (2003) stated that the relationship between modern pollen and current vegetation and the establishment of modern analogies between them help in interpreting paleoenvironments In this sense, recent studies have related modern pollen rain, which is the atmospheric dispersal and deposition of current pollen grains, to different types of vegetation from both natural and artificial collectors (e.g., lacustrine sediments, peat, soil, moss polsters). 2014 saw the publication of the first study regarding the record of pollen rain in natural collectors for the Caatinga environment (Gomes et al 2014) In this pioneering study, the authors demonstrated the importance of bromeliad tanks as pollen deposits for local and regional vegetation that are able to store and preserve palynomorphs, which together reveal important information about the physiognomic and ecological aspects of Caatinga vegetation
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