Modern pollen–vegetation relationship in the tropical mixed deciduous forest of the Koriya District in Chhattisgarh, India

Abstract

The present paper analyses the pollen deposition pattern in a swampy area of tropical mixed deciduous forest at the Baikunthpur Forest Range in the Koriya District of Chhattisgarh, India, based on the palynological investigation of surface samples. The palynological assemblages revealed the dominance of non-arboreal pollen taxa (NAPs: herbs) over the arboreal pollen taxa (APs: trees and shrubs). Among the arboreal taxa, trees constitute on average 41.92% of the pollen in the total pollen rain, whereas the average contribution of shrubs is only 2.19%. Among the herbaceous taxa, Poaceae (grasses) has a relatively high frequency (average 38.20%). The NAPs, on the whole, constitute on average 53.51% of the pollen in the total pollen rain. Cerealia, Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Brassicaceae, Artemisia and Alternanthera reflect the agrarian activities in the study area. Cyperaceae and other marshy taxa represent boggy places around the sampling site and Typha, Lemna, Potamogeton and Nymphoides the aquatic vegetation. Pinus, Cedrus, Picea and Alnus occur in low frequencies and are exclusively wind transported from the Himalayas. Trilete fern spores and lycopods are indicative of humid climatic condition.