Taphonomical aspects of silica phytoliths in the loess sediments of the Argentinean Pampas

Abstract

Although Pampean loess and pedostratigraphy processes in the Pampas have been widely studied, phytoliths observed in these sediments have been only mentioned without further quantitative or qualitative studies. The present work is a first step towards an understanding of the environmental significance of loess phytolith datasets and their validity for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, and to comprehend the environmental conditions of loess formation. The research focused on the taphonomy of loess phytoliths investigating the loess morphological and sedimentological characteristics, variability in the qualitative and quantitative assemblage composition, the phytolith frequency and were also phytolith extraction techniques. The results highlight that the phytolith pool of loess deposits still retains information about the past vegetation and phytolith analysis from these deposits can be a useful exercise to further comprehend past climatic and environmental conditions under which loess–palaeosol sequences formed.