Modern pollen spectra from Chatham Island, New Zealand

Abstract

Surface samples were used to study pollen dispersal of the major vegetation elements on Chatham Island. Size differences between the pollen of the two Dracophyllum species of Chatham Island enabled the two vegetation types in which they occur to be differentiated with a small uncertainty factor. It was found that with a pollen sum of total terrestrial pollen and spores Myrsine, Pinus radiata, Plantogo lanceolata, Poaceae, and Rumex were over-represented; Coprosma, Muehlenbeckia australis, Pseudopanax chathamicus, and most ferns were well-represented; and Corynocarpus laevigalus, Cyathodes robusta, Dracophyllum arboreum, Gentiana chathamica, Histiopteris/Hypolepis, Olearia traversii, Ranunculaceae, Restionaceae, Senecio huntii, and Sphagnum were under-represented. It would be difficult to determine entirely on the basis of pollen rain whether the under-represented class is present in the vegetation. A comparison is made of the major findings of this study with previous studies conducted on mainland New Zealand.