Atlas of pollen, spores and further non-pollen palynomorphs recorded in the glacial-interglacial late Quaternary sediments of Lake Suigetsu, central Japan

• DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2012.02.002
• Publication Date: 2012-02-08T05:40:59Z
• Authors: Dieter Demske; Pavel E. Tarasov; Takeshi Nakagawa
• Keywords: 13. Climate action; 15. Life on land; 01 natural sciences; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

Abstract The record of well preserved palynomorphs from sediment samples of Lake Suigetsu mirrors temporal changes in the flora around the lake and spatial changes in the vegetation cover of central Japan during the late Quaternary. This study presents photographic images of 169 identifiable types of moss, lycophyte and fern spores and pollen of gymnospermous and angiospermous plants from the SG06 core sediment obtained at a standard magnification of ca. 750×. Additionally non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs), which appeared in the pollen slides, are documented, including remains of fungi, rhizopods, arthropods, rotifers, flatworms as well as green algae and plant tissue fragments. All documented taxa are presented in taxonomical order on 66 plates, including 55 plates for pollen and spores of higher plants and 11 plates for NPPs. This study renders an overview on quality of preservation and on the range of palynomorphs found in the last glacial-interglacial sediments of Lake Suigetsu, and furthermore, may serve as a handy and thorough guide for palynological investigations, aiming at the reconstruction of past vegetation, environmental and climate dynamics.