Modern pollen types, Ghana.

Modern pollen types from artificial pollen traps, observed in Ghana, tropical West Africa. This is my personal database of pollen types observed during my PhD 'Modern pollen-vegetation relationships in Ghana, tropical West Africa', at The Open University.<div>Some scale bars missing from first 11 Holotypes; see excel sheet for pollen sizes. Many taxa have not been assigned botanical affinities. </div><div><br><div>Modern pollen was recovered from the following sites in Ghana:<div>Kogyae Forest Reserve, Savannah (7°18'04"N, 1°09'53"W), Transition (7°18'07"N, 1°10'50"W) and Forest (7°15'41"N, 1°09'00"W) plots (slides with 'K' in code- see below)</div><div>Bobiri Forest Reserve (6°42'15 "N 1°19'06 "W)<br></div><div> (slides with 'B' in code- see below) </div><div>Ankasa Conservation Area (5°16'06"N 2°41'38"W) (Slides with 'A' in code- see below)</div><div><div><p>Explanation of codes:</p><p>'Pollen types were assigned codes, for example the 3rd grain (G3), photographed in Slide 28 (S28), Kogyae 2014 (K14), Transition vegetation plot (T), Trap 55 (T55) would be S28K14TT55G3. Types were numbered sequentially from 1 upwards, and Holotypes (sets of images which acted as a standard for that pollen type) were designated. Holotypes were designated when the grain being photographed met the standards outlined below:</p> <p>- images of only one grain</p> <p>- includes both polar and equatorial views</p> <p>- includes a scale bar</p> <p>- grain not damaged</p> <p>- images clear enough to see the diagnostic features of the grain such as pore shape and wall structure</p> <p>When a new grain was found which did not meet the criteria to be designated as a holotype, it was photographed and given only a code, not a Type number, until a grain of the same morphotype was observed which could then be photographed as the holotype for that type. Pollen taxa were counted using their Type numbers, and taxonomic information was assigned to Types when this information became available.'</p><p>Where identifications are present, they are from:</p><p>William D. Gosling, Charlotte S. Miller, Daniel A. Livingstone, Atlas of the tropical West African pollen flora, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Volume 199, 2013, Pages 1-135, ISSN 0034-6667, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2013.01.003.</p><p>Annie Vincens, Anne-Marie Lézine, Guillaume Buchet, Dorothée Lewden, Annick Le Thomas, African pollen database inventory of tree and shrub pollen types, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Volume 145, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 135-141, ISSN 0034-6667, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2006.09.004.</p><p>Riollet G, Bonnefille R. 1980. Pollens des savanes d’Afrique orientale. Paris: Éd. du Centre national de la recherche scientifique. Paris.</p><p>van Campo M. 1974. Pollen et Spores d’Afrique tropicale. Talence: Association des Palynologues de Langue Francaise.</p><p>Ybert J-P. 1979. Atlas de pollens de Côte d’Ivoire [Internet]. Paris: ORSTOM; [cited 2017 Feb 21]. Available from: http://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:09859</p><p></p><p><br></p></div></div></div><div><br></div></div

SEM images, quantitative analysis code of SEM images, and data analysis code for "Grass pollen surface ornamentation is diverse across the phylogeny: evidence from northern South America and the global literature"

   The grasses are one of the most diverse plant families on Earth, however, their classification and evolutionary history are obscured by their pollen stenopalynous (similar) morphology. A combination of high-resolution imaging of pollen surface ornamentation and computational analysis has previously been proposed as promising tool to classify grass taxonomic boundaries. In this study, we test this hypothesis by studying Poaceae pollen across the phylogeny from plants collected in northern South America, but also from published literature across the globe. We assessed if morphotypes that we establish using descriptive terminology are supported by computational analysis, if they vary along six (a)biotic variables and how vary across the phylogeny. Based on this analysis, we constructed a reference framework for pollen surface ornamentation morphotypes. Our results showed that there is a very wide variation of grass pollen surface ornamentation. We identified nine new and six known morphotypes and established our dataset of 223 species (243 individual plant specimens) from 11 subfamilies. Computational analysis showed that our morphotypes are well-supported by two quantitative features of pollen sculptural elements (size and density). The specific dataset and mapping of the phylogeny confirmed that pollen morphological sculpture is unrelated to (a)biotic variables but is diverse across through the phylogeny.</p

Pre-contact and post-colonial ecological legacies shape Surinamese rainforests

This dataset belongs to the Ecology manuscript (ECY23-0681) "Pre-contact and post-colonial ecological legacies shape Surinamese rainforests". Table S1 contains radiocarbon dating results (uncalibrated and calibrated age ranges and 1 sigma errors). Table S2 contains the phytolith morphotypes used that were used in the data analyses and fig.2-3, their corresponding plant taxa and literature Table S3 contains CROSS 1 sizes, the count of CROSS and bilobate morphotypes and its ratio. In bold are extended countsTable S4 shows the data used to create fig. 2, showing phytoliths in abundances (%) or as "present" and charcoal in volume (cm3/mm3)Table S5 shows the data used to create fig. 3, showing burned phytoliths (%), total arboreal phytoliths (%), the openess index, total palm abundances (%) and modern AGB estimates for surface samples (Avitabile et al., 2016; Hijmans et al., 2013).Table S6 contains the raw phytolith data in abundances (%) or as noted as "present", when observed during an extended scan. Abstract of the manuscript:Disturbances in tropical forests can have long-lasting ecological impacts, but their manifestations (ecological legacies) in modern forests are uncertain. Many Amazonian forests bear the mark of past soil modifications, species enrichments and fire events, but the trajectories of ecological legacies from the pre-contact or post-colonial period remains relatively unexplored. We assessed the fire and vegetation history from 15 soil cores ranging from 0 to 10 km from a post-colonial Surinamese archaeological site. We show that: i) fires occurred from 96 BC to recent times and induced significant vegetation change, ii) persistent ecological legacies from pre-contact and post-colonial fire and deforestation practices were mainly within 1 km of the archaeological site, and iii) palm enrichment of Attalea, Oenocarpus and Astrocaryum occurrewithin 0 km, 1 km, and 8 km of the archaeological site, respectively. Our results challenge the notion of spatially extensive and persistent ecological legacies. Instead, our data indicate that the persistence and extent of ecological legacies is dependent on its timing, frequency, type, and intensity. Examining the mechanisms and manifestations of ecological legacies is crucial in assessing forest resilience and Indigenous and local land rights in the highly threatened Amazonian forests.</p