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Estimating phytolith influx in lake sediments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Julie C. Aleman ,
Audrey Saint-Jean ,
Bérangère Leys ,
Christopher Carcaillet ,
Charly Favier  and
Laurent Bremond
Julie C. Aleman*
Affiliation:
Centre for Bio-Archaeology and Ecology (UMR5059, CNRS/Université Montpellier 2/EPHE), Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France Paleoenvironments and Chronoecology (PALECO), Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France UR Biens et services des écosystèmes forestiers tropicaux (CIRAD), Montpellier, France
Audrey Saint-Jean
Affiliation:
Centre for Bio-Archaeology and Ecology (UMR5059, CNRS/Université Montpellier 2/EPHE), Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France Paleoenvironments and Chronoecology (PALECO), Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France
Bérangère Leys
Affiliation:
Centre for Bio-Archaeology and Ecology (UMR5059, CNRS/Université Montpellier 2/EPHE), Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France Paleoenvironments and Chronoecology (PALECO), Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France
Christopher Carcaillet
Affiliation:
Centre for Bio-Archaeology and Ecology (UMR5059, CNRS/Université Montpellier 2/EPHE), Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France Paleoenvironments and Chronoecology (PALECO), Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France
Charly Favier
Affiliation:
Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (UMR 5554, CNRS/Université Montpellier 2), F-34095 Montpellier, France
Laurent Bremond
Affiliation:
Centre for Bio-Archaeology and Ecology (UMR5059, CNRS/Université Montpellier 2/EPHE), Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France Paleoenvironments and Chronoecology (PALECO), Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (EPHE), Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France
*
*Corresponding author at: Centre for Bio-Archaeology and Ecology (UMR5059, CNRS/Université Montpellier 2/EPHE), Institut de Botanique, 163 rue Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France. E-mail address:julie.aleman@univ-montp2.fr (J.C. Aleman).
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Abstract

So far, no phytolith extraction protocols have been tested for accuracy and repeatability. Here we aim to display a phytolith extraction method combining the strengths of two widely used protocols, supplemented with silica microspheres as exogenous markers for quantifying phytolith concentrations. Phytolith concentrations were estimated for samples from two sedimentary sequences in which numerical age–depth models make it possible to calculate phytolith influxes (phytolith numbers per cm2per yr). Analysis of replicates confirmed the statistical robustness, the repeatability and the very few biases of our extraction technique for small phytoliths, since the relationship between grass silica short cells and microspheres was kept stable. Furthermore, we demonstrated that silica microspheres are robust exogenous markers for estimating phytolith concentrations. The minimum number of items (i.e., phytoliths plus silica microspheres) that must be counted to estimate phytolith concentrations and thus influxes depends on the ratio of phytoliths to microspheres (R) and is minimized when R = 1. Nevertheless, we recommend using ratios R ≤ 1 in order to avoid having the counting process become excessively time-consuming, because microspheres are easier to identify and count than phytoliths.

Keywords

PhytolithConcentrationInfluxSilica microspheresMinimum count size
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 80 , Issue 2 , September 2013 , pp. 341 - 347
Copyright
University of Washington

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