Journal of Paleolimnology

, Volume 52, Issue 4, pp 435–443 | Cite as

Radiocarbon dating suitability of aquatic plant macrofossils

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Abstract

Paleolimnological and plant physiological literature were reviewed to determine which types of aquatic plant macrofossils are suitable for radiocarbon dating, with a particular focus on the uptake of reservoir-aged dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) by emergent plants. Submerged aquatic plants utilize large amounts of DIC and are clearly not suitable for radiocarbon dating. Under certain environmental conditions, some emergent aquatic plants can metabolize DIC in quantities large enough to introduce old-carbon error to radiocarbon dates acquired from their remains (plant macrofossils). Over 300 plant macrofossil images are included in the online resource Tool for Microscopic Identification; http://tmi.laccore.umn.edu) along with guidance on identification and suitability for radiocarbon dating.

Keywords

Radiocarbon dating Lake sediments Plant macrofossils Emergent aquatic plants Submerged aquatic plants Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Dick Baker, Iowa State University, for gracious access to his plant macrofossil reference collection and imaging system; and to Jack Williams for suggesting the "Do not date" list. TMI and this work have been supported by NSF-EAR-1226265 and a University of Minnesota Interdisciplinary Informatics Seed Grant.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Ecology Center and Department of Watershed Sciences, Quinney College of Natural ResourcesUtah State UniversityLoganUSA
  2. 2.LacCore, Department of Earth SciencesUniversity of MinnesotaMinneapolisUSA

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