Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spatial distribution characteristics and environmental significance of phytoliths in surface sediments of Qingshitan Lake in Southwest China

  • Original paper
  • Published:
Journal of Paleolimnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fossil phytolith assemblages in lake sediments are widely used to reconstruct past vegetation patterns and dynamics, especially in subtropical environments. However, our understanding of how hydrodynamic conditions (river input and lake basin sedimentological processes) influence the transportation and taphonomy of phytoliths in lacustrine sediments is limited. The aim of this study is to use phytolith assemblage and grain size analyses of Qingshitan Lake surface sediments to identify the distribution characteristics and main transportation modes of phytoliths in lakes. Our results show that the grain size of surface sediments changes across different lacustrine areas of Qingshitan Lake. The median diameter (Md) and volume moment mean diameter (D(4,3)) of surface sediments gradually decreases with distance from the inlet river mouth. The phytolith assemblages of surface sediments vary between sampling locations in the lake. The percentage of woody dicotyledon phytoliths decreases from the estuary delta to the central lake basin, and correlates with the Md and D(4,3) of lake sediments. We find that phytolith assemblages in the riverine delta are mainly influenced by hydrodynamic (river input) processes and record the vegetation cover of the Gongping River catchment. Assemblages in the central lake basin are affected not only by riverine influences but also by eolian transport and similarly reflect the local vegetation. Investigating the relationships between the phytolith assemblages and sediment grain sizes in lakes may make it possible to identify the phytolith source area, which is crucial information to interpret assemblages and indices.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aleman J, Leys B, Apema R, Bentaleb I, Dubois MA, Lamba B, Leamba J, Martin C, Ngomanda A, Truc L, Yangakola JM, Favier C, Bremond L (2012) Reconstructing savanna tree cover from pollen, phytoliths and stable carbon isotopes. J Veg Sci 23:187–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aleman JC, Blarquez O, Bentaleb I, Bonté P, Brossier B, Carcaillet C, Gond V, Gourlet-Fleury S, Kpolita A, Lefèvre I (2013a) Tracking land-cover changes with sedimentary charcoal in the Afrotropics. Holocene 23:1853–1862

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aleman JC, Saint-Jean A, Leys B, Carcaillet C, Favier C, Bremond L (2013b) Estimating phytolith influx in lake sediments. Quat Res 80:341–347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aleman JC, Canal-Subitani S, Favier C, Bremond L (2014) Influence of the local environment on lacustrine sedimentary phytolith records. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 414:273–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexandre A, Meunier JD, Lezine AM, Vincens A, Schwartz D (1997) Phytoliths indicators of grasslands dynamics during the late Holocene in intertropical Africa. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 136:213–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen JRL, Duffy MJ (1998) Temporal and spatial depositional patterns in the severn estuary, South-western Britain: intertidal studies at spring-neap and seasonal scales, 1991–1993. Mar Geol 146:147–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balamurugan P, Vasudevan S, Selvaganapathi R, Nishikanth CV (2014) Spatial distribution of grain size characteristics and its role in interpreting the sedimentary depositional environment, Kodaikanal Lake, Tamil Nadu, India. Earth Sci Clim Change 5(8):1000217

    Google Scholar 

  • Barboni D, Bremond L (2009) Phytoliths of East African grasses: an assessment of their environmental and taxonomic significance based on floristic data. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 158:29–41

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barboni D, Bonnefille R, Alexandre A, Meunier JD (1999) Phytoliths as palaeoenvironmental indicators, West Side Middle Awash Walley, Ethiopia. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 152:87–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blott SJ, Pye K (2001) Gradistat: a grain size distribution and statistics package for the analysis of unconsolidated sediments. Earth Surf Proc Land 26:1237–1248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowdery D (1999) Taphonomy, phytoliths and the African dust plume. In: Mountain MJ, Bowdery D (eds) Taphonomy: the analysis of processes from phytoliths to Megafauna. ANH Publications, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, pp 3–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Bremond L, Alexandre A, Peyron O, Guiot J (2005a) Grass water stress estimated from phytoliths in West Africa. J Biogeogr 32:311–327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bremond L, Alexandre A, Hely C, Guiot J (2005b) A phytolith index as a proxy of tree cover density in tropical areas: calibration with leaf area index along a forest–savanna transect in southeastern Cameroon. Glob Planet Change 45:277–293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bremond L, Alexandre A, Wooller MJ, Hély C, Williamson D, Shäfer P, Majule A, Guiot J (2008) Phytolith indices as proxies of grass subfamilies on East African tropical mountain. Glob Planet Change 61(3):209–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cary L, Alexandre A, Meunier JD, Boeglin JL, Braun JJ (2005) Contribution of phytoliths to the suspended load of biogenic silica in the Nyong basin rivers (Cameroon). Biogeochemistry 74:101–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cerling TE, Harris JM, Macfadden BJ, Leakey MG, Quade J, Eisenmann V et al (1997) Global vegetation change through the Miocene/Pliocene boundary. Nature 389:153–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Collura LV, Newmann K (2017) Wood and bark phytoliths of West African woody plants. Quat Int 434:142–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diester-Haas L, Schrader HJ, Thiede J (1973) Sedimentological and paleoclimatological investigations of two pelagicooze cores off Cape Barbas, North-West Africa. Meteor Forschungs-Ergeb Reihe C 16:19–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Fan B, Xu S, Yu L, Jiang H, Ran L (2006) Phytolith in the sediment of the Lake Chaohu since Middle Holocene and its paleoenvironmental implications. J Lake Sci 18(3):273–279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fenwick RSH, Lentfer CJ, Weisler MI (2011) Palm reading: a pilot study to discriminate phytoliths of four Arecaceae (Palmae) taxa. J Archaeol Sci 38:2190–2199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredlund GG, Tieszen LT (1994) Modern phytolith assemblages from the North American Great Plains. J Biogeogr 21:321–335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garnier A, Neumann K, Eichhorn B, Lespez L (2013) Phytolith taphonomy in the middle-to late-Holocene fluvial sediments of Ounjougou (Mali, West Africa). Holocene 23:416–431

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gu YS, Pearsall DM, Xie SC, Yu JX (2008) Vegetation and fire history of a Chinese site in southern tropical Xishuangbanna derived from phytolith and charcoal records from Holocene sediments. J Biogeogr 35:325–341

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang K (2009) Historical evolution of water resources of Lijiang River in Guilin. China Water Resour 1:80–82 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li RC, Cater JA, Xie SC, Gu YS, Xiong BS (2010) Phytoliths and microcharcoal at Jinluojia archeological site in Middle Reaches Of Yangtze River indicative of paleoclimate and human activity during the last 3000 Years. J Archaeol Sci 37:124–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li R, Tan S, Qin X, Ma J, Chen G, Liu P (2016a) Studies on the phytoith variation in maize during its growing season. Acta Micropalaeoontologica Sinica 33(2):170–179 (in Chinese)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li R, Meyers PA, Fan J, Xue JT (2016b) Monthly changes in chain length distributions and stable carbon isotope compositions of leaf n-alkanes during growth of the bamboo Dendrocalamus ronganensis and the grass Setaria viridis. Org Geochem 101:72–81

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li R, Fan J, Carter J, Jiang N (2017) Monthly variations of phytoliths in the leaves of the bamboo Dendrocalamus ronganensis, (Poaceae: Bambusoideae). Rev Palaeobot Palynol 246:62–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu HY, Liu KB (2003) Morphological variations of lobate phytoliths from grasses in China and the southeastern USA. Divers Distrib 9:73–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu HY, Wu NQ, Yang XD, Jiang H, Liu KB, Liu TS (2006) Phytoliths as quantitative indicators for the reconstruction of past environmental conditions in China I: phytolith-based transfer functions. Quat Sci Rev 25:945–959

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madella M, Alexandre A, Ball T, ICPN Working Group (2005) International code for phytolith nomenclature 1.0. Ann Bot 96:253–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mercader J, Bennett T, Essenlmont C, Simpson S, Walde D (2009) Phytoliths in woody plants from the Miombo woodlands of Mozambique. Ann Bot 104:91–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Messager E, Lordkipanidze D, Delhon C, Ferring CR (2010) Palaeoecological implications of the Lower Pleistocene phytolith record from the Dmanisi Site (Georgia). Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 288:1–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulholland SC (1989) Phytolith shape frequencies in North Dakota grasses: a comparison to general patterns. J Archaeol Sci 16(5):489–511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Novello AD, Barboni L, Berti-Equille JC, Mazur Poilecot P, Vignaud P (2012) Phytolith signal of aquatic plants and soils in Chad, Central Africa. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 178:43–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Novello A, Lebatard AE, Moussa A, Barboni D, Sylvestre F, Bourlès DL, Palillès C, Buchet G, Decarreau A, Duringer P, Ghienne J-F, Mazur J-C, Roquin C, Schuster M, Vignaud P (2016) Phytolith records from a 10Be/9Be dated lacustrine succession in the Lake Chad basin: insight on the Pliocene palaeoenvironmental changes in Central Africa. Quater Int 404:177–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nurse MA, Reavie ED, Ladwig JL, Yost CL (2017) Pollen and phytolith paleoecology in the St. Louis River Estuary, Minnesota, USA, with special consideration of Zizania palustris L. Rev Palaeobot Palynol 246:216–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olivié-Lauquet G, Allard T, Bertaux J, Muller JP (2000) Crystal chemistry of suspended matter in a tropical hydrosystem, Nyong basin (Cameroon, Africa). Chem Geol 170:113–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearsall DM (2000) Paleoethnobotany: a handbook of procedures, 2nd edn. Academic Press, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng S, Hao Q, Wang L, Ding M, Zhang W, Wang Y, Guo Z (2016) Geochemical and grain-size evidence for the provenance of loess deposits in the Central Shandong Mountains region, northern China. Quat Res 85:290–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piperno D (2006) Phytoliths: a comprehensive guide for archaeologists and paleoecologists. Alta Mira Press, Oxford, p 238

    Google Scholar 

  • Piperno DR, Pearsall DM (1998) The silica bodies of tropical American grasses: morphology, taxonomy, and implications for grass systematics and fossil phytolith identification. Smithson Contrib Bot 85:1–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rawle A (2003) Basic principles of particle-size analysis. Surf Coat Int A Coat J 86(2):58–65

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorn Vanessa C (2004) Phytolith evidence for C4-dominated grassland since the early Holocene at Long Pocket, northeast Queensland, Australia. Quat Res 61:168–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vachula RS, Richter N (2017) Informing sedimentary charcoal-based fire reconstructions with a kinematic transport model. Holocene 28(4):173–178

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallis LA (2001) Environmental history of northwest Australia based on phytolith analysis at Carpenter’s Gap 1. Quat Int 83–85:103–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang YJ, Lu HY (1993) The study of phytolith and its application. China Ocean Press, Beijing (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Watling J, Iriarte J (2013) Phytoliths from the coastal savannas of French Guiana. Quat Int 287:162–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Webb EA, Longstaffe FL (2000) The oxygen isotopic compositions of silica phytoliths and plant water in grasses: implications for the study of paleoclimate. Geochem Cosmoch Acta 64:767–780

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yin L, Li M (1997) A study on the geographic distribution and ecology of C4 plants in China II C4 plant distribution in China and their relation with regional climatic condition. Zcta Ecol Sin 17(4):350–363 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yost CL, Blinnikov S, Julius ML (2013) Detecting ancient wild rice (Zizania S PP. L.) using phytolith: a taphonomic study of modern wild rice in Minnesota (USA) lake sediments. J Paleolimnol 49:221–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yost CL, Jackson LJ, Stone JR, Cohen AS (2018) Subdecadal phytolith and charcoal records from Lake Malawi, East Africa imply minimal effects on human evolution from the ~ 74 ka Toba supereruption. J Hum Evol 116:75–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan D (1992) Karst in southwest China and its comparison with karst in north China. Quat Sci 4:352–361 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Rizheng Nong and Weisong He for help during the sampling. The work is supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41262009, 41867058) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province, in China (Grant Nos. 2012GXNSFAA053188, 2016GXNSFAA380114).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangxi Key Laboratory of Hidden Metallic Ore Deposits Exploration, Guilin University of Technology, 12 Jiangan Road, Guilin City, 541004, Guangxi, China

    Rencheng Li, Jun Fan, Shuhui Tan & Xiang Qing

  2. Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences, Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02902, USA

    Richard S. Vachula

Authors
  1. Rencheng Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jun Fan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Richard S. Vachula
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Shuhui Tan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Xiang Qing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rencheng Li.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, R., Fan, J., Vachula, R.S. et al. Spatial distribution characteristics and environmental significance of phytoliths in surface sediments of Qingshitan Lake in Southwest China. J Paleolimnol 61, 201–215 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-018-0053-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-018-0053-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation