Micro-morphometry of cereal and non-cereal pollen using LM,CLSM and FESEM: Implications for past anthropogenic activities in the Central Ganga Plain India
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online June, 2026
Micro-morphometry of cereal and non-cereal pollen using LM,CLSM and FESEM: Implications for past anthropogenic activities in the Central Ganga Plain India
One of the most important criteria to distinguish wild grasses from those of cultivated ones lies in their pollen micro-morphological characteristics, which has proven to be an immensely useful tool in reconstruction of the past human influence and paleoecology. The investigation of 22 species of cereal and non-cereal pollen using Light Microscopy (LM), Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM), and Field Emission Electron Microscopy (FESEM) is a maiden attempt from India to develop a biometric threshold for distinguishing cereal and non-cereal pollen. When we realize pollen studies to solve the query related to anthropization or inception of agricultural activities, it is important to clearly distinguish pollen grains of wild from cultivated grasses from Central Ganga Plain, which is regarded as the food basket of the country. The 8 species of cereal and 14 species of non-cereal pollen possess significant differences in Grain Diameter (GD) and Annulus Diameter (AD). The paired threshold (46–9 μm) appeared to be a discriminant pair, where cereal pollen bears the pollen grain and annulus diameter of above the threshold (>46, >9 μm) and non-cereal possess less than (<46, <9 μm). The pollen surface ornamentation of Poaceae pollen grains was also investigated extensively using FESEM for developing new tools to reconstruct past human habitation and climate. The various multivariate statistical analyses on the pollen micro-morphological characters, indicates the major clusters between the cereal and non-cereal pollen along with independent taxa, Zea mays. This extensive pollen morphological examination would provide a comprehensive dataset for the identification of fossil cereal and non-cereal pollen (upto the species level) in Ganga Plain and its comparison with other species growing around the country and neighboring regions.
AndersenST (1979) Identification of wild grass and cereal pollen. Danmarks Geologiske Undersagelse, Arbog 1978: 69–92.
2.
AndersenTSBertelsenF (1972) Scanning electron microscope studies of pollen of cereals and other grasses. Grana12: 79–86.
3.
BehreKE (Ed.) (1986) Anthropogenic Indicators In Pollen Diagrams. Rotterdam: AA Balkema, p.232.
4.
BehreKE (2007) Evidence for Mesolithic agriculture in and around central Europe?Vegetation History and Archaeobotany16: 203–219.
5.
BeugHJ (2004) Leitfaden der Pollenbestimmung fur Mitteleuropa und angrenzende Gebiete. Munchen: Pfeil.
6.
BradleyRS (1986) Quaternary palaeoclimatology: Methods of Paleoclimate Reconstruction. New South Wales: George Allen and Unwin Publishers Ltd.
7.
BryantVMJrHollowayR (1983) The role of palynology in archaeology. In: Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press, pp.191–224.
8.
Cartaxo-PintoBMendonçaCBLopesRC, et al. (2017) Pollen morphology of species of Cissus (Vitaceae): An evaluation of ornamentation. Palynology41(3): 359–369.
9.
ChangTT (1976) The origin, evolution, cultivation, dissemination and diversification of Asian and African rices. Euphytica25: 425–441.
10.
ChaturvediMDattaKNairPKK (1998) Pollen morphology of Oryza (Poaceae). Grana37(2): 79–86.
11.
ChauhanMSPokhariaAKSinghIB (2009) Pollen record of Holocene vegetation climate change and human habitation from Lahuradewa Lake, Sant Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India. Man and EnvironmentXXXIV(1): 88–100.
12.
ChauhanMSPokhariaAKSrivastavaRK (2015) Late quaternary vegetation history, climatic variability and human activity in the Central Ganga Plain, deduced by pollen proxy records from Karela Jheel, India. Quaternary International371: 144–156.
13.
ChenWWangWMDaiXR (2009) Holocene vegetation history with implications of human impact in the Lake Chaohu area, Anhui Province, East China. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany18: 137–146.
14.
DattaKChaturvediM (2004) Pollen morphology of basmati cultivars (Oryza sativarace Indica) – exine surface ultrastructure. Grana43(2): 89–93.
15.
Deza-AraujoMMorales-MolinoCTinnerW, et al. (2020) A critical assessment of human-impact indices based on anthropogenic pollen indicators. Quaternary Science Reviews236: 106291.
16.
EastwoodWJFairbairnAStroudE, et al. (2018) Comparing pollen and archaeobotanical data for chalcolithic cereal agriculture at Çatalhöyük, Turkey. Quaternary Science Reviews202: 4–18.
17.
ErdtmanG (1943) An Introduction to Pollen Analysis. Waltham, Mass (MA): The Chronic Botanica Co.
18.
ErdtmanG (1952) Pollen Morphology and Plant Taxonomy-Angiosperms (An Introduction to Palynology. I). Waltham, MA: The Chronic Botanica Co.
ErdtmanG (1969) Handbook of Palynology: Morphology-Taxonomy-Ecology: An Introduction to the Study of Pollen Grains and Spores. New York: Hafner Publishing Co, pp.1–486.
GoslingWDMillerCSLivingstoneDA (2013) Atlas of the tropical West African pollen flora. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology199: 1–135.
24.
GuptaHPSharmaC (1986) Pollen flora of North-west Himalaya. Lucknow (India): Indian Association of Palynostratigraphers, Lucknow.
25.
HapsariKABallauffJ (2022) Distinguishing pollen grains of cereal from wild grasses in the Sundaland region using size separation. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology301: 104648.
26.
HydeHAWilliamsDA (1944) The right word. Pollen Analysis Circular8: 6.
27.
JohansenOSVorrenKD (1986) The prehistoric expansion of farming into “Arctic” Norway: A chronology based on 14C dating. Radiocarbon28(2A): 739–747.
28.
JolyCBarilléLBarreauM, et al. (2007) Grain and annulus diameter as criteria for distinguishing pollen grains of cereals from wild grasses. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology146: 221–233.
29.
KatsiFKentMSJonesM, et al. (2024) FTIR spectra from grass pollen: A quest for species-level resolution of Poaceae and Cerealia-type pollen grains. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology321: 105039.
30.
KöhlerELangeE (1979) A contribution to distinguishing cereal from wild grass pollen grains by LM and SEM. Grana18: 133–140.
31.
LahtinenMRowley-ConwyP (2013) Early farming in Finland: Was there cultivation before the Iron Age (500 BC)?European Journal of Archaeology16: 660–684.
32.
LeroyerC (1997) Homme, climat, végétation au Tardi-et Postglaciaire dans le Bassin parisien: apports de l'étude palynologique des fonds de vallée. PhD Thesis, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, France.
33.
LynchSPWebsterGL (1975) A new technique of preparing pollen for scanning electron microscopy. Grana15: 127–136.
34.
MaharanaPAgnihotriRDimriAP (2021) Changing Indian monsoon rainfall patterns under the recent warming period 2001–2018. Climate Dynamics57(9–10): 2581–2593.
35.
MaloneyBK (1996) Possible early dry-land and wet-land rice cultivation in highland North Sumatra. Asian Perspective35: 164–192.
MursyidinDHSumardiIDaryonoBS (2018) Pollen diversity of the tidal swamp rice (‘Oryza sativa’ lL.) cultivars collected from South Kalimantan Indonesia. Australian Journal of Crop Science12(3): 380–385.
38.
NayarTS (1990) Pollen Flora of Maharashtra State. New Delhi: Today and Tomorrow’s Printers And Publishers.
39.
OksanenJBlanchetFGFriendlyM, et al. (2020) Vegan: Community Ecology Package. R Package Version 2, 5–7. Available at: https://CRAN.Rproject.org/package=vegan
40.
O’ConnellM (1987) Early cereal-type pollen records from Connemara, western Ireland and their possible significance. Pollen et Spores29(2-3): 207–224.
41.
ParadisESchliepK (2019) Ape 5.0: An environment for modern phylogenetics and evolutionary analyses in R. Bioinformatics35: 526–528.
42.
PuntWHoenPPBlackmoreS, et al. (2007) Glossary of pollen and spore terminology. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology143: 1–81.
43.
QuamarMF (2022) Monsoonal climatic reconstruction from Central India during the last ca. 3600 cal yr: Signatures of global climatic events, based on lacustrine sediment pollen records. Palynology46(1): 1–18.
44.
QuamarMFBeraSK (2014) Vegetation and climate change during Mid and Late Holocene in northern Chhattisgarh (Central India) inferred from pollen records. Quaternary International349: 357–366.
45.
QuamarMFChauhanMS (2012) Late quaternary vegetation, climate as well as lake-level changes and human occupation from Nitaya area in Hoshangabad District, Southwestern Madhya Pradesh (India), based on pollen evidence. Quaternary International263: 104–113.
46.
QuamarMFKarR (2022) Agricultural practices in India during the Holocene: A pollen view point and a critical appraisal. Holocene32(11): 1340–1357.
47.
RaoARShuklaP (1975) Indian Pollen-Spore Floras. Pollen Flora of Upper Gangetic Plain, vol. 1. New Delhi: Today & Tomorrow’s Printers & Publishers, pp.1–127.
48.
R Core Team (2020) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Available at: https://www.R-project.org/
49.
RowleyJR (1960) The exine structure of ‘cereal’ and ‘wild’ type grass pollen. Grana Palynologica2: 9–15.
50.
SaxenaAPrasadVSinghIB, et al. (2006) On the Holocene record of phytoliths of wild and cultivated rice from Ganga Plain: Evidence of rice-based agriculture. Current Science90: 1547–1551.
51.
SaxenaATrivediAChauhanMS, et al. (2015) Holocene vegetation and climate change in central Ganga Plain: A study based on multiproxy records from Chaudhary-Ka-Tal, Raebareli district, Uttar Pradesh, India. Quaternary International371: 164–174.
52.
SchopfJWKudryavtsevAB (2009) Confocal laser scanning microscopy and Raman imagery of ancient microscopic fossils. Precambrian Research173(1–4): 39–49.
SchülerLBehlingH (2011) Poaceae pollen grain size as a tool to distinguish past grasslands in South America: A new methodological approach. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany20: 83–96.
55.
SenguptaSGuptaAKJaiswalMK, et al. (2024) Palaeoclimatic shifts in the Central Ganga basin during the Middle- to Late Holocene: Exploring the 4.2 ka arid event and its implications in northern India. Holocene34: 1138–1153.
56.
ShastrySUSSharmaSD (1974) Rice. In: HutchinsonJH (ed.) In: Evolutionary Studies in World Crops. Diversity and Changes in Indian Subcontinent. Cambridge, pp.55–61.
57.
SinghIB (1996a) Late quaternary sedimentation of Ganga Plain foreland basin. In: SymNW (ed.) Himalaya and Foredeep. Geological Survey of India, vol. 21. Lucknow: Special Publication, pp.161–172.
58.
SinghIB (1996b) Geological evolution of Ganga Plain - An overview. Journal of the Palaeontological Society of India41: 99–137.
59.
SrivastavaPSinghIBSharmaM, et al. (2003) Luminescence chronometry and late quaternary geomorphic history of the Ganga Plain, India. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology197: 15–41.
60.
SuMWangNDongH, et al. (2023) Influence of human impacts on modern pollen assemblages and an assessment of their reliability in reconstructing climate in Eastern China. Quaternary International670: 45–54.
TripathiSAryaAKBasumatarySK, et al. (2016) Modern pollen and its ecological relationships with the tropical deciduous forests of Central Uttar Pradesh, India. Palynology40(2): 264–279.
63.
TripathiSFarooquiASinghV, et al. (2019) Morphometrical analysis of Ceiba Mill. (Bombacoideae, Malvaceae) pollen: A sacred plant of the Mayan (Mesoamerican) civilisation. Palynology43(4): 551–573.
64.
TripathiSKumar BasumatarySPandeyA, et al. (2021) Palaeoecological changes from 580 to 1220 CE from the Indo-Burma region: A biotic assessment from the Barak Valley of Assam, Northeast India. CATENA206: 105–487.
65.
TripathiSThakurBNautiyalCM, et al. (2020) Floristic and climatic reconstruction in the Indo-Burma region for the last 13,000 cal. yr: A palynological interpretation from the endangered wetlands of Assam, northeast India. Holocene30(2): 315–331.
66.
TripathiSThakurBSharmaA, et al. (2023) Modern biotic and abiotic analogues from the surface soil of Ganga-Ghaghara-Gandak interfluves of the Central Ganga Plain (CGP), India: Implications for the palaeoecological reconstructions. CATENA224: 1–23.
67.
TrivediASaxenaAChauhanMS, et al. (2019) Vegetation, climate and culture in Central Ganga plain, India: A multi-proxy record for last glacial maximum. Quaternary International507: 134–147.
68.
TweddleJCEdwardsKJFiellerNRJ (2005) Multivariate statistical and other approaches for the separation of cereal from wild Poaceae pollen using a large Holocene dataset. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany14: 15–30.
69.
VenablesWNRipleyBD (2002) Exploratory multivariate analysis. In Modern applied statistics with S. New York, NY: Springer New York.
70.
WeiCJardinePEGoslingWD, et al. (2023) Is Poaceae pollen size a useful proxy in palaeoecological studies? New insights from a Poaceae pollen morphological study in the Amazon. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology308: 104790.
71.
WilliamsJWGrimmECBloisJL, et al. (2018) The Neotoma Paleoecology Database, a multiproxy, international, community-curated data resource. Quaternary Research89: 156–177.
72.
YangSZhengZHuangK, et al. (2012) Modern pollen assemblages from cultivated rice fields and rice pollen morphology: Application to a study of ancient land use and agriculture in the Pearl River Delta, China. Holocene22(12): 1393–1404.
73.
YangSZhengZMaoL, et al. (2018) Pollen morphology of selected crop plants from Southern China and testing pollen morphological data in an archaeobotanical study. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany27: 781–799.
74.
ZongYChenZInnesJB, et al. (2007) Fire and flood management of coastal swamp enabled first rice paddy cultivation in East China. Nature449: 459–462.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
