The need for alternatives to fossil pollen for the reconstruction of vegetation dominated by grasses has prompted the use of grass cuticles, which lack a described method of analysis. Methods used to analyse sediments for palaeoecological materials allied to grass cuticles, including microscopic charcoal, phytoliths and plant cuticles, are reviewed. A simple set of methods and protocols for extracting, identifying and quantifying fossil grass cuticles are presented.
Barboni, D. , Bonne” lle, R. , Alexandre, A. and Meunier, J.D.1999: Phytoliths as paleoenvironmental indicators, West Side Middle Awash Valley, Ethiopia .Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology152, 87–100 .
2.
Batten, D.J.1974: Wealden palaeoecology from the distribution of plant fossils .Proceedings of the Geological Association85, 433–458 .
3.
Birks, H.J.B. and Birks, H.H.1980:Quaternary Palaeoecology. London: Edward Arnold .
4.
Boulter, M.C.1971: Fine details of some fossil and recent conifer leaf cuticles. In Heywood, V.H. , editor, Scanning electron microscopy applications, 211–235. London: Edward Arnold .
5.
Boulter, M C. and Riddick, A.1986: Classi” cation and analysis of palynodebris from the Paleocene sediments of the Forties Field . Sedimentology33, 871–886 .
6.
Bowdery, D. , Hart, D.M. , Lentfer, C. and Wallis, L.A.1998: The universal phytolith key. In Meunier , J.D. and Faure-Denard, L. , editors, Second International Meeting on Phytolith Research: Phytoliths and Environment, Aix-en-Provence.
7.
Bradbury, J.P.1996: Charcoal deposition and redeposition in Elk lake, Minnesota, USA . The Holocene6, 339–344 .
8.
Bruhl, J.J.1993: Sedge genera of the World-INTKEY Package. Armidale: Department of Botany and Herbarium New England .
9.
Cerling, T.E. , Ehleringer, J.R. and Harris, J.M.1998: Carbon dioxide starvation, the development of C4 ecosystems, and mammalian evolution . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of LondonB 353, 159–171 .
10.
Chaloner, W.G. and McElwain, J.1997: The fossil plant record and global climatic change . Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology95, 73–82 .
Clark, J.S.1988a: Particle motion and the theory of charcoal analysis: source area, transport, deposition, and sampling . Quaternary Research30, 67–80 .
13.
Clark, J.S.1988b: Stratigraphic charcoal analysis on petrographic thin sections: application to ” re history in northwestern Minnesota . Quaternary Research30, 81–91 .
14.
Clark, J.S. and Hussey, T.C.1996: Estimating the mass ‘ ux of charcoal from sedimentary records: effects of particle size, morphology, and orientation . The Holocene6, 129–144 .
15.
Clark, J.S. , Lynch, J. , Stocks, B.J. and Goldammer, J.G.1998: Relationship between charcoal particles in air and sediments in west-central Siberia . The Holocene8, 19–29 .
16.
Clark, R.L.1982: Point count estimation of charcoal in pollen preparations and thin sections of sediments .Pollen et Spores24, 523–535 .
17.
Clark, R.L.1984: Effects on charcoal of pollen preparation procedures . Pollen et Spores26, 559–576 .
18.
Clark, R.L.1986: Pollen as a chronometer and sediment tracer, Burrinjuck Reservoir, Australia . Hydrobiologia143, 63–69 .
19.
Connin, S.L. , Betancourt, J. and Quade, J.1998: Late Pleistocene C4 plant dominance and summer rainfall in the Southwestern United States from isotopic study of herbivore teeth . Quaternary Research50, 179–193 .
20.
Cross, A.T. , Thompson, G.G. and Zaitzeff, J.B.1966: Source and distribution of palynomorphs in bottom sediments, southern part of gulf of California . Marine Geology4, 467–524 .
21.
Dilcher, L.D.1963: Cuticular analysis of Eocene leaves of Ocotea obtusifolia . American Journal of Botany50, 1–8 .
22.
Dilcher, L.D.1974: Approaches to the identi” cation of Angiosperm leaf remains . The Botanical Review40, 1–157 .
23.
Dilcher, D.L. and Mehrotra, B.1969: A study of leaf compressions of Knightiophyllum from Eocene deposits of Southeastern North America . American Journal of Botany56, 936–943 .
24.
DiMichelle, W.A. , Rischbieter, M.O. , Eggert, D.L. and Gastaldo, R.A.1984: Stem and leaf cuticle of Karinopteris: source of cuticles from the Indiana ‘paper’ coal . American Journal of Botany71, 626–637 .
25.
Dugas, D.P. and Retallack, G.J.1993: Middle Miocene fossil grasses from Fort Ternan, Kenya . Journal of Paleontology67, 113–128 .
26.
Edwards, W.N.1935: The systematic value of cuticular characters in recent and fossil Angiosperms . Biological Reviews10, 442–459 .
27.
Ehleringer, J.R. , Cerling, T.E. and Helliker, B.R.1997: C4 photosynthesis, atmospheric CO2, and climate . Oecologia112, 285–299 .
28.
Epstein, H.E. , Lauenroth, W.K. , Burke, I.C. and Cof” n, D.P.1996: Ecological responses of dominant grasses along two climatic gradients in the Great Plains of the United States . Journal of Vegetation Science7, 777–788 .
29.
Epstein, H.E. , Lauenroth, W.K. , Burke, I.C. and Cof” n, D.P.1997: Productivity patterns of C3 and C4 functional types in the US Great Plains . Ecology78, 722–731 .
30.
Fredlund, G.G. and Tieszen, L.T.1994: Modern phytolith assemblages from the North American Great Plains . Journal of Biogeography21, 321–335 .
31.
Fredlund, G.G. and Tieszen, L.T.1997: Phytolith and carbon isotope evidence for late-quaternary vegetation and climate change in the southern Black Hills, South Dakota . Quaternary Research47, 206–217 .
Grimm, E.1993: Tilia 2.0.b4. Spring” eld: Illinois University .
34.
Hattersley, P.W. 1992: C4 photosynthetic pathway variation in grasses (Poaceae: its signi” cance for arid and semi-arid lands . In Chapman, G.P. , editor, Deserti” ed grasslands: their biology and management, Papers presented at an International Symposium organized by the Linnean Society of London and Wye College, University of London, London: Academic Press, 181–212 .
Ibrahim, K.M. and Kabuye, C.H.S.1987: An illustrated manual of Kenya grasses. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations .
37.
Jones, M.B.1988: Photosynthetic responses of C3 and C4 wetland species in a tropical swamp . Journal of Ecology76, 253–262 .
38.
Jones, T.P. and Chaloner, W.G.1991: Fossil charcoal, its recognition and palaeoatmospheric signi” cance . Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology97, 39–50 .
39.
Jones, T.P. , Scott, A.C. and Cope, M.1991: Re‘ ectance measurements and the temperature of formation of modern charcoals and implications for studies of fusain . Bulletin to the Geological Society of France162, 193–200 .
40.
Juniper, B.E. and Jeffree, C.E.1983: Plant surfaces. London: Edward Arnold .
41.
Keeley, J.E.1998: C4 photosynthetic modi” cations in the evolutionary transition from land to water in aquatic grasses . Oecologia116, 85–97 .
42.
Kelly, E.F. , Amundson, R.G. , Marino, B.D. and Deniro, M.J.1991: Stable isotope ratios of carbon in phytoliths as a quantitative method of monitoring vegetation and climate change . Quaternary Research35, 222–233 .
43.
Kenward, H.K. , Hall, A.R. and Jones, A.K.C.1980: A tested set of techniques for the extraction of plant and animal macrofossils from waterlogged archaeological deposits . Science and Archaeology22, 3–15 .
44.
Klein, R.L. and Geis, J.W.1978: Biogenic silica in the Pinaceae . Soil Science126, 145–156 .
45.
Livingstone, D.A.1967: Postglacial vegetation of the Ruwenzori mountains in equatorial Africa . Ecological Monographs37, 25–52 .
46.
Livingstone, D.A. and Clayton, W.D.1980: An altitudinal cline in tropical African grass ‘ oras and its paleoecological signi” cance . Quaternary Research13, 392–402 .
47.
Lorente, M.A.1990: Textural characteristics of organic matter in several subenvironments of the Orinoco Upper Delta . Geologie en Mijnbouw69, 263–278 .
Martin, J.T. and Juniper, B.E.1970: The cuticles of plants. London: Edward Arnold .
50.
Metcalfe, C.R.1960: Anatomy of the monocotyledons: I Gramineae. Oxford: Oxford University Press .
51.
Morley, R.J. and Richards, K.1993: Gramineae cuticle: a key indicator of Late Cenozoic climatic change in the Niger Delta . Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology77, 119–127 .
52.
Mworia-Maitima, J.1997: Prehistoric ” res and land-cover change in Western Kenya: evidence from pollen, charcoal, grass phytoliths, and grass cuticle analyses . The Holocene7, 409–417 .
53.
Palmer, P.G.1976: Grass cuticles: a new paleoecological tool for East African lake sediments . Canadian Journal of Botany54, 1725–1734 .
54.
Palmer, P.G. and Gerbeth-Jones, S.1988: A scanning electron microscope survey of the epidermis of East African grasses, V, and West African Supplement. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press .
55.
Palmer, P.G. and Tucker, A.E.1981: A scanning electron microscope survey of the epidermis of East African grasses, I. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press .
56.
Palmer, P.G. and Tucker, A.E.1983: A scanning electron microscope survey of the epidermis of East African grasses, II. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press .
57.
Palmer, P.G. , Gerbeth-Jones, S. and Hutchison, S.1985: A scanning electron microscope survey of the epidermis of East African Grasses, III. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press .
58.
Palmer, P.G. , Gerbeth-Jones, S. and Hutchison, S.1986: A scanning electron microscope survey of the epidermis of East African grasses, IV. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press .
59.
Patterson, W.A. , Edwards, K.J. and Maguire, D.J.1987: Microscopic charcoal as a fossil indicator of ” re . Quaternary Science Reviews6, 3–23 .
60.
Pearsall, D.M.1989: Paleoethnobotany: a handbook of procedures. San Diego: Academic Press .
61.
Piperno, D.R.1988: Phytolith analysis: an archaeological and geological perspective. San Diego: Academic Press .
62.
Piperno, D.R. and Becker, P.1996: Vegetational history of a site in the central Amazon Basin derived from phytolith and charcoal records from natural soils . Quaternary Research45, 202–209 .
63.
Radle, N.J. 1981: Vegetation history and lake-level changes at a saline lake in northeastern South Dakota.Unpublished MSc thesis, University of Minnesota.
64.
Rhodes, A.N.1998: A method for the preparation and quanti” cation of microscopic charcoal from terrestrial and lacustrine sediment cores . The Holocene8, 113–117 .
65.
Rovner, I.1971: Potential of opal phytoliths for use in palaeoecological reconstruction . Quaternary Research1, 343–359 .
66.
Sarmaja-Korjonen, K.1991: Comparison of two methods of counting microscopic charcoal particles in peat . Bulletin of the Geological Society of Finland63, 41–48 .
67.
Scott, A.C. and Jones, T.P.1991a: Fossil charcoal: a plant-fossil record preserved by ” re . Geology Today7(6), 214–216 .
68.
Scott, A.C. and Jones, T.P.1991b: Microscopical observations of recent and fossil charcoal . Microscopy and Analysis July, 13–15 .
69.
Simmons, I.G. and Innes, J.B.1981: Tree remains in a North York Moors peat pro” le . Nature294, 76–78 .
70.
Smithson, F.1956: Plant opal in soil . Nature178, 107-107 .
71.
Smithson, F.1958: Grass opal in British soils . Journal of Soil Science9, 148–155 .
72.
Stace, C.A.1965: Cuticular studies as an aid to plant taxonomy . Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Botany4, 1–87 .
73.
Stewart, D.R.M.1965a: The epidermal characters of grasses, with special reference to East African plains species: part 1 . Botanische Jahrbucher84, 63–116 .
74.
Stewart, D.R.M.1965b: The epidermal characters of grasses, with special reference to East African plains species: part 2 . Botanische Jahrbucher84, 117–174 .
75.
Stewart, D.R.M.1967: Analysis of plant epidermis in faeces: a technique for studying the food preferences of grazing herbivores . Journal of Applied Ecology4, 83–111 .
76.
Storr, G.M.1961: Microscopic analysis of faeces, a technique for ascertaining the diet of herbivorous mammals . Australian Journal of Biological Sciences14, 157–165 .
Street-Perrott, F.A. , Huang, Y. , Perrott, R.A. and Eglinton, G.1998: Carbon isotopes in lake sediments and peats of last glacial age: implications for the global carbon cycle. In Grif” ths, H. , editor,Stable isotopes, Oxford: BIOS Scienti” c Publishers , 381–396.
79.
Swain, A.M.1973: A history of ” re and vegetation in northwestern Minnesota as recorded in lake sediments . Quaternary Research3, 383–396 .
80.
Swain, D.L. 1999: Late Quaternary palaeoecology of Mt. Kenya, East Africa: assessing the potential impact of sub-ambient CO2.Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Wales Swansea.
81.
Talbot, M.R. , Livingstone, D.A. , Palmer, P.G. , Maley, J. , Melack, J.M. , Delibrias, G. and Gullicken, S.1984: Preliminary results from the sediment cores from Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana . Palaeoecology of Africa16, 73–92 .
82.
Tateoka, A. , Inoue, S. and Kawano, S.1959: Notes on some grasses. IX. Systematic signi” cance of bicellular microhairs of leaf epidermis . Botanical Gazette, 80–91 .
83.
Taylor, T.N.1981: Paleobotany: an introduction to fossil plant biology. New York: McGraw-Hill .
84.
Tegelaar, E.W. , Kerp, H. , Visscher, H. , Schenck, P.A. and Leeuw, J.W.D.1991: Bias of the paleobotanical record as a consequence of variations in the chemical composition of higher vascular plant cuticles . Paleobiology17, 133–144 .
85.
Thanheiser, U.1995: Electrostatic extraction of archaeological plant remains from soil: a new method . Acta Palaeobotanica35, 117–119 .
86.
Tipping, R. , Edmonds, M. and Sheridan, A.1993: Palaeoenvironmental investigations directly associated with a neolithic axe ‘quarry’ on Beinn Lawers, near Killin, Perthshire, Scotland . New Phytologist123, 585–597 .
87.
Twiss, P.C. , Suess, E. and Smith, R.M.1969: Division S-5 soil genesis, morphology and classi” cation: morphological classi” cation of grass phytoliths . Proceedings of the Soil Scienti” c Society of America33, 109–115 .
88.
Umbanhowar, C.E. and McGrath, M.J.1998: Experimental production and analysis of microscopic charcoal from wood, leaves and grasses . The Holocene8, 341–346 .
89.
Umer, M., Lamb, H. , Turberville, R. and Derbyshire, I.1999: Pollen, charcoal and grass epidermis records of land-surface change in the Ethiopian Rift Valley. In INQUA XV International Congress abstracts: the environmental background to hominid evolution in Africa, INQUA, Durban, South Africa.
90.
Waddington, J.C.B.1969: A stratigraphic record of the pollen in‘ ux to a lake in the Woods of Minnesota . Geological Society of America123, 263–283 .
91.
Walton, J.1953: An introduction to the study of fossil plants. London: Adams and Charles Black .
92.
Watson, L. and Dallwitz, M.J.1988: Grass genera of the world: illustrations of characters, descriptions, classi” cation, interactive identi” cation, information retrieval. Canberra: Australian National University, Research School of Biological Sciences .
93.
Watson, L. and Dallwitz, M.J.1994: The grass genera of the world. Cambridge: CAB International .
94.
Watson, L. , Russell, G.E.G. and Dallwitz, M.J.1989: Grass genera of southern Africa: interactive identi” cation and information retrieval from an automated data bank . South African Journal of Botany53, 452–463 .
95.
Wolfe, J.A. and Upchurch, G.R.1987: Leaf assemblages across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary in the Raton Basin, New Mexico and Colorado . Proceedings of the National Academy of Science84, 5096–5100 .
96.
Wooller, M.J. 1999: The palaeoecology of Mount Kenya: evidence from grass-cuticle analysis. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Wales Swansea.
97.
Wooller, M.J.2000: Reconstructing past grasslands using grass cuticles: an optimum area for micromorphological investigation . Swansea Geographer35, 9–17 .
98.
Wooller, M.J. , Street-Perrott, F.A. and Agnew, A.D.Q.2000: Late Quaternary ” res and grassland palaeoecology of Mount Kenya, East Africa: evidence from charred grass cuticles in lake sediments . Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology164, 207–230 .
