Bryant Vaughn M, Jones Gretchen D
Palynology Laboratory, Texas A&M University (TAMU 4352), College Station, TX 77843-4352, USA.
Forensic Sci Int. 2006 Nov 22;163(3):183-97. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2005.11.021. Epub 2006 Feb 28.
The United States of America would seem to be an excellent location for using pollen data in forensic applications. The vegetation within the region is highly diverse ranging from areas of Arctic tundra to some of the most inhospitable deserts anywhere in the Western Hemisphere. The highly varied ecology, great plant diversity, thousands of vegetational microhabitats, and extensive published pollen records for the region provide an ideal setting for these types of analyses. This diversity, often characterized in most locations by unique combinations of pollen types, makes the use of forensic pollen a reliable technique that can often be used to associate individuals with a unique crime scene or geographical region. Nevertheless, forensic pollen studies in the United States of America are currently one of the most highly under utilized techniques available to assist in solving criminal and civil cases. During the past century there has been a very limited attempt to use pollen evidence in either criminal or civil cases, for a variety of reasons, including a lack of available information about the technique, a very limited number of specialists trained to do forensic pollen work, and an almost total absence of academic centers able to train needed specialists or forensic facilities able, or willing, to fund research in this area. Hopefully, this paucity of use will change if certain steps are taken to encourage the routine collection and use of pollen evidence in both criminal and civil cases.
美国似乎是一个在法医应用中使用花粉数据的绝佳地点。该地区的植被高度多样，从北极苔原地区到西半球一些最不适宜居住的沙漠地区都有。高度多样的生态、丰富的植物种类、数千种植被微生境以及该地区大量已发表的花粉记录为这类分析提供了理想的环境。这种多样性在大多数地方通常表现为独特的花粉类型组合，使得法医花粉分析成为一种可靠的技术，常常可用于将个人与特定犯罪现场或地理区域联系起来。然而，美国的法医花粉研究目前是协助解决刑事和民事案件的可用技术中利用程度最低的技术之一。在过去的一个世纪里，由于各种原因，包括缺乏关于该技术的可用信息、受过法医花粉分析训练的专家数量非常有限，以及几乎完全没有能够培训所需专家的学术中心或有能力或愿意资助该领域研究的法医设施，在刑事或民事案件中使用花粉证据的尝试非常有限。希望如果采取某些措施鼓励在刑事和民事案件中常规收集和使用花粉证据，这种使用不足的情况将会改变。
