Ge Yong, Jin Yingshuai, Zhang Xiaoling
Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2022 Jul 11;13:950322. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.950322. eCollection 2022.
Tibetan Plateau is the "third pole" of Earth and significantly influences the world's ecosystems. However, limited work on phytolith analysis has been done due to its harsh environment, and no study on phytolith production and morphotypes in modern plants on the Tibetan Plateau has been carried out yet. In this study, we investigated 73 modern plant samples collected on the Tibetan Plateau to study phytolith production and morphology. The results showed that the major phytolith producers are Poaceae and Cyperaceae plants, the production of phytolith is higher than 0.4 million grains/g in most samples. We found one new morphotype, BILOBATE SADDLE, which could be the diagnostic type for Tribe Stipeae and phytoliths morphotypes might indicate different hydrological conditions on the Tibetan Plateau. Our findings add new information about phytoliths on the Tibetan Plateau and will aid the future phytolith analysis in this region.
青藏高原是地球的“第三极”，对全球生态系统有着重大影响。然而，由于其恶劣的环境，关于植硅体分析的研究工作有限，目前尚未有对青藏高原现代植物的植硅体产量和形态类型进行研究。在本研究中，我们调查了73份在青藏高原采集的现代植物样本，以研究植硅体产量和形态。结果表明，主要的植硅体产生者是禾本科和莎草科植物，大多数样本中的植硅体产量高于40万粒/克。我们发现了一种新的形态类型，即双叶鞍型，它可能是针茅族的诊断类型，并且植硅体形态类型可能表明青藏高原不同的水文条件。我们的研究结果为青藏高原的植硅体增添了新信息，并将有助于该地区未来的植硅体分析。
