A pollen profile from Reed bog, Randolph County, Indiana

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1 Butler University Botanial Studies Volume 9 Artile 13 A pollen profile from Reed bog, Randolph County, Indiana Charles D. Griffin Follow this and additional works at: The Butler University Botanial Studies journal was published by the Botany Department of Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1929 to The sientifi journal featured original papers primarily on plant eology, taxonomy, and mirobiology. Reommended Citation Griffin, Charles D. (1950) "A pollen profile from Reed bog, Randolph County, Indiana," Butler University Botanial Studies: Vol. 9, Artile 13. Available at: This Artile is brought to you for free and open aess by Digital Butler University. It has been aepted for inlusion in Butler University Botanial Studies by an authorized editor of Digital Butler University. For more information, please ontat omaisaa@butler.edu.

2 Butler University Botanial Studies ( ) Edited by Ray C. Friesner

3 The Butler University Botanial Studies journal was published by the Botany Department of Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1929 to The sientifi journal featured original papers primarily on plant eology, taxonomy, and mirobiology. The papers ontain valuable historial studies, espeially floristi surveys that doument Indiana s vegetation in past deades. Authors were Butler faulty, urrent and former master s degree students and undergraduates, and other Indiana botanists. The journal was started by Stanley Cain, noted onservation biologist, and edited through most of its years of prodution by Ray C. Friesner, Butler s first botanist and founder of the department in The journal was distributed to learned soieties and libraries through exhange. During the years of the journal s publiation, the Butler University Botany Department had an ative program of researh and student training. 201 bahelor s degrees and 75 master s degrees in Botany were onferred during this period. Thirty-five of these graduates went on to earn dotorates at other institutions. The Botany Department attrated many notable faulty members and students. Distinguished faulty, in addition to Cain and Friesner, inluded John E. Potzger, a forest eologist and palynologist, Willard Nelson Clute, o-founder of the Amerian Fern Soiety, Marion T. Hall, former diretor of the Morton Arboretum, C. Mervin Palmer, Rex Webster, and John Pelton. Some of the former undergraduate and master s students who made ative ontributions to the fields of botany and eology inlude Dwight. W. Billings, Fay Kenoyer Daily, William A. Daily, Rexford Daudenmire, Franis Hueber, Frank MCormik, Sott MCoy, Robert Petty, Potzger, Helene Stars, and Theodore Sperry. Cain, Daubenmire, Potzger, and Billings served as Presidents of the Eologial Soiety of Ameria. Requests for use of materials, espeially figures and tables for use in eology text books, from the Butler University Botanial Studies ontinue to be granted. For more information, visit

4 A POLLEN PROFILE FROM REED BOG, RANDOLPH COUNTY, INDIANA By CHARLES D. GRIFFIN Sediments from lakes nd bogs have given valuable reords whih indiate suession of forests and limati hanges sine glaial retreat at the lose of Pleistoene times in the geographial area now known as Indiana. The losing hapter of this history has, however, not yet been written, for every pollen profile adds new disoveries of variations in forest omposition whih may be due to differene in geographial loation or to mirodimati variations_ Thus, we might onsider- eah new bog reord a ontribution toward reonstrution of forests of the past whih overed the soils of Indiana. There are, espeially, many unanswered questions with respet to forest suession along the line of juntion between Early and Late \Visonsin glaiation ill Indiana. Into this piture we fit the study of the pollen reords from Reed bog where today orn fields mark the ulmination of great vegetational hanges whih ranged from oniferous to primarily broad leaved forests. Reed bog is loated in the southefll portion of Randolph County, Indiana, and is approximately s;-;! miles north of the town of Modo along Indiana State Highway 1. Central Randolph County marks the southern termination of the Union City Moraine whih is the outer border of Late Wisonsin glaiation in eastern Indiana. Reed bog, therefore, is assoiated with the Bloomington Moraini System of the Early Wisonsin drift sheet. A half mile north of Reed bog is the Cabin Creek raised bog studied by Friesner and Potzger (5). A omparison will be made between the pollen profile of Reed bog and those of Cabin Creek ane! other Early Wisonsin bogs in Indiana. METHODS Beause Reed bog has been under ultivation, it was onsidered wise to omit peat samples near the surfae beause of the soil disturbane and effet of oxidation upon pollen. The first sample, therefore, was obtained at the 3-foot level. The depth of the bog is 34 feet. Samples of peat ere taken at 131

5 eah foot-level from three feet below the surfae to 34 feet below with a Hiller type borer. Additional samples were taken at 12'3", 13'6" and at 22'5" beause of a visible hange in the olor and texture of the peat at these points. The preparation of the peat for ounting of fossil pollen was done aording to the Geisler alohol method. The stain used was a 1% aqueous Gentian Violet and the mounting medium was glyerin jelly. Approximately 200 pollen grains of signifiant tree genera and speies were ounted at eah level exept near the surfae where the pollen was sparse. An attempt was made to distinguish between Piea glaua and P. mar ana and between Pinus strobus and P. banksiana. The entire length of the grain (inluding the bladders) was used for differentiation. The depth of the bladders (measured between proximal and distal root juntions of bladder with body) and length (long axis) of the body were also used to differentiate damaged or half grains. Based on modern pollen from prepared slides at the Butler University Botanial Laboratories, the above-mentioned speies were differentiated aording to the following measurements in mirons. The figures in parentheses denote means. Entire length Body length Wing depth Pia mariana (81) (60) (48) glaua (l01) (81) (61) Pinus banksiana (63) (42) (29) strobus (71) (51) (39) OBSERVATIONS The perentages of fossil pollen for eah level are presented in graphi form in figure 1. Abies is represented at the 34-foot level or at the bottom of the deposit by a perentage of 5.5. This perentage gradually inreases with several slight flutuations to a maximum of 14.5% at the 19-foot level, after whih the perentage suddenly drops to 1.4. It appears in low perentages for several levels and is absent above 12'3". Piea glaua and P. mariana show two general maxima with the peak for P. mariana in eah ase ourring in higher levels than the peak of P. glaua. Peaks for P. glaua our at the 33- and 20-foot levels. For P. mariana, the peaks ome at the 32- and 16-foot levels. The minima for both speies are, in general, between the 23- and 26-foot levels. Above the 13-foot level, Piea has a small perentage. However, it ours in every foot-level sampled. From the limited 132

6 Ahies larix Plea I auta Rea mariana Rnasbark P.strobu6 T Aer. Batul. Carpi1lU6 e..".roj!ltls Juglal15 Querus SaliK Tilia Urn"d.Wn...,n ;, 4 -, " 7 -, 8 q -, _. -, , IT.r, -, -. l:rlo" -, , I" w Iq_ 20_ - 21_ 25. :2' _ f<." _ W- I 73_ - - I , - I - -, -, o lo J) J Wl,II) " -o 10 1J 'll 10 S) 0",.. Q \0 J).l:l 0 Il \0 o ]O J) :J) ow :II 10 :II 3D io sa 10 o '0 0 'lo 10 _ :v "

7 amount of pollen deposited, one might onlude that the two Pinus speies were not abundant in the forest assoiation. However, both tend to show higher representation at time of the Piea maxima. Pinus also is represented in every level. During the Piea minima, there is an obvious inrease in abundane of pollen of deiduous genera. Aer, Carya, Salix, Ulmus, and Querus show a marked perentage inrease, deline during the seond Piea maximum and rise to prominent abundane at 13'6" to indiate forest dominane..at several foot-levels, partiularly in the 19-, 20-, 21- and 26-foot levels there appear Piea grains whih are of larger dimensions than those of Pio. glauo.. The general size range and mean of these in mirons is as follows: Entire length Body length Wing dept.h '(121) (83) (78) SIGNIFICANCE OF THE FINDINGS The three samples taken between foot-levels (12'3", 13'6", 22'5") beause of onspiuous hange in appearane of the peat did not reveal a orrespondingly great hange in forest omposition. However, the sample at 13'6" does mark the beginning of the seond derease in Piea man:ana and a general inrease in Querus and Carya pollen. Pio. glauw, P. Hwrio.na, P in:us strobus and P. banksiana were separated aording to the size determinations given in the methods setion of this paper. The mean body lengths of these grains orrespond, in general, with those reported by Cain (2,3). The abundane of Pinus pollen was not great enough to indiate more than the presene of two speies in the Reed bog. However, the large pollen grains of Piea whih beame very onspiuous at several foot-levels (19, 20, 21, 26) indiate a probable invasion by a new speies. This may be a speies whih has sine beome extint or it ould be P-io. rubra, for it is noted with interest that the mean body length of these grains (83 mirons) orresponds with the mean body length of modern P. rubro. pollen reported by Cain (2) as being 82.8 mirons. The pollen spetrum of Reed bog is unusual in that it shows two peaks in abundane of the Piea speies and a orresponding inrease of Querus between them. Other bogs of Early Wisonsin origin loated farther south of the Late Wisonsin terminal moraine do not show this phenomenon. In these bogs, the pollen profile of Piea 134

8 shows a sudden or progressive deline from maximum abundane without a sueeding period of reovery. It would seem evident, therefore, that the advane of the Late Wisonsin ie sheet had a pronouned effet upon the vegetation growing immediately below its termination (Union City Moraine) and within the upper limits of Early Wisonsin glaiation in eastern Indiana. In explanation, if a long interglaial warm period aused i to melt northward beyond the boundary of Indiana, one would expet to find striking suessional hanges from sprue to broad leaved forests and a reversal in suh forest suession with advane of the Late Wisonsin ie sheet. While the profile from the Reed bog is not an exat ounterpart of that from Cabin Creek raised bog, there are some similarities. We find in both bogs the Piea peaks alternating with the two Querus peaks and the general suession from dominane of sprue to a rown over of deiduous trees (Querus, Carya, Aer, Juglans, Ulmus). The pollen spetrum of Piea m.ariana in Cabin Creek bog shows the same behavior in that, with a derease of P. glaua there is a orresponding inrease in P. mariana. Also, Piea is represented in all levels in both bogs. But, in Cabin Creek, the dominane of Piea ours almost to the top. This an possibly be explained as being due to the slower deposition in a raised bog. Cabin Creek raised bog must have inreased in depth of peat muh more slowly, espeially towards upper foot-levels, than the Reed bog. The former was influened by air environment with aompanying oxidizing influenes, hene less peat was aumulated in similar time intervals. We must, therefore, read into its foot-levels a muh more ompated time sale than into the water-deposited plant remains at Reed bog. The two bog histories are also similar in that Pinus tends to inrease with the inrease of Piea mariana. It is not so easy to find point-for-point similarities between the two bogs in Randolph County and other bogs of Early Wisonsin origin in Indiana. However, it must be taken into onsideration that all other bogs [Otterbein, Rihards (10), Yountsville, Swikard (11). Fox Prairie, Prettyman (9)] exept the one at Kokomo studied by Howell (6), were muh farther removed from the juntion boundary of Early and Late Wisonsin glaiations. In these other bogs, Piea, after a high maximum, is usually on the derease when Querus appears, and there is no indiation of alternating maxima between the two speies as there is in the Randolph County bogs. Piea generally 135

9 does not persist even in low perentages to the upper-profile levels of other Early Wisonsin bogs as it does in Reed and Cabin Creek bogs. This persistene of Piea is usually harateristi of bogs of Late Wisonsin origin, Swikard (11). One similarity appears to be that Pinus usually persists to the top level in all the bogs of Early Wisonsin glaiation but never shows a definite limax. However, Baon's Swamp, studied by Otto (7), does show a period of Querus derease with a orresponding inrease in Pinus. Cranberry Pond. analyzed by Barnett (1),. shows a slight Pinus maximum, but it is before the appearane of Querus. In onlusion it might be pointed out speifially that the reord of late entrane of Carya into the broadleaved forest omplex, the errati and sparse representation of Tsuga and the general trend in suession towards a mixed mesophyti limax, mark the Reed bog profile as typial of Indiana bogs in general. SUMMARY 1. The study presents a pollen analysis of a bog in an eastern Indiana loality whih is assoiated with the Bloomington Moraini system of the Early Wisonsin drift sheet. 2. Distintion is made between Piea glaua and P. mariana, and between Pinus strobus and P. ba11ks1:ana pollen on basis of size. 3. Abies ours in low perentages in the lower levels of the bog. 4. The pollen spetrum of Reed bog shows two peaks of prominent abundane of the Piea speies and a orresponding inrease of Querus and other deiduous genera between the two Piea maxima. After the seond Piea deline, Querus, along with several other deiduous genera, later inluding Carya, predominate to the upper levels of the bog. 5. Pinus ours in low perentages in every level of the bog, but it tends to show higher representation at the Piea maxima. 6. Large pollen grains of Piea are very onspiuous at several foot-levels, suggesting possible presene of a third speies of this genus. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer expresses his sinere appreiation to Dr. J. E. Potzger for supervision of this researh and the ritial reading of the manusript; and to Dr. Ray C. Friesner and former members of the 136

10 Botany Department of Butler University for olletion of the peat samples. Appreiation is also expressed to Dr. A. G. Vestal of the Botany Department of the University of Illinois for helpful suggestions during the writing of this paper. LITERATURE CITED 1. BARNETT, JEAN. Pollen study of Cranberry Pond near Emporia, Madison County, Indiana. Butter Uniy. Dot. Stud. 4 : CAIN, STANLEY A. Palynolog-ial studies at Sodon Lake. I. Size-frequeny studies of Sprue pollen. Siene 108 : CAIN, STANLEY A. AND LOUISE G. CAIN. Palynologial studies at Sodon Lake. II. Size-frequeny studies of Pine pollen, fossil and modern. Amer. Jour. Bot. 35 : ERDTMAN, G. An introdution to pollen analysis. Chronia Botania Co FRIESNER, RAY C. AND]. E. POTZGER. The Cabin Creek raised bog, Randolph County, Indiana. Butler Uniy. Bot. Stud. 8 : HOWELL, JOHN W. A fossil pollen study of Kokomo bog, Howard County, Indiana. Butler Uniy. Bot. Stud. 4 : OTTO, JAMES H. Forest suession in the southern limits of Early Wisonsin glaiation as indiated by a pollen spetrum Irom Baon's Swamp, Marion County, Indiana. Butler Uniy. Bot. Stud. 4 : POTZGER,]. E. Pollen frequeny of Abies and Piea in peat: A orretion on some published reords from some Indiana bogs and lakes. Butler Uniy. Bot. Stud. 6: PRETTYMAN, ROBERT L. Fossil pollen analysis of Fox Prairie bog, Hamilton County, Indiana. Butler Uniy. Bot. Stud. 4 : RICHARDS, RUTH R. A pollen profile of Otterbein bog, Warren County, Indiana. Butler Uniy. Bot. Stud. 4 : SWICKARD, DAYTON A. Comparison of pollen spetra from bogs of Early and Late Wisonsin glaiation in Indiana. Butler Univ. Bot. Stud. 5 : WODEHOUSE, R. P. Pollen grains. MGraw-Hill

11 TABLE I Pollen perentages-reed bog ;; >v-"0 0 ""' on " :a < ><.....l u.. " u i:i;. E v u i:i;..:.:.0 on C i:i;.0 on C i:i; "".. " u < ;:; " I'l ". U».. U ""..... u i; Ol.!S OJ (f) f::; on E 5 0..:.:... w o : i

12 TABLE I-(Continued) Pollen perentages-reed bog ol ol ol ol C.;;; ::>.>:.D "::>. <i ol ol ol :-.D ::> 00 E ::> ol C 0 ol... ::> ::>.. ol ::; " ::> ol ::>. :1 : >: ::> e: E " 0 :a v ol v :.; ol ol ol ::> " 0; " I'Q ::> " <: >-1 ;;:; ;;:; ;;:; ;;:; <: u U..., 01 rfl t-=: S " \