New Zealand Journal of Botany abstracts

---

Quantitative analyses of modern pollen-climate relationships in New Zealand indigenous forests

D. A. NORTON*

Climatic Research Unit
University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ,
United Kingdom
M. S. McGLONE
Botany Division, DSIR
Private Bag, Christchurch, New Zealand

T. M. L. WIGLEY

Climatic Research Unit
University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ,
United Kingdom

*Present address: School of Forestry, University of Canterbury. Private Bag, Christchurch 1, New Zealand

Abstract Modern arboreal pollen data from 161 sites throughout New Zealand were collated and then analysed by means of principal components and cluster analyses to identify sites with common assemblages of pollen taxa. These pollen assem- blages are directly comparable with the main associations of tree species. Simple correlation coefficients calculated between the modern pollen and climate data from the same sites show some significant relationships, particularly with precipitation. Multiple regression analysis was used to calibrate transfer functions linking the pollen data and three climate variables: mean summer tempera- ture, annual temperature range, and the logarithm of mean annual precipitation. The regressions were verified on independent data, but those for mean summer temperature and annual temperature range failed to verify significantly. The log-precipitation transfer function performs best, with the pollen data explaining 55% of the precipitation variance in cal- ibration, and 46% in verification. The explained variance values are lower than those obtained in eastern North America. However, it appears that with a denser, and more selective set of modern pollen sites, transfer functions could be developed in New Zealand which would make possible quantitative reconstructions of postglacial climates.

Keywords pollen analysis; modern pollen rain; pollen-climate relations; transfer functions; palaeo- climates; vegetation associations; New Zealand

Received 1 July 1985; accepted 3 October 1985
New Zealand Journal of Botany, 1986, Vol. 24: 331-342
O028-825X/86/24O2-O331$2.5O/O © Crown copyright 1986

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (841K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

---

This year's abstracts | Journal home page | All abstracts | Publishing home page