A Note on the Dispersal of Nothafagus Pollen in Canterbury, New Zealand

The presence of Nothofagus pollen in early post glacial pollen diagrams is not easy to interpret. Consistently low frequencies generally indicate a distant pollen source, but in some cases, as at Casso Central Canterbury, frequencies are sometimes high enough to suggest a pollen source not far from the sites of deposition (Moar 1971). Attention was drawn to this problem of interpretation when surface samples from Bankside Scientific Reserve were analysed. Of the total pollen counted in a lichen sample taken from the top of an old farm gate 21% was that of the Nothofagus fusca type * On the other hand, Nothofagus fusca type pollen accounted for only 7% in a ground sample of moss collected inside the reserve. To gain a better insight into the dispersal of Nothofagus pollen a long, term trapping programme was begun at the Bankside and Eyrewell Scientific Reserves (Fig. 1). This note is a preliminary report of the first results (Tables I. 2).