Pollen analysis of spider webs from Khedla village, Betul District, Madhya Pradesh.

摘要

Pollen analysis of spider-web samples collected from the open mixed tropical teak (Tectona grandis)-dominating deciduous forests and the nearby areas of Khedla village, Betul District, Madhya Pradesh throws light on the interplay between the extant vegetation and pollen rain. The study revealed the dominance of pollen of trees and herbs, whereas shrubs, fern spores and algal remains are meagre. Amongst the trees, Madhuca indica, Holoptelea, Lannea coromandelica, Emblica officinalis and Aegle mermelos are dominating with fair presence of Schleichera oleosa, Syzygium, Grewia, Sapotaceae, Flacourtia, Anacardiaceae and Acacia. However, the rest of the forest constituents are not represented in good frequencies despite their frequent presence in the floristics, which could be attributed to their low pollen productivity as well as poor and differential pollen preservation. On the other hand, the ground vegetation is represented by the good number of Tubuliflorae, Poaceae, Cheno/Am, Caryophyllaceae, Xanthium, Capsicum frutescens and Brassicaceae. However, exceptional high frequencies of Lamiaceae cf. Pogostemon and Hyptis, and Asteraceae (Tubuliflorae cf. Blumea and Eclipta) in almost all the samples have been noticed, except SW-4. Ferns which occur abundantly along the adjoining stream banks, are marked by the sporadic retrieval of trilete spores that could be ascribed to the prevailing damp condition around the sampling provenance. The study could also be helpful in evaluating the allergenicity of different pollen grains/spores in the area of investigation, causing asthma, hay fever, dermatitis and other disorders.