Revisión de las asociaciones fitolíticas de especies de Panicoideae (Poaceae) del Chaco Oriental Argentino

CONTRERAS S. A.; A. F. ZUCOL; LUTZ A.I.

AGRARIA

Fac. Cs. Agrarias U.N.Jujuy

Lugar: S.S. Jujuy; Año: 2016 vol. 9 p. 93 - 108

2362-4035

The vegetation of the Eastern Chaco Region is characterized by aheterogeneous environment, where trees communities are mixed with differentgrasslands, palm groves and wetlands. The Poaceae species, especiallySubfamily Panicoideae species, are one of the most important components ofthe vegetal communities in both number and abundance. In general, grassesaccumulate silica with morphological characteristics that differentiate them fromother plants. Morphometric studies of phytoliths provide vital information for theidentification of certain species of Poaceae. Therefore, the information obtainedfrom their phytolith assemblages can provide information for future studies onthe phytolith characterization of chaquenian plant communities. In this paper,four species of Panicoideae (Echinochloa colona (L.) Link, Elionurus muticus(Spreng.) Kuntze, Eriochloa montevidensis Griseb. and Setaria lachnea (Nees)Kunth), that characterize this region were selected. In them, a predominance ofmorphotypes with bilobates, polylobates and crosses forms, that are diagnosticof the Subfamily Panicoideae, were observed together with other isolatedelements especially elongated, pointed, fan, and polyhedral forms. Also, a largenumber of articulated elements were found, being elements of the leaf epidermisthe most abundant.