Title

The Mapping of Composite Pollen from Point Sampled Data and Cartographic Generalization

Authors

Peter P. Siska, Department of Geography & Environmental Engineering, United States Military Academy West Point, NY
I-Kuai Hung, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State UniversityFollow
Vaughn M. Bryant Jr., Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Abstract

Pollen grains are microgametophytes produced by angiosperm and gymnosperm plants. They are responsible for transporting genetic material and carrying out fertilization. The study of pollen has numerous practical applications such as plant biodiversity, paleoclimatology, archaeology, allergy studies, the study of nectar sources in honey (melissopalynology), searching for sources of petroleum, and more recently, using pollen as a trace evidence component in forensics. Once pollen grains become airborne, their dispersal is controlled by a number of physical factors that determine the deposition distance from their source area. The purpose of this work is to study spatial pattern of composite pollen in Big Bend National Park using pollen information contained in the top soil layer, test the accuracy of four interpolation methods and use cartographic generalizations to present the results. The focus is on a composite pollen group that is a member of the Asteraceae plant family and is a prolific producer of airborne pollen (Figure 1).

FIGURE 1

POLLEN GRAIN OF HELIANTHUS (ASTERACEAE)

Comments

Author pre-print edition originally published in the Papers of the Applied Geography Conferences, 35(2012): 191 - 200

Repository Citation

Siska, Peter P.; Hung, I-Kuai; and Bryant, Vaughn M. Jr., "The Mapping of Composite Pollen from Point Sampled Data and Cartographic Generalization" (2012). Faculty Publications. 44.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/spatialsci/44