A new microsieving technique in pollen analysis

Abstract

A new procedure has been added to the standard pollen preparation protocols to address the issue of microdebris and clay removal to facilitate easier and better microscopic observation and counting. This procedure consists primarily of a technique that uses a 5μm membrane filter under water pressure to filter out particles < 5μm and concentrate polliniferous material from core sediments and surface samples. The procedure includes a brief (optional) ultrasound pre-treatment followed by filtration using a membrane microsieve, the innovation highlighted herein. This technique is observed to be efficient in palynomorph retrieval from different kinds of sediment samples - the quantitative efficiency being superior to that of the conventional procedure and comparing favourably with ultrasonic microfiltration. The paper describes the new method, discusses its advantages and provides an illustrative, quantitative and qualitative comparison with the usual method (without microsieving) and recommends its widespread adoption in quantitative palynological studies.