1996-97 - Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany

BSIP
Pollen analysis of 16 samples of Bhuvania profile collected from northern flank
of Chilka Lake, Orissa exhibits poor occurrence of mangrove taxa. However, a few
pollen grains ofRhizophoraceae, Avicennia, Heritiera and Excoecaria were encountered.
The non-arboreals, indicative of the existence of salt marshes, such as Poaceae,
Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae, Cyperaceae, Urticaceae, Acanthaceae, Brassicaceae
and some hinterland taxa are well represented.
Pollen diagram of Dangmal profile from Baitarni-Brahmani Della, Orissa, India
was prepared and history of mangroves since 1,500 yrs B.P. was worked oul.
Programme 7.4 :
R.R.
Yadav
Dendrochronology of temperate and tropical trees and
seasonality of cambium activity
Climatic reconstructions using tree ring width data during Science Engineering
Foundation Fellowship in Korea were done. To develop tree growth/climate models for
climatic reconstructions SAS system and SYSTAT were used. Single and multiple
predictor variables (un transformed as well as orthogonalized) were used to develop
climatic reconstructions. Spring temperature and precipitation for about 600 and 818
years have been reconstructed using ring width chronology.
R.R. Yadav & A. Bhattacharyya
Worked on the meteorological data from the Himalayan region to prepare
regional climatic data series for climate reconstruction. Growth ring features of
Araucarioxylon sp. and Podocarpoxylon sp. (Coniferae) described from various Tertiary
localities were studied to understand climatic implications.
Programme 7.5 : Plant remains from pre- and proto-historic sites in northern
and northwestern India
K.S. Saraswat
The investigations on botanical remains from Banawali on the dried channel of
ancient Saraswati River in Hissar District of Haryana were continued. More than 1,000
pieces of wood charcoals from early Pre-Harappan (Ca 2750-2500 BC) and Mature­
Harappan (Ca 2500-2000 BC) levels were processed for section cutting and anatomical
study. A large number of charcoal remains from Pre-Harappan deposits at the site have
been found belonging to babool (Acacia cf. nilotica), Khejri (Prompis spicigera), siras
(Albizia lebbeck), mulberry (Morus alba), gular (Ficus glomerata), khajoor (Phoenix
sp.), kendu (Diospyros montana) and jujube (Ziziphus sp.). Most of the charcoals from
the succeeding phase of Mature-Harappan Culture belong to similar kinds of taxa.
Further work is in progress.
Visited an excavation site at Musanagar, district Akbarpur (formerly known as
Kanpur Dehat), Uttar Pradesh and collected botanical remains of ancient Iron-Age
Culture.
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