A preliminary study on the morphological characteristics of phytoliths of desert plants in Gonghe Basin, Qinghai Province

This study aimed to explore the morphological characteristics of phytoliths in different plants and different parts of the same plant under alpine and arid climate conditions, to enrich the research results about plant phytoliths. It is expected to provide a reference point for the reconstruction of ancient vegetation and plant classification in this area. In this study, the wet digestion method was used to extract phytoliths from common desert plants in the Tala Shoal of the Gonghe Basin, and the types of the extracted phytoliths were identified and the morphological parameters were measured. A total of 81 298 phytoliths were counted in 10 plant samples, and 20 main types of phytoliths were identified, including rondel, elongate, trapeziform, lanceolate, bilobate, and blocky irregular. The parameter sizes of the six main types of phytoliths in the aboveground and underground parts of plants were 0.9～40.1 and 1.1～42.6 µm, respectively. Desert plants have typical phytolith types that are unique for different families, and the main types of phytoliths are different in different plant parts. The percentage content and parameter size of the same phytolith form were also different in different plants and different parts of the same plant. In general, among the plants sampled, the types and number of phytoliths in the aboveground parts were greater than those in their underground parts, and were the most abundant in Poaceae.