K. Faegri and J. Iversen, 4th edition by K. Faegri,
P. E. Kaland and K. Krzywinski, 1989.

Reviewed by J.H. McAndrews, Department of Botany, Royal Ontario Museum,
Toronto, in CAP Newsletter 13(2), 1990.

Faegri and Iversen has become a generic reference for many pollen analysts. The four editions which span 40 years record the increasing sophistication of the Quaternary vegetation history branch of palynology as well as document developments in the West Scandinavian school of pollen morphology. The book is organized into 12 well-structured chapters beginning with an introduction on the principles and history of pollen analysis followed by a chapter on production and dispersal of pollen grains. The chapter on the origin and description of organic deposits emphasizes peat rather than the allochthonous lake mud that is the foundation of Canadian pollen analyses: loss-on-ignition is not mentioned nor are organic varves which provide insight into rates of succession and other biological and geological processes.

The book is most commonly cited for its field and especially laboratory methods on concentrating fossil pollen, but it has been largely replaced by Berglund's Handbook of Holocene Palaeoecology and Palaeohydrology. Despite F&I, there is no point in a laboratory with filtered, pollen-free air: what is important is having a concentrated sample with insignificant contamination by modern pollen. The level of contamination can be monitored by running a control, i.e., a sample with only introduced Lycopodium spores, a procedure that monitors contamination not only from the air but also from glassware, Lycopodium tablets, and reagents (in our lab. there is about 1 contaminant per 1,000 fossils). For hot HF treatment we use cheap teflon beakers on a shaking hotplate, and after washing with water we remove colloid by microsieving speeded by a "Canadian Tire" engraving tool vibrating on the side of the sieve holder. To dehydrate the concentrate before mounting in silicone oil, we wash with tertiary butanol instead of two alcohols and benzene. Oil on top of the cover slip is washed away with benzene from a squirt bottle.

The chapter on interpretation of pollen data includes a discussion of R values and influx. However, they regard influx to be of little use because it supposedly varies with an "uncertain" sedimentation rate despite the fact that many long series of closely spaced radiocarbon dates show that, especially in lake sediments, rate is generally uniform: pollen "concentration" (Benninghof's original word was "density") can be used as a measure of sedimentation rate. Canadian examples are almost entirely from the east, emphasizing the European and amphiatlantic outlook of the book.

The new chapter, "Archaeo-palynology: pollen analysis of the human environment", introduces the concept of culture landscape and its recognition from fossil pollen, a growth area of pollen analysis. The best part of past and present editions is the morphology chapter and key. Gone are the pollen classes which are replaced by 6 shape groups, including two spore groups. Most of the old classes turn up in the "rotational ellipsoidic" group which is subdivided using apertures, except for the anomalous fenestrate group. Small but useful diagrammatic figures are given in the margin to illustrate key features. The key has grown through the editions to the point where it is awkward for the beginner: pollen of many weeds and cultivated plants have been added. As a whole it is a fascinating textbook, but incomplete in methodology and narrow in geographical application.

Reference

Berglund, B. E., (editor) 1986. Handbook of Paleoecology and Paleohydrology. John Wiley, New York. 869 pp.