Modern pollen rain analysis from Itapuã State Park ( Parque Estadual Itapuã ), RS, Brazil

: Itapuã State Park is located in the municipality of Viamão, between the 30º 20 ‘and 30º 27’ S and between 50º 50’ and 51º 05’ W, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. The Park is one of the state conservation units, maintaining remnants of the Atlantic forest, rocky fi elds vegetation, coastal forest, “vassoural,” mixed grassland, moist, bathed and juncal plains. Artifi cial pollen traps were installed inside the park, between forest and human-modifi ed fi eld. The study presents a morphological description of 34 plant families, represented by 47 different pollen grains and monilophyte spores (including exotic taxa), unpublished data for the park’s palinofl ora. Quantitative data revealed the presence of 77% of non-arboreal pollen grains, 20% of arboreal pollen grains, 2% of monilophyte spores and 1% of other that can be both arboreal and non-arboreal pollen grains. Non-arboreal pollen grains, especially Poaceae, dominated in all the traps, even those located in forest areas. The dominance of the human-modifi ed fi elds around collectors and winds from the northeast infl uenced the dispersion of these grains. Exotic pollen grains of the Betulaceae family, of Andean origin, also occurred in the pollen rain, resulting from dispersion by atmospheric currents of long distances. Angiosperms Acanthaceae, Alismataceae, Amaryllidaceae, Anacardiaceae, Annonaceae, Apiaceae, Apocynaceae, Aquifoliaceae, Araceae, Araliaceae, Arecaceae, Aristolochiaceae, Asteraceae, Basellaceae, Begoniaceae, Bignoniaceae, Boraginaceae, Bromeliaceae, Cactaceae, Calyceraceae, Campanulaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Celastraceae, Chrysobalanaceae, Cistaceae, Clusiaceae, Commelinaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Cyperaceae, Dioscoreaceae, Droseraceae, Ebenaceae, Ericaceae, Eriocaulaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Erythroxylaceae, Fabaceae-Caesalpinoideae, Fabaceae-Mimosoideae, Gentianaceae, Gesneriaceae, Haloragaceae, Hypoxidaceae, Icacinaceae, Iridaceae, Juncaceae, Juncaginaceae, Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Lentibulariaceae, Linaceae, Loranthaceae, Lythraceae, Malpighiaceae, Malvaceae, Mayacaceae, Melastomataceae, Meliaceae, Molluginaceae, Monimiaceae, Moraceae, Myrsinaceae, Myrtaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Onagraceae, Opiliaceae, Orchidaceae, Passifloraceae, Pedaliaceae, Piperaceae, Plantaginaceae, Poaceae, Polygalaceae, Polygonaceae, Pontederiaceae, Portulacaceae, Potamogetonaceae, Primulaceae, Proteaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rhamnaceae, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae, Rutaceae, Salicaceae, Sapindaceae, Sapotaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Smilacaceae, Solanaceae, Styracaceae, Symplocaceae, Thymelaeaceae, Tropaeolaceae, Typhaceae, Ulmaceae, Urticaceae, Valerianaceae, Verbenaceae, Violaceae, Viscaceae, Vitaceae, Xyridacea.


INTRODUCTION
Pollen analysis is an excellent tool for studying reconstitutions of paleoenvironments and paleoclimates, especially when associated with isotopic dating methods. To do this, descriptions and illustrations of modern palynomorphs and their ecological correlations are fundamental resources capable of providing comparisons with elements in the environmental and paleoenvironmental register. It also enables us to evaluate the composition of modern and fossil assemblages and their responses to changes that have occurred over time (Ferrazo et al. 2008).
Modern pollen rain analysis is important because as well as providing parameters for environmental and/or paleoenvironmental studies, it also generates data about the current pollen diversity of an area, and may also support studies related to allergic diseases (hay fever), paleoecological, paleogeographic and paleoclimatic data and to the dynamics of plant communities in a region.
In Brazil, there is still little data on modern pollen rain analysis, highlighting studies by, Silva (2002) for the mangroves in the Northeast, Behling & Negrelle (2006) for the Atlantic forest in Paraná, Chaves (2013) for the National Park Serra da Capivara (Piauí), Guimarães et al. (2017) for the Amazon rain forest and Silva et al. (2017) for the State Park Itutinga-Pilões (São Paulo).
This study presents the results of modern pollen rain analysis in the Itapuã State Park, in the municipality of Viamão, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul aiming to provide new data for palinoflora and pollen diversity in an area that involves different physiognomies and types of vegetation. The study followed the morphological description of pollen grains and spores of 34 plant families, comprising 4 monilophytes, 1 gymnosperm and 29 angiosperms. Quantitative data are also presented regarding the occurrence and grain distribution along the sampling points, between forest and human-modified field.

Study area
The Itapuã State Park is located in the municipality of Viamão in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, it has a total area of 5,566.50ha and it is located about 57km from the centre of Porto Alegre. It is a Nature Conservation Unit (Federal Law 9.985/2000), covering a range of phytophysiognomies, maintaining remnants of the Atlantic forest, rocky fields, coastal forest, "vassoural" (grassland with tall herbaceous layer and shrubland), mixed grassland, moist, bathed and juncal plains (Antonio 1996), (Fig. 1).
In the Park there are rocks from the Escudo Sul-rio-grandense and sedimentary formations of the Coastal Plain. The first one is represented by hilly grassland and hills with altitudes generally between 50 and 200 meters. The second one presents horizontal and flat or slightly undulating reliefs related to areas of marshes, in the clogging phase, and lacustrine sandy beaches of Quaternary origin on the Patos Lagoon banks (Antonio 1996). The climate is humid subtropical, with an annual average rainfall of 1,300 mm and an average annual temperature of 17.5°C. The prevailing winds in the area are from the northeast, coming from the ocean, the Minuano, continental west wind of winter and the carpenter of the coast, southeast wind, beach, oceanic (Antonio 1996).
The park has a wide range of plant families, as indicated by botanical surveys from Antonio (1996), Scherer et al. (2005 and Buss et al. (2009) which are summarized in Table Ι.

Collection, processing and material analysis
The collection was carried out by artificial pollen traps (particle gravimetric collectors) as described by Bush (1992). The trap consists of two parts: one is a funnel with fiberglass able to retain all particles. The other is formed by a reservoir (pet bottle) with an efficient drainage system that prevents the return of water to the collector. The water collected in the reservoir evaporates during dry periods and this helps to keep the trap moist, increasing its ability to retain palynomorphs. About 20 collection points were placed in an area between the forest and the human-modified fields, in the northwest sector of the park, distanced every 30 meters, during one year (from January 2002 to January 2003). Only 10 points that remained in the sites until the end of the one year period were analyzed, because the other points were disturbed by animals. The pollen rain corresponds to a oneyear rainfall for each collector.
After the material was collected, it was stored and frozen until it was time to process it at the Laboratory of Paleoecology and Landscape Ecology at the Institute of Environmental, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP). The material was initially treated with floridric acid (HF) to remove glass fibre from the trap, followed by the traditional method of acetolysis (Erdtman 1952).
The final contents were adhered by small portions of Kisser glycerine gelatine to the bottom of the test tube to assemble the slides, with coverslips fixed by colourless varnish. Five permanent slides were made for each sampling point, and the remainder was stored in glycerol vials. All material is deposited in the Palynotheca at the Laboratory of Paleoecology and Landscape Ecology at UNIFESP. The palynomorphs were identified by morphological criteria, according to Erdtman (1952), Barth & Melhem (1988) and Punt et al. (2007). The palynological descriptions were carried out based on the main morphological characters,of pollen and spore: unit, polarity, shape, number of apertures or lesion, exine or exospore ornamentation, and dimension (one measure for each morphometric parameter): polar axis (P), equatorial axis (E), for elliptical grains and spores; major axis (MA) and minor axis (Ma) for monocotyledons; diameter for spherical grains (D), for polar view equatorial diameter (EVP), ecological data, occurrence and reference of the material examined.
The botanical classification for angiosperms adopted in this work is in accordance with APG II (2009) and Smith et al. (2006) for monilophytes, as well as specialised literature such as neotropical pollen catalogues and atlases such as Colinvaux et al. (1999), Leonhardt & Lorscheitter (2007), Roth & Lorscheitter (2008), Roubik & Moreno (1991) and various other works from the Pollen Flora of the Reserve at the Fontes do Ipiranga State Park.
The word "Type" was used for those where morphological similarities were found, preceded by the names established in the literature, e.g. "Type Baccharis L.", according to Erdtman (1952) and Salgado-Labouriau (1973). The pollen and spore were analysed using an optical microscope (Nikon-Eclipse E200 microscope), under 1000 x magnifi cation. All the images were generated using a Motic Images Plus 2.0 camera. Quantitative data were obtained by counting at least 300 arboreal pollens grains, according to Mosimann (1965), considering in parallel all the other grains of pollens and spores for each sampling point. Pollen percentage graph was generated by program R (R Development Core Team 2018) using Rioja package (Juggins 2017) and arboreal (AP) and non-arboreal (NAP) percentage graph by Excel.
References: (Leonhardt & Lorscheitter 2007). Ecological data: Epiphyte or rock species, with wide distribution in the American tropics, in rainforests, marshes and in secondary forests (Tryon & Tryon 1982). Lorscheitter et al. (2005) cite M. squamulosa (Kaulfuss) Sota and M. vacciniifolia as the only representatives of the genus in the State of Rio Grande do Sul. In the park area, it was found in traps located in the human-modifi ed fi eld and the forest.
Sizes: E: 45μm; P: 30μm; exosporium: 1μm. Reference: Leonhardt & Lorscheitter (2007). Ecological data: In tropical America, species of the genus grow in low areas of tropical forests, mountain forests or nebular forests. In Rio Grande do Sul, they generally occur as epiphytes, in forests. (Tryon andTryon 1982, Lorscheitter et al. 2005). In the park area, it was found in traps located in human-modified field and the forest.
Sizes: E: 27μm; P: 23μm; exosporium: 2μm. Reference: Leal & Lorscheitter (2006). Ecological data: Terrestrial or rupestrian plants, more rarely epiphytes. Widely distributed in the American tropics, found in marshes, interior of tropical forests, forest edges and anthropic sites (Tryon & Tryon 1982). In the park area, it was found at points in human-modified field and in the forest.
Reference: Leal & Lorscheitter (2006). Ecological data: Same as Type 1. In the park area, it was equally found at points in humanmodified field and in the forest.
Ecological data: Arborescent plants, widely distributed in the American tropics, in rain forests, marshy forests, ravines, mountain slopes, rocky sites, along streams (Tryon & Tryon 1982). In the park area, it wasfound at points in the human-modified field.
Sizes: D: 40 μm; exosporium: 1μm. Ecological data: In the park area, it was found at points in the forest.
Sizes: D: 40μm; exosporium: 1.5 μm. Ecological data: In the park area, it was found in closed forest points.
Ecological data: Trees. Exotic species extensively used in Rio Grande do Sul for reforestation and resin production (Lorenzi 2003, Backes & Irgang 2004. Appeared at all collection points.
Sizes: MA= 45μm; Ma= 40μm, exine: 1.5μm. Reference: Leal & Lorscheitter (2006). Ecological data: Shrubs or trees, better known as palm trees. Their fruit can range from cherries to coconuts. It is found all over the world and has great economic importance given the wide range of products used by man (Miguel et al. 2007). In the park area, it appeared mostly at points in the human-modified field.
Ecological data: Herbaceous plants, most of them inhabiting marshes and swamps. Most species prefer humid sites (Joly 2002). In the park area, it was found in the forest.
Sizes: D: 40μm, exine: 1μm. References: Leal & Lorscheitter (2006). Ecological data: Predominantly herbaceous plants, in characteristic associations of field. Cosmopolitan family, found in all climates, terrains and altitudes (Joly 2002). In the park area, it was widely found at all collection points.
Poaceae Type 2 (Fig. 3n). M o n a d s , h e te ro p o l a r, s p h e ro i d al , 1-(2)-porate, (two non-equidistant pores), pore with annulus thickness, microreticulate exine.
Monads, apolar, spherical, pantoporate (one pore on each lumen), exine lophate with hexagonal mesh and pila at each apex of the mesh, muri high and straight.
Sizes: D: 15μm, exine: 2μm. References: Leal & Lorscheitter (2006). Ecological data: A genus consisting of herbs or sub-shrubs, concentrated in hot and temperate zones. In Rio Grande do Sul about 6 native species were found (Vasconcellos 1973). In the park area, it mostly appeared at points in the human-modified field.
Sizes: D: 22μm, exine: 3μm. References: Souza et al. (2010). Ecological data: The family presents trees, shrubs, lianas or herbs. Some genera are considered economically important, such as Mirabilis L. and Bougainvillea Spach, whose species are used as ornamental plants (Reitz 1970, Barroso et al. 1986). In the park area, it appeared at a point in the forest.
Ecological data: Herbs. Portulacaceae includes about 30 genera and 500 species, which are distributed mainly in Western North America, South America and Africa, with a few representatives in Europe and Asia. In Brazil there are ten species in two genera: Talinum Adans. and Portulaca L., the latter with eight species (Coelho & Giulietti 2010). In the park area, it appeared at a point in the humanmodified field.
M o n a d s , i s o p o l a r, s u b p r o l a t e , heteroaperturate, 6-aperture (3 colporus interleaved by 3 colpi), psilate-perfurate exine.
Sizes: P = 23μm, E = 20μm, exine: 1μm. Reference: Cruz-Barros et al. (2006). Ecological data: Herbs, shrubs or trees, inhabiting fields, swamps, borders or forests. More present in the tropical region of the world, abundant in the Brazilian flora (Joly 2002). In the park area, it also appeared at points in the human-modified field and forest.
Sizes: EVP: 22μm, exine: 1.0μm. Reference: Leal & Lorscheitter (2006). Ecological data: Trees and shrubs, tropical and subtropical, found in various types of environments (humid or dry), and large number of forest-forming species. It is one of the main families found in the forests of the State of Rio Grande do Sul (Reitz et al. 1983, Sobral 2003. It appeared at all the collection points.
Sizes: P = 51, E = 42μm, exine: 2μm. Reference: Moreti et al. (2007). Ecological data: The genus is widely distributed in the tropics and subtropics of the world, and are also found in temperate regions. Some species can be considered pioneers for reforestation and others have high forage value. The genus is widely distributed in Brazil, presenting greater specific richness in the southern region of the country (Freitas 2012). In the park area, it mostly appeared at points in the human-modified field.
Sizes: EVP: 35μm, exine: 2μm. Reference: Barreto et al. (2013). Ecological data: In Brazil, the largest number of species was found, ranging from trees to plant spinescence, inerm or scandent. The scandate forms predominate in the Amazon hileia (equatorial forest that runs from the eastern slopes of the Andes, throughout the Amazon valley to the Guianas), while trees predominate in southern Brazil (Sartori & Tozzi 1998). In the park area, it was found at points in the humanmodified field.
Ecological data: Trees, shrubs or woody vines. They are found in tropical and subtropical regions, they are abundant in savannas and forests, as well as in xerophytic forests, in tropical America, Africa, Asia and Australia (Burkart 1979). In the park area, they were found at points in the human-modified field.
Ecological data: This genus is typically found in tropical and subtropical Andes forests, and the presence of pollen in sediments in southern Brazil may be related to long-distance anemophilic dispersion, which is found recurrently in this genus (Lorscheitter 1988, Joly 2002. In the park area, they were found at points in the human-modified field and forest.
Sizes: P = 30μm; E = 22μm, exine: 1μm. Ecological data: The family can be presented as trees, shrubs, sub-shrubs and herbs (Flora do Brasil 2020). In the park area, it was found in the human-modified field.
Sizes: P = 26μm; E = 26μm, exine: 2μm. Reference: Sales et al. (2011). Ecological data: Trees or shrubs. The genus Actinostemon contains 30 species, most of them found in Brazil (Eymael 2012). In the park area, they were mostly found at points in the humanmodified field.
Sizes: D: 58µm; exine: 2µm Reference: Dettke & Santos (2009). Ecological data: The Passifloraceae family is widely distributed from regions with a tropical climate to warm temperate, climbing plants or lianas with auxiliary tendrils or less frequently shrubs and trees without tendrils (Zamberlan 2007). In the park area, it appeared at points in the human-modified field.
Sizes: D: 20µm, exine: 1µm. Reference : Roubik Moreno (1991). Ecological data: The family Moraceae includes trees, shrubs or herbs, with predominantly tropical and subtropical distribution and is represented in Brazil by 27 genera with about 250 species, among them Brosimum gaudichaudii Trécul, arboreal species popularly known as mama-cadela, it is very common in the cerrado (Jacomassi et al. 2007). In the park area, it mostly appeared at points in the forest.
Sizes: D: 23µm, exine: 0.5µm Reference: Leal & Lorscheitter (2006). Ecological data: A genus consisting of trees or shrubs, they are components of low forest, on the edge of Serra Geral from Rio Grande do Sul (Schultz 1984, Rambo 2000, Joly 2002. In the park area, it appeared at points in the humanmodified field.
Monads, isopolar, prolate, 3-colporate, long colpi and with a margin, reticulate-striate Sizes: P = 35µm; E = 25µm; exine: 2µm Reference: Leal & Lorscheitter (2006). Ecological data: Trees, shrubs or sub-shrubs of very varied habitat, such as interior or margin of not very dense forest, margin of streams and altered fields (Fleig 1987). In the park area, it also appeared at points in the human-modified field and forest.
Sizes: P = 25µm; E = 20µm, exine: 0.5µm. Reference: Leal & Lorscheitter (2006). Ecological data: The family comprises forest plants, usually large trees. They are found in most of the forests in Rio Grande do Sul (Girardi-Deiro 1975). In the park area it was found at points in the human-modified field.
Sizes: P = 23µm; E = 17µm; exine: 2µm Reference: Barth (1982). Ecological data: The genus Zanthoxylum comprises approximately 200 woody, bushy or arboreal, pantropical species with few species extending in the temperate zones of North America and East Asia (Melo & Zickel 2004). In the park area, it appeared at points in the forest.
Sizes: P = 39µm, E = 26µm; exine: 2µm. Reference: Barreto et al. (2013). Ecological data: Hypophyte and hygrophyte species that grow on the slopes and river banks. The genus is characteristic of Brazil and with endemic forms of the Atlantic Forest, with great richness of forms especially in Rio de Janeiro (Lorenzi 1998, Monteiro et al. 2007). In the park area, it appeared at points in the humanmodified field.
Sizes: D: 33µm exine 2µm. Ecological data: The Myrsinaceae family has a pantropical distribution and about 1,500 species. In Brazil, the following genus are found: Ardisia Sw., Cybianthus Mart. (including Conomorpha A.DC.), Myrsine L. (including Rapanea Aubl.) and Stylogyne A.DC., totaling about 100 species. The Myrsinaceae species are trees, most frequently shrubs (Freitas & Carrijo 2008). In Rio Grande do Sul, the genus is represented by species of arboreal and shrubs habit (Sobral et al. 2006). In the park area, it appeared at points in the human-modified field and points in the forest.
Sizes: D: 48µm, exine: 3µm Reference: Cassino & Meyer (2011). Ecological data: The Rubiaceae family has wide diversity and occurs in the most diverse types of environment. In Brazil, it is more commonly found in rainforests such as the Amazon Forest and the Atlantic Forest. It is represented by large and medium-sized trees, shrubs, sub-shrubs, perennial or annual herbs, but about 80% of the genera are composed of exclusively woody plants, constituting one of the most important components of arboreal and shrub vegetation in tropical forests (Melo andBarbosa 2007, Pereira andKinoshita-Gouvêa 2013). In the park area, it appeared mostly at points in the human-modified field.
Reference: Costa (2014). Ecological data: It comprises about 4000 species in 190 genera of cosmopolitan distribution, but more abundant in temperate regions and tropical mountains. Herbs or subshrubs, rarely shrubs or small trees (Souza & Giulietti 1990. In the park area, it appeared at points in the human-modified field.
Sizes: Diameter Evp: 35µm, exine: 2µm Reference: Cassino & Meyer (2011). Ecological data: Solanaceae is a family of about 94 genera and 2950 species, with subcosmopolitan distribution, especially in tropical America. Plants are herbs, trees and shrubs (Perveen & Qaiser 2007). In the park area, it appeared at points in the human-modified field.
Sizes: P = 42µm; E = 22µm; exine: 2µm. Reference: Macedo et al. (2009). Ecological data: Herbs. The Apiaceae family presents a cosmopolitan distribution constituting one of the largest families of angiosperms. In Rio Grande do Sul, they are widely represented by the genus Eryngium L., which includes 29 species, ranging from dry to moist areas common in "capoeira" (growth of secondary forest), marshes, lagoons and peat bogs (Irgang 1974, Souza & Lorenzi 2005. In the park area, it appeared mostly at points in the human-modified field. Material examined: LPE 00250, England Finder coordinate Y53/02. Type 2 (Fig. 4v)
Sizes: P = 25µm; E = 25µm; exine: 2µm Reference: Leal & Lorscheitter (2006). Ecological data: The genus includes more than 500 species, distributed from the United States to Argentina, with 90% occurring in South America. These are usually shrubs. In the southwestern region of Brazil, there are approximately 120 species. The great concentration of species in Brazil and the Andes indicates that this whole area is the probable center of origin of the taxon (Duarte et al. 2005 The occurrence and distribution of pollen fall is illustrated in Fig. 5. The collectors located in the human-modified field (P1, P7, P8, P13, P14), registered the occurrence of Poaceae, with more than 50%, followed by Ouratea type (Ochnaceae) and Baccharis type (Asteraceae), between 5 to 15%. In this domain, arboreal pollen of Arecaceae and Mytaceae registered less than 10% and Pinus (Pinaceae) around 10%. Ferns spores occurred, predominantly Blechnum (Blechnaceae), Microgramma and Serpocaulon (Polypodiaceae), with less than 5%, and Dryopteris (Dryopteridaceae) only on P8, with less than 5%.
The collectors located in the forest domain (P4, P11, P12, P17, P18) also showed a significant predominance of Poaceae, with more than 50%, followed by Ouratea type and Baccharis type with values between 5 and 10%. The main records of arboreal pollen are marked by Myrtaceae, with emphasis on P17, with a value around 40%, and Pinus between 2 to 10%. Ferns spores also occur in this domain, with Microgramma (P17 and P18), around 2%; Blechnum, Dryopteris and Serpocaulon in almost all points, with less than 5%. Other pollen and spores occurred with lower percentages and varied distribution.
In general, the distribution of non-arboreal pollen (NAP) and arboreal pollen (AP) did not reflect the predominance of the vegetation surrounding the collector. There was an expressive predominance of Poaceae pollen grains, above 50% for both areas, while arboreal pollen registration was below 25% in forest area collectors, only P17 showed a higher percentage (Fig. 6).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The data of the pollen rain presented comprise unpublished contributions to the pollen diversity of the Itapuã State Park. Regarding angiosperms, 26 of the 165 families listed in the botanical surveys occurred in pollen rain, highlighting the following: Amaranthaceae, Anacardiaceae, Apiaceae, Apocynaceae, Arecaceae, Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae/ Mimosoideae, Malpighiaceae, Melastomataceae, Meliaceae, Moraceae, Myrsinaceae, Myrtaceae, Nyctaginaceae, Passifloraceae, Poaceae, Po r t u l a ca cea e, R u b i a cea e, R u t a cea e, Sapindaceae, Sapotaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Solanaceae, Ulmaceae. On the other hand, Betulaceae is registered in the pollen rain, but is not native and does not occur in the area, besides Pinaceae (Pinus), which is exotic in the landscape and used extensively for reforestation and resin production in Rio Grande do Sul. Its observed a high percentage of Myrtaceae pollen in one point (P17) that could be due the influence of Eucalyptus, a exotic Myrtaceae genus that is used for reforestation and other economic purposes. There were also spores of monilophytes (Blechnaceae and Cyatheaceae) not listed in the park's botanical surveys.
The differences observed between the botanical list and the modern pollen rain diversity may be due to the different sampling areas, where botanical surveys derive mainly from the park's coastal forest (Antonio 1996, Scherer et al. 2005. The pollen rain survey was carried out inside the park a little distant from the coastal forest, near the headquarters (as shown in Materials and Methods), aimed at assessing the ratio between the occurrence of pollen in traps located in forest areas and human-modified field.
The quantitative analysis revealed the dominant presence of non-arboreal pollen grains, especially Poaceae, at all points. The result did not reflect a direct relationship between the occurrence of pollen grains and the dominant vegetation around the trap, being, in this case, mainly influenced by human-modified field. On the other hand the incidence of the northeast, southeast and east directions winds probably influenced the dispersion of non-pollen grains from human-modified field towards the forest areas. Behling & Negrelle (2006) analyzed the relationship between vegetation and pollen rain from pollen traps under tropical forests comment that the data are very variable and often show a very local assemblage. A similar study carried out by Silva et al. (2017), observed the correspondence between arboreal and nonarboreal pollens with the dominant vegetation around the traps from the Itutinga-Pilões Unit in the Serra do Mar State Park, São Paulo. The pollen grains from the Betulaceae family, typically from the tropical and subtropical Andes forests, shows a continuous occurrence throughout the Quaternary. This pollen grain is common in the Quaternary sediments in the south of Brazil. The presence of this pollen is interpreted as coming from anemophilous dispersion at long distances (Lorscheitter 1988). In the pollen rain material studied by Silva et al. (2017), this pollen grains were also registered, indicating the contribution of these grains until nowadays in the South and Southeast regions of Brazil.
Finally, the data presented is pioneering in terms of contributions of the park´s palinoflora, including relevant information on the transport mechanism of grains and pollen, influenced by the domain of the human-modified field, local and long distance atmospheric currents.