Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 96. (Budapest 2004)

Molnár, J., Erdei, B. ; Hably, L.: The transport of leaves and fruits - a taphonomical study of leaf litter

versity. Quadrats with a species composition well comparable to the "ideal" are mostly situated at the middle part of the transection which refers to the fact that the sample plot was indicated in a patch of "forest" extending to a relatively small, limited area. Consequently, the analysis above supports the idea that using the data of a single quadrat for vegetation reconstruction may result in a fragmentary, distorted picture, thus, to achieve a picture as actual as possible the combination of data of more, non adjacent quadrats are needed. SUMMARY The leaf and fruit distribution pattern of the quadrats set at the first sample plot indicated that most of the leaves and fruits of the Acer platanoides tree (and the other trees as well) accumulated below the parent tree. The number of leaves per quadrat was inversely proportional to the distance of the quadrat from the trunk along each transection which is well in accordance with the results of earlier studies (SZCZEPANSKI 1965, RAU 1976, FERGUSON 1985). First of all fruits but in rather limited numbers were transported to greater (> 25 m) distances, leaves got only exceptionally further, e.g. in the second sample plot some Ginkgo leaves transported from 300 m were recorded. However, it must be noted that the windfall effect of the vegetation surrounding the Acer platanoides tree may have significant role in forming the distribution patterns of plant parts studied. The distribution of the leaves and fruits of Acer platanoides displayed different patterns which may be explained by several factors, e.g. the shifted fall of fruits in time and different morphological traits of leaves and disintegrated winged fruits. Using multivariate methods (principal components analysis) for the comparison of the fruit and leaf distributions of the trees the same was supported, i.e. only the fruits and leaves of the Tilia tree showed similar distribution pattern. Based on the leaf content of a close and some distant quadrats the average weight and surface of the leaves proved to be lower in the distant quadrats, whereas average leaf density displayed similar values. In this respect a palaeoclimate reconstruction using leaf size distribution (of distant quadrats) would result surely in a distorted picture since leaf size spectra is shifted to the lower size categories (similarly in allochtonous floras). In the second sample plot quadrats set along the north-south transection contained the leaves of more species (36) than the number of species occurring strictly in the sample plot (23). It is noteworthy that even Ginkgo leaves (4 specimens) turned up in the samples, though the closest Ginkgo tree is to be found 300 m away from the sample plot. However, based on the leaf spectra of the quadrats FER-