A revised late-Quaternary vegetation history of the unglaciated southwestern Yukon Territory, Canada, from Antifreeze and Eikland ponds

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse C. Vermaire ◽  
Les C. Cwynar
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Glacial Period ◽  
Vegetation Shifts ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Interpretation

Antifreeze Pond was thought to contain the oldest record of continuous environmental change in the southwestern Yukon. We have revised the original interpretation of the vegetation history of Antifreeze Pond and this region based on new pollen, stomate, and macrofossil analysis, along with 38 new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates from Antifreeze Pond and nearby Eikland Pond. Although the overall pattern of vegetation change is similar to the previously published Antifreeze Pond record, our new analysis indicates that the timing of the major vegetation shifts is substantially different, particularly during the late-glacial and early Holocene periods (from ∼17 000 – 9000 cal years BP). The original Antifreeze Pond record was thought to span a mid-Wisconsinan interstadial (>30 000 cal years BP) and the full-glacial period. Our results, however, indicate that the material of mid-Wisconsinan age was likely deposited by slumping around the pond making interpretation of the paleoenvironment difficult. Furthermore, our AMS 14C dates show that what was thought to be a full-glacial vegetation record is actually the vegetation history of the late-glacial period (ca. 17 000 – 11 000 cal years BP), which was a time of rapid sediment deposition into the ponds. The Eikland Pond record has an early Holocene Populus rise between ca. 11 000 – 8000 cal years BP that is not present in either the new or original Antifreeze Pond records. This new interpretation of the vegetation history should aid comparisons to other regional paleoenvironmental records.

scholarly journals Late Quaternary Pollen Records and Vegetation History of the Southwest Yukon Territory: A Review

2007 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia-Cheng Wang ◽  
Marie-Anne Geurts
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation History ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Circulation System ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Shrub Tundra ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pollen Records

ABSTRACTThis paper is a summary of all known late Quaternary palynostratigraphic records from the southwest Yukon Territory. Thirty two pollen sites available by the end of 1988 are reviewed. Most pollen records in the region are of Holocene age. During the late-glacial to early Holocene, the southwest Yukon supported a herb-dominated tundra vegetation which was replaced by a birch-dominated shrub-tundra at about 10,000 yr BP. Spruce invaded the area between 9000 and 8600 yr BP at different localities, and a southward time transgression is visible in the Aishihik Basin. The current regional vegetation has been stable since 7600-8000 yr BP when dense spruce forest and/or spruce forest-tundra was established in most localities. In the Snag area, however, dense spruce forest developed only around 5700 yr BP, which is about 2000 years later than in the Aishihik Basin. The exotic pine pollen records in the region exhibit an interesting pattern, suggesting a frequent shift of the atmospheric circulation system. Anomalous records of alder pollen from the Aishihik Basin and adjacent regions suggest that alder has never been widespread in these areas due to aridity, and alder pollen is greatly overrepresented in pollen spectra. Spruce arrival dates suggest that further investigations in the Tintina Valley, Yukon River Valley, and Car-macks region might provide useful information concerning the spruce migration routes.

Late Quaternary vegetation, climate, and fire history of the Southeast Atlantic Coastal Plain based on a 30,000-yr multi-proxy record from White Pond, South Carolina, USA

2019 ◽  
Vol 91 (2) ◽  
pp. 861-880 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa R. Krause ◽  
James M. Russell ◽  
Rui Zhang ◽  
John W. Williams ◽  
Stephen T. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
South Carolina ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Atlantic Coastal Plain ◽  
Proxy Records ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Mississippian Culture

AbstractThe patterns and drivers of late Quaternary vegetation dynamics in the southeastern United States are poorly understood due to low site density, problematic chronologies, and a paucity of independent paleoclimate proxy records. We present a well-dated (15 accelerator mass spectrometry14C dates) 30,000-yr record from White Pond, South Carolina that consists of high-resolution analyses of fossil pollen, macroscopic charcoal, andSporormiellaspores, and an independent paleotemperature reconstruction based on branched glycerol dialkyl tetraethers. Between 30,000 and 20,000 cal yr BP, openPinus-Piceaforest grew under cold and dry conditions; elevatedQuercusbefore 26,000 cal yr BP, however, suggest warmer conditions in the Southeast before the last glacial maximum, possibly corresponding to regionally warmer conditions associated with Heinrich event H2. Warming between 19,700 and 10,400 cal yr BP was accompanied by a transition from conifer-dominated to mesic hardwood forest.Sporormiellaspores were not detected and charcoal was low during the late glacial period, suggesting megaherbivore grazers and fire were not locally important agents of vegetation change.Pinusreturned to dominance during the Holocene, with step-like increases inPinusat 10,400 and 6400 cal yr BP, while charcoal abundance increased tenfold, likely due to increased biomass burning associated with warmer conditions. Low-intensity surface fires increased after 1200 cal yr BP, possibly related to the establishment of the Mississippian culture in the Southeast.

Late-glacial deposits at Llyn Dwythwch and Nant Ffrancon, Caernarvonshire

1962 ◽  
Vol 244 (716) ◽  
pp. 459-481 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation History ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Glacial Period ◽  
Late Glacial Period ◽  
Lacustrine Deposits ◽  
Kettle Hole ◽  
Lycopodium Annotinum ◽  
Northern Distribution ◽  
History Of ◽  
Zone Ii

The stratigraphy of sediments in two lake basins in the Caernarvonshire mountains at 600 and 900 ft. O.D. is described and it is shown that the basal layers were deposited in the Late-glacial Period. The deposits of a third site occupying a kettle-hole in morainic gravels at 1223 ft. O.D. are described and here the Late-glacial Period is not represented. The relation of these sites to the youngest corrie moraines of the district indicates that the latter were formed during the post-Allerod climatic regression (Zone III). The vegetation history of the district was studied by means of pollen analysis of lacustrine deposits from the two first-mentioned sites (above). The vegetation of the Late-glacial Period at first formed tundra (Zone I) in which arctic-alpines, notably Betula , flourished together with species of oceanic and oceanic-northern distribution and calcicolous, eutrophic and moderately thermophilous plants. The spread of juniper scrub preceded the arrival of tree birches, which form ‘park-tundra’ in Zone II at Nant Ffrancon but failed to grow as high as Llyn Dwythwch. The birch ‘ parktundra’ is considered to have covered Britain south of the Forth-Clyde at low altitudes and to have occupied central and eastern Ireland at this time. The climatic deterioration of Zone III is clearly registered by the decline of juniper and tree birch and the local severity of conditions is demonstrated by the increased abundance of the chianophilous fern, Cryptogramma crispa, Lycopodium selago, Saussurea alpina and other montane herbs. The extensive occurrence of solifluxion, augmented by glacier streams, brought down silt and clay into the lakes. The ensuing amelioration in climate and the course of forest development through the Post-glacial Period is briefly traced and the persistence of certain elements of the present mountain flora from the Late-glacial Period demonstrated. A description is given of the spores of Cryptogramma crispa which together with Lycopodium annotinum and Saussurea alpina are new to British Late-glacial records.

Local and regional vegetation change on the northeastern Olympic Peninsula during the Holocene

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 1618-1627 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. McLachlan ◽  
L. B. Brubaker
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Thuja Plicata ◽  
Alnus Rubra ◽  
Glacial Period ◽  
Olympic Peninsula ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Late Glacial Period

The postglacial vegetation history of the northeastern Olympic Peninsula was investigated at different spatial scales by comparing the pollen, macrofossil, and charcoal records from a low elevation lake (Crocker Lake) and a nearby forested swamp (Cedar Swamp). The regional pollen record from Crocker Lake revealed a parkland of coniferous species with divergent modern ecological tolerances, including Pinus contorta, Picea sitchensis, and Abies lasiocarpa during the late glacial period (~ 13 000 – 10 000 BP). Disturbance-adapted species such as Alnus rubra and Pseudotsuga menziesii dominated forests during the early Holocene (10 000 – 7000 BP). Modern forests containing mesic late-successional species such as Tsuga heterophylla and Thuja plicata were established during the late Holocene (7000 BP to present). During the late glacial period, the local vegetation at Cedar Swamp was dominated by Alnus sinuata. Hydrologic changes resulted in the establishment of a deep marsh during the early Holocene. Hydrosere succession from an open aquatic environment to a forested wetland and disturbance-mediated alternations between Thuja plicata and Alnus rubra characterized the local vegetation during the late Holocene. Throughout the Holocene, the vegetation of the northeastern Olympic Peninsula was governed by broad climatic and physiographic parameters at the regional scale and the effects of local geomorphologic constraints and disturbance history at the finer landscape scale. Key words: fossil pollen, vegetation history, Olympic Peninsula, Quaternary.

Late Pleistocene and early Holocene environmental history of southwestern Washington State, U.S.A.

1984 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 619-629 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy W. Barnosky
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Cascade Range ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Olympic Mountains ◽  
Tundra Vegetation ◽  
Plant Remains ◽  
History Of ◽  
Glacial Time

A comparison of pollen records and associated plant remains from sites along a major precipitation gradient in southwestern Washington enables reconstruction of the late Quaternary environment during glacial and early Holocene time. During the Evans Creek Stade (25 000 – 17 000 years BP) little moisture reached lowlands east of the Olympic Mountains and as a result both the Puget Trough and the Columbia Basin featured a cold dry climate and parkland–tundra vegetation In glacial time, greatest aridity seems to have occurred between 19 000 and 17 000 years BP. After 17 000 years BP the development of mesophytic subalpine parkland suggests that maritime conditions extended farther east into the Puget Trough, and the Cascade Range became an important precipitation divide. Conditions warmer and (or) drier than today developed throughout western Washington between 10 000 and 8000–6000 years BP. Vegetation on opposite sides of the Cascade Range became dissimilar as early as 17 000 years BP, but this trend was accentuated in late glacial and early Holocene time.

scholarly journals Late-Glacial and Postglacial Vegetation and Climate of Jackson Hole and the Pinyon Peak Highlands, Wyoming

1985 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 44-49
Author(s):  
Cathy Barnosky
Keyword(s):  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
National Park ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Glacial Refugia ◽  
Northern Rocky Mountains ◽  
Jackson Hole ◽  
History Of ◽  
Vegetation And Climate

The late-Quaternary vegetation history of the northern Rocky Mountains has thus far been inferred largely from isolated records. These data suggest that conifer forests were established early in postglacial time and were little modified thereafter. The similarity of early postglacial vegetation to modern communities over broad areas gives rise to two hypotheses: (1) that glacial refugia were close to the ice margin, and (2) that vegetation soon colonized the deglaciated areas and has been only subtly affected by climatic perturbations since that time. It is the goal of this project to test these two hypotheses in the region of Grand Teton National Park.

Late Quaternary vegetational history of the Howard Pass Area, northwestern Alaska

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 570-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
W Wyatt Oswald ◽  
Linda B Brubaker ◽  
Patricia M Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Local Variation ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Pollen Accumulation Rates ◽  
Rubus Chamaemorus ◽  
History Of Vegetation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Western Arctic ◽  
Northern Alaska

Palynological records from Tukuto and Etivlik Lakes contribute to an improved understanding of the late Quaternary history of vegetation in the Howard Pass area of northern Alaska. During the Itkillik II glaciation (24-14 ka BP), the vegetation of the western Arctic Foothills was sparse, xeric tundra, as evidenced by taxa indicative of dry, rocky substrates (e.g., Selaginella rupestris (L.) Spring, Chenopodiaceae, and Encalypta cf. rhaptocarpa) and very low pollen accumulation rates in this interval of the 30-ka-old Tukuto Lake record. Mesic tundra dominated by non-Sphagnum (Bryidae) mosses, Cyperaceae, and Salix species expanded near Tukuto Lake during the late-glacial period, followed by the establishment of Sphagnum moss and increased shrub cover at ca. 10 ka BP. Landscapes around both lakes supported stands of Populus cf. balsamifera during the early Holocene, and Alnus crispa expanded in the Howard Pass area during the middle Holocene. Local variation in plant communities is illustrated by the comparison of the Tukuto and Etivlik pollen records. During the early Holocene, Populus cf. balsamifera was more common near Etivlik Lake than Tukuto Lake, and Juniperus cf. communis was present only in the vicinity of Etivlik Lake. Throughout the middle to late Holocene, Sphagnum, mesic tundra shrubs (Betula nana L., Salix, and Ericaceae species), and minor herbaceous taxa (e.g., Rubus chamaemorus L., Thalictrum, and Caryophyllaceae) were more prevalent at Tukuto Lake than at Etivlik Lake. These differences are likely related to the influence of local landform and soil characteristics near the two sites.Key words: Alaska, Arctic Foothills, Brooks Range, pollen analysis, Quaternary.

Postglacial vegetation and fire history of the southern Cascade Range, Oregon

2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 348-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia White ◽  
Christy Briles ◽  
Cathy Whitlock
Keyword(s):  
Late Holocene ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Cascade Range ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Glacial Period ◽  
Holocene Thermal Maximum ◽  
History Of

The Cascade Range of southwestern Oregon contains some of North America's most diverse forests, but the ecological history of this area is poorly understood. A 7900-yr-long pollen and charcoal record was examined to better understand past changes in vegetation and fire activity in relation to large-scale climate variability. From 7900 to 3500 cal yr BP, the dominance of xerophytic species and the frequent fires are consistent with a climate that was warmer and drier than at present. The period from 3500 cal yr BP to present experienced an abundance of mesophytic taxa and reduced fire frequency, suggesting cooler and wetter conditions. The regional history of Abies indicates that it was most widespread during the late-glacial period; its range contracted during the early Holocene thermal maximum, and it steadily expanded during the middle and late Holocene. In contrast, Pseudotsuga was restricted in range during the glacial period, became abundant at low-elevation sites in the Coast and northern Cascade ranges during the early Holocene, and was more prevalent in southern mid-elevation sites as the climate became cooler and wetter in the late Holocene. The sensitivity of these species to past climate change suggests that biogeographic responses to future conditions will be highly variable in this region.

scholarly journals Late Quaternary history of Lammefjorden, north-west Sjælland, Denmark

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ole Bennike ◽  
Peter Roll Jakobsen ◽  
Jakob Walløe Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Last Deglaciation ◽  
North West ◽  
Najas Marina ◽  
Marine Deposits ◽  
Minimum Age ◽  
History Of

Lammefjorden is a reclaimed fjord in north-west Sjælland, Denmark. Sediment cores from the area were collected to study its development after the last deglaciation, in particular the sea-level history. Late glacial and Early Holocene lake and bog deposits occur below marine deposits. Sparse late glacial fossil assemblages indicate tree-less environments with dwarf-shrub heaths. Early Holocene deposits contain remains of Betula sec. Albae sp. and Pinus sylvestris, which indicate open forests. The wetland flora comprised the calciphilous reed plant Cladium mariscus and the water plant Najas marina. Marine gyttja from basins is characterised by sparse benthic faunas, probably due to high sedimentation rates. In some areas, shell-rich deposits were found, with large shells of Ostrea edulis, indicative of high summer temperatures, high salinity and strong tidal currents. A marine shell dated to 6.7 cal. ka provides a minimum age for the marine transgression of Lammefjorden.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document