Late Wisconsinan Vegetation and Environment of the Tunica Hills Region, Louisiana/Mississippi

Pollen, plant macrofossil, and radiocarbon-dating studies of seven exposures of fluvial sediments in the Tunica Hills region of southeastern Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi provide new information on late Wisconsinan vegetation, flora, and environment of the region. The assemblages date between 25,250 and 17,530 yr B.P. Pollen and macrofossil assemblages are dominated by Picea, which comprises 40-70% of the pollen assemblages. Abies and Larix pollen and macrofossils are absent, in contrast to sites to the north in the central Mississippi Valley. Deciduous hardwoods (Quercus, Fagus, Fraxinus, Carya, Juglans nigra, Acer, Ulmus) are minor components of both pollen and macrofossil assemblages. Radiocarbon dates of Picea and Quercus wood indicate that these two genera grew contemporaneously in the region. Regional upland forests were dominated by Picea. Picea cones and cone fragments are not typical of any extant North American species, and probably represent either an extinct species or an extinct variety or subspecies of Picea glauca. Late Wisconsinan climate of the region was cooler than present, but not necessarily as cool as implied by P. glauca or other "boreal" taxa.     

Rapid Lateglacial tree population dynamics and ecosystem changes in the eastern Baltic region

A growing body of evidence implies that the concept of 'treeless tundra' in eastern and northern Europe fails to explain the rapidity of Lateglacial and postglacial tree population dynamics of the region, yet the knowledge of the geographic locations and shifting of tree populations is fragmentary. Pollen, stomata and plant macrofossil stratigraphies from Lake Kurjanovas in the poorly studied eastern Baltic region provide improved knowledge of ranges of north‐eastern European trees during the Lateglacial and subsequent plant population responses to the abrupt climatic changes of the Lateglacial/Holocene transition. The results prove the Lateglacial presence of tree populations (Betula, Pinus and Picea) in the eastern Baltic region. Particularly relevant is the stomatal and plant macrofossil evidence showing the local presence of reproductive Picea populations during the Younger Dryas stadial at 12 900–11 700 cal. a BP, occurring along with Dryas octopetala and arctic herbs, indicating semi‐open vegetation. The spread of Pinus–Betula forest at ca. 14 400 cal. a BP, the rise of Picea at ca. 12 800 cal. a BP and the re‐establishment of Pinus–Betula forest at ca. 11 700 cal. a BP within a span of centuries further suggest strikingly rapid, climate‐driven ecosystem changes rather than gradual plant succession on a newly deglaciated land. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The distribution of late-Quaternary woody taxa in northern Eurasia: evidence from a new macrofossil database

We present a database of late-Quaternary plant macrofossil records for northern Eurasia (from 23° to 180°E and 46° to 76°N) comprising 281 localities, over 2300 samples and over 13,000 individual records. Samples are individually radiocarbon dated or are assigned ages via age models fitted to sequences of calibrated radiocarbon dates within a section. Tree species characteristic of modern northern forests (e.g. Picea, Larix, tree-Betula) are recorded at least intermittently from prior to the last glacial maximum (LGM), through the LGM and Lateglacial, to the Holocene, and some records locate trees close to the limits of the Scandinavian ice sheet, supporting the hypothesis that some taxa persisted in northern refugia during the last glacial cycle. Northern trees show differing spatio-temporal patterns across Siberia: deciduous trees were widespread in the Lateglacial, with individuals occurring across much of their contemporary ranges, while evergreen conifers expanded northwards to their range limits in the Holocene.     

Postglacial climates inferred from a lake at treeline,southwest Yukon Territory,Canada

Pollen, chironomid, and ostracode records from a lake located at alpine treeline provide regional paleoclimate reconstructions from the southwest Yukon Territory, Canada. The pollen spectra indicate herbaceous tundra existed on the landscape from 13.6–11 ka followed by birch shrub tundra until 10 ka. Although Picea pollen dominated the assemblages after 10 ka, low pollen accumulation rates and Picea percentages indicate minimal treeline movement through the Holocene. Chironomid accumulation rates provide evidence of millennial-scale climate variability, and the chironomid community responded to rapid climate changes. Ostracodes were found in the late glacial and early Holocene, but disappeared due to chemical changes of the lake associated with changes in vegetation on the landscape. Inferred mean July air temperature, total annual precipitation, and water depth indicate a long-term cooling with increasing moisture from the late glacial through the Holocene. During the Younger Dryas (12.9–11.2 ka), cold and dry conditions prevailed. The early and mid-Holocene were warm and dry, with cool, wet conditions after 4 ka, and warm, dry conditions since the end of the Little Ice Age.     

Late Devensian environments in the Vale of Mowbray, North Yorkshire, UK: evidence from palynology

Two radiocarbon-dated Lateglacial pollen diagrams from the Vale of Mowbray (northern Vale of York) are presented from sites in the lowlands between the washlands courses of the rivers Swale and Ure in North Yorkshire, an area with little previous palynological research despite its proximity to the Devensian glacial advance limits in eastern England. The profiles, from Snape Mires and Nosterfield, include the Loch Lomond Stadial (Younger Dryas) and the Holocene transition, while that from Snape Mires also includes the period from the early part of the Lateglacial Interstadial. This profile differs from most published Interstadial diagrams from the Yorkshire region in having a long-delayed expansion of tree and shrub taxa. Juniperus (juniper) remains important after vegetation development takes place and the pollen record includes evidence of two cold climate oscillations before the maximum development of Betula (birch) woodland near the end of the Lateglacial Interstadial. At both profiles Artemisia (mugwort) frequencies are lower during the Loch Lomond Stadial than at many regional sites, probably due to edaphic factors in these lowland locations. The two sites provide valuable environmental data that enable comparison between the more wooded Lateglacial vegetation to the south in the Vale of York and Humberside and the more open contemporaneous vegetation to the north in the Durham and Northumberland lowlands.     

Larix during the Mid‐Pleniglacial (Greenland Interstadial 8) on Kotelny Island,northern Siberia

Needles, wood and pollen of Larix, recorded in a peat deposit from Kotelny Island, northern Siberia, indicate the local occurrence of larch around 38 000 cal. a BP, which is during the Middle Pleniglacial (Greenland Interstadial 8) of the Weichselian last glacial period. The pollen record, dominated by Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Betula, Alnus, Salix and Artemisia, indicates steppe‐tundra conditions with some shrubs and trees. The distribution of Larix species plays an important role in the reconstruction of climatic conditions during the Weichselian in Siberia. Nowadays Larix does not occur on Kotelny Island and in the present situation the temperature may not be the limiting factor for Larix, but instead the long, snowy winters and the moist tundra vegetation. Our data may contribute to a better understanding of Larix refugia and Weichselian climatic conditions in northern Siberia.     

Timing of Lateglacial vegetation dynamics and respective palaeoenvironmental conditions in southern Estonia: evidence from the sediment record of Lake Nakri

This paper investigates a detailed well‐dated Lateglacial floristic colonisation in the eastern Baltic area, ca. 14 000–9000 cal. a BP, using palynological, macrofossil, loss‐on‐ignition, and ¹⁴C data. During 14 000–13 400 cal. a BP, primarily treeless pioneer tundra vegetation existed. Tree birch (Betula sect. Albae) macro‐remains and a high tree pollen accumulation rate indicate the presence of forest‐tundra with birch and possibly pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees during 13 400–12 850 cal. a BP. Palaeobotanical data indicate that the colonisation and development of forested areas were very rapid, arising within a period of less than 50 years. Thus far, there are no indications of conifer macrofossils in Estonia to support the presence of coniferous forests in the Lateglacial period. Signs of Greenland Interstadial 1b cooling during 13 100 cal. a BP are distinguishable. Biostratigraphic evidence indicates that the vegetation was again mostly treeless tundra during the final colder episode of the Lateglacial period associated with Greenland Stadial 1, approximately 12 850–11 650 cal. a BP. This was followed by onset of the Holocene vegetation, with the expansion of boreal forests, in response to rapid climatic warming. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A 16 000‐year record of vegetational change in south‐western Alaska as inferred from plant macrofossils and pollen

Pollen and macrofossil analyses of a sediment core from Beaver Pond (60° 37′ 14″ N, 154° 19′ W, 579 m a.s.l.) reveal a record of regional and local postglacial vegetation change in south‐western Alaska. The chronology is based on five AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) ¹⁴C ages obtained from terrestrial plant macrofossils. Pollen and macrofossil records suggest that open herb and shrub tundra with e.g. Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Artemisia, Vaccinium and Salix prevailed on the landscape before ca. 14 000 cal a BP. The shift from herb‐ to shrub‐dominated tundra (Salix, subsequent Betula expansion) possibly reflects climatic warming at the beginning of the Bølling period at ca. 14 700–14 500 and around 13 500 cal a BP. Vegetation (Betula shrub tundra) remained relatively stable until the early Holocene. Macrofossil influx estimates provide evidence for greater biomass in Betula shrub tundra during the early postglacial period than today. Charcoal accumulation rates suggest tundra fire activity was probably greater from ca. 12 500 to 10 500 cal a BP, similar to results from elsewhere in Alaska. The pollen and macrofossil records of Beaver Pond suggest the prevalence of low shrub tundra (shrub Betula, Betula nana, Vaccinium, Ledum palustre, Ericaceae) and tall shrub tundra (Alnus viridis ssp. crispa, Salix) between 10 000 and 4000 cal a BP. This Holocene vegetation type is comparable with that of the modern treeless wet and moist tundra in south‐western Alaska. The expansion of Picea glauca occurred ～4000 cal a BP, much later than that of A. viridis (ssp. crispa), whereas in central and eastern Alaska Picea glauca expanded prior to or coincident with Alnus (viridis). At sites located only 200–400 km north‐east of Beaver Pond (Farewell and Wien lakes), Picea glauca and Betula forests expanded 8000–6000 cal a BP. Unfavourable climatic conditions and soil properties may have inhibited the expansion and establishment of Picea across south‐west Alaska during the mid and late Holocene. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vegetation and climate changes in northwestern Russia during the Lateglacial and Holocene inferred from the Lake Ladoga pollen record

The new pollen record from the upper 12.75 m of a sediment core obtained in Lake Ladoga documents regional vegetation and climate changes in northwestern Russia over the last 13.9 cal. ka. The Lateglacial chronostratigraphy is based on varve chronology, while the Holocene stratigraphy is based on AMS ¹⁴C and OSL dates, supported by comparison with regional pollen records. During the Lateglacial (c. 13.9–11.2 cal. ka BP), the Lake Ladoga region experienced several climatic fluctuations as reflected in vegetation changes. Shrub and grass communities dominated between c. 13.9 and 13.2 cal. ka BP. The increase in Picea pollen at c. 13.2 cal. ka BP probably reflects the appearance of spruce in the southern Ladoga region at the beginning of the Allerød interstadial. After c. 12.6 cal. ka BP, the Younger Dryas cooling caused a significant decrease in spruce and increase in Artemisia with other herbs, indicative of tundra‐ and steppe‐like vegetation. A sharp transition from tundra‐steppe habitats to sparse birch forests characterizes the onset of Holocene warming c. 11.2 cal. ka BP. Pine forests dominated in the region from c. 9.0 to 8.1 cal. ka BP. The most favourable climatic conditions for deciduous broad‐leaved taxa existed between c. 8.1 and 5.5 cal. ka BP. Alder experiences an abrupt increase in the local vegetation c. 7.8 cal. ka BP. The decrease in tree pollen taxa (especially Picea) and the increase in herbs (mainly Poaceae) probably reflect human activity during the last 2.2 cal. ka. Pine forests have dominated the region since that time. Secale and other Cerealia pollen as well as ruderal herbs are permanently recorded since c. 0.8 cal. ka BP.     

Postglacial fire,vegetation, and climate history across an elevational gradient in the Northern Rocky Mountains,USA and Canada

A 13,100-year-long high-resolution pollen and charcoal record from Foy Lake in western Montana is compared with a network of vegetation and fire-history records from the Northern Rocky Mountains. New and previously published results were stratified by elevation into upper and lower and tree line to explore the role of Holocene climate variability on vegetation dynamics and fire regimes. During the cooler and drier Lateglacial period, ca 13,000 cal yr BP, sparsely vegetated Picea parkland occupied Foy Lake as well as other low- and high-elevations with a low incidence of fire. During the warmer early Holocene, from ca 11,000–7500 cal yr BP, low-elevation records, including Foy, indicate significant restructuring of regional vegetation as Lateglacial Picea parkland gave way to a mixed forest of Pinus-Pseudotsuga-Larix. In contrast, upper tree line sites (ca >2000 m) supported Pinus albicaulis and/or P. monticola-Abies-Picea forests in the Lateglacial and early Holocene. Regionally, biomass burning gradually increased from the Lateglacial times through the middle Holocene. However, upper tree line fire-history records suggest several climate-driven decreases in biomass burning centered at 11,500, 8500, 4000, 1600 and 500 cal yr BP. In contrast, lower tree line records generally experienced a gradual increase in biomass burning from the Lateglacial to ca 8000 cal yr BP, then reduced fire activity until a late Holocene maximum at 1800 cal yr BP, as structurally complex mesophytic forests at Foy Lake and other sites supported mixed-severity fire regimes. During the last two millennia, fire activity decreased at low elevations as modern forests developed and the climate became cooler and wetter than before. Embedded within these long-term trends are high amplitude variations in both vegetation dynamics and biomass burning. High-elevation paleoecological reconstructions tend to be more responsive to long-term changes in climate forcing related to growing-season temperature. Low-elevation records in the NRM have responded more abruptly to changes in effective precipitation during the late Holocene. Prolonged droughts, including those between 1200 and 800 cal yr BP, and climatic cooling during the last few centuries continues to influence vegetation and fire regimes at low elevation while increasing temperature has increased biomass burning in high elevations.     

Late Quaternary palaeoecological and palaeoclimatological reconstruction in the Gutaiului Mountains,northwest Romania

Macrofossil, pollen, lithostratigraphy, mineral magnetic measurements (SIRM and magnetic susceptibility), loss‐on‐ignition, and AMS radiocarbon dating on sediments from two former crater lakes, situated at moderate altitudes in the Gutaiului Mountains of northwest Romania, allow reconstruction of Late Quaternary climate and environment. Shrubs and herbs with steppe and montane affinities along with stands of Betula and Pinus, colonised the surroundings of the sites prior to 14 700 cal. yr BP and the inferred climatic conditions were cold and dry. The gradual transition to open Pinus–Betula forests, slightly higher lake water temperatures, and higher lake productivity, indicate more stable environmental conditions between 14 700 and 14 100 cal. yr BP. This development was interrupted by cooler and drier climatic conditions between 14 100 and 13 800 cal. yr BP, as inferred from a reduction of open forests to patches, or stands, of Pinus, Betula, Larix, Salix and Populus. The expansion of a denser boreal forest, dominated by Picea, but including Pinus, Larix, Betula, Salix, and Ulmus started at 13 800 cal. yr BP, although the forest density seems to have been reduced between 13 400 and 13 200 cal. yr BP. Air temperature and moisture availability gradually increased, but a change towards drier conditions is seen at 13 400 cal. yr BP. A distinct decrease in temperature and humidity between 12 900 and 11 500 cal. yr BP led to a return of open vegetation, with patches of Betula, Larix, Salix, Pinus and Alnus and individuals of Picea. Macrofossils and pollen of aquatic plants indicate rising lake water temperatures and increased aquatic productivity already by ca. 11 800 cal. yr BP, 300 years earlier than documented by the terrestrial plant communities. At the onset of the Holocene, 11 500 cal. yr BP, forests dominated by Betula, Pinus and Larix expanded and were followed by dense Ulmus forests with Picea, Betula and Pinus at 11 250 cal. yr BP. Larix pollen was not found, but macrofossil evidence indicates that Larix was an important forest constituent at the onset of the Holocene. Moister conditions were followed by a dry period starting about 10 600 cal. yr BP, which was more pronounced between 8600 and 8200 cal. yr BP, as inferred from aquatic macrofossils. The maximum expansion of Tilia, Quercus, Fraxinus and Acer between 10 700 and 8600 cal. yr BP may reflect a more continental climate. A drier and/or cooler climate could have been responsible for the late expansion (10 300 cal. yr BP) and late maximum (9300 cal. yr BP) of Corylus. Increased water stress, and possibly cooler conditions around 8600 cal. yr BP, may have caused a reduction of Ulmus, Tilia, Quercus and Fraxinus. After 8200 cal. yr BP moisture increased and the forests included Picea, Tilia, Quercus and Fraxinus. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The REVEALS model,a new tool to estimate past regional plant abundance from pollen data in large lakes: validation in southern Sweden

The REVEALS model was developed to reconstruct quantitatively regional vegetation abundance (in a 10⁴–10⁵ km² area) from pollen assemblages in large lakes (≥100–500 ha). This model corrects for biases in pollen percentages caused by inter‐taxonomic differences in pollen productivity and dispersal. This paper presents the first case study to validate REVEALS, using empirical data from southern Sweden. Percentage cover of modern regional vegetation in Skåne and Småland, two contrasting vegetation regions, was predicted with REVEALS for 26 key taxa, using pollen assemblages from surface sediments in 10 large lakes, and compared to the actual vegetation within 10⁴ km² compiled from satellite data, forestry inventories, crop statistics, aerial photographs, and vegetation inventories. REVEALS works well in predicting the percentage cover of large vegetation units such as total trees (wooded land), total herbs (open land), total conifers and total broad‐leaved trees, and it provides reasonable estimates for individual taxa, including Pinus, Picea, Betula, Corylus, Alnus, Tilia, Salix spp., Juniperus, Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Cerealia and Secale. The results show great potential for REVEALS applications, including (1) quantitative reconstructions of past regional land cover important for palaeoclimatology and nature conservation, and (2) local‐scale reconstruction of vegetation (<1 km² up to ～ 5 km² area) relevant for palaeoecology and archaeology. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late quaternary vegetational change in the Kotzebue sound area, northwestern Alaska

Two sediment cores from Kaiyak and Squirrel lakes in northwestern Alaska yielded pollen records that date to ca. 39,000 and 27,000 yr B.P., respectively. Between 39,000 and 14,000 yr B.P., the vegetation around these lakes was dominated by Gramineae and Cyperaceae with some Salix and possibly Betula nana/glandulosa forming a local, shrub component of the vegetation. Betula pollen percentages increased about 14,000 yr B.P., indicating the presence of a birchdominated shrub tundra. Alnus pollen appeared at both sites between 9000 and 8000yr B.P., and Picea pollen (mostly P. mariana) arrived at Squirrel Lake about 5000 yr B.P. The current foresttundra mosaic around Squirrel Lake was established at this time, whereas shrub tundra existed near Kaiyak Lake throughout the Holocene. When compared to other pollen records from north-western North America, these cores (1) represent a meadow component of lowland. Beringian tundra between 39,000 and 14,000 yr B.P., (2) demonstrate an early Holocene arrival of Alnus in northwestern Alaska that predates most other Alnus horizons in northern Alaska or northwestern Canada, and (3) show an east-to-west migration of Picea across northern Alaska from 9000 to 5000 yr B.P.     

A new Middle Pleistocene interglacial record from Denmark: Chronostratigraphic correlation,palaeovegetation and fire dynamics

Previously only three terrestrial interglacial periods were known from southern Scandinavia, all of which could be relatively easily correlated within the central European stratigraphical framework. Here, we present a new interglacial–interstadial pollen, plant macrofossil and charcoal record from Trelde Klint, Denmark, and analyse its biostratigraphy, correlation with other European records, vegetation development, fire dynamics and absolute dating. Except for a slight truncation of the early part of the record, the pollen stratigraphy exhibits a full interglacial succession, including temperate trees (Quercus, Ulmus and Tilia) during its mesocratic stage. Macrofossil analysis allowed identification to species level for Quercus robur, Picea abies and two mosses. Conifers (Pinus and Picea) dominate the pollen record of the interglacial sequence, and the occurrence of Larix pollen in the top part of the interglacial record as well as in the interstadial sediments is especially indicative of this interglacial. The overall diversity of tree genera is rather low. These biostratigraphical features suggest that Trelde Klint is unique among Danish records, but it is similar to records from northern Germany. Numerical analyses (REVEALS and DCA) indicate that forests during the temperate stage were dense and that vegetation openness increased only towards the end of the interglacial, accompanied by increased fire occurrence. A short interstadial sequence with a dominance of Pinus and Betula and the presence of Larix is present above the interglacial deposit. We argue that lack of attention to differences in fire regimes may hamper understanding of between‐site correlations of interglacial pollen records. OSL dating, using a novel feldspar technique, yields an average age of 350±20 ka for the sandy sediments above the interglacial layers at Trelde Klint, suggesting that the whole interglacial–interstadial succession belongs to Marine Isotope Stage 11.     

A record of Lateglacial and early Holocene environmental and ecological change from southwestern Connecticut,USA

Analyses of a sediment core from Highstead Swamp in southwestern Connecticut, USA, reveal Lateglacial and early Holocene ecological and hydrological changes. Lateglacial pollen assemblages are dominated by Picea and Pinus subg. Pinus, and the onset of the Younger Dryas (YD) cold interval is evidenced by higher abundance of Abies and Alnus viridis subsp. crispa. As climate warmed at the end of the YD, Picea and Abies declined and Pinus strobus became the dominant upland tree species. A shift from lacustrine sediment to organic peat at the YD–Holocene boundary suggests that the lake that existed in the basin during the Lateglacial interval developed into a swamp in response to reduced effective moisture. A change in wetland vegetation from Myrica gale to Alnus incana subsp. rugosa and Sphagnum is consistent with this interpretation of environmental changes at the beginning of the Holocene. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vegetation dynamics during the Younger Dryas-Holocene transition in the extreme northern taiga zone, northeastern European Russia

Vegetation dynamics during the Younger Dryas-Holocene transition in the extreme northern taiga zone of the Usa basin, northeastern European Russia, were reconstructed using plant macrofossil and pollen evidence from a sediment core from Lake Llet-Ti. The pollen stratigraphy during the Younger Dryas (about 12 500-11 500 cal. yr BP) is characterized by pollen types indicative of treeless arctic vegetation, whereas the macrofossil evidence shows the occurrence of scattered spruce and birch trees around the lake. The Younger Dryas-early Holocene transition is characterized by a rapid increase in vegetation density, including an increase in the birch population, followed by the expansion of the spruce population at about 10 000 cal. yr BP. Dense spruce-birch forest dominated until 5000 cal. yr BP. Our results contribute to the debate about the Lateglacial environments in northern Russia, and illustrate the importance of plant macrofossil records in Lateglacial vegetation reconstructions.     

Middle Pleistocene temperate deposits at Dingé, Ille-et-Vilaine,northwest France: pollen,plant and insect macrofossil analysis

Nine cores were taken from a damp depression at Dingé, Ille-et-Vilaine, northwest France. Analyses of the pollen, plant macrofossil and Coleoptera remains preserved in the same organic samples of two profiles suggest a temperate vegetation characterised by a mixed deciduous forest with mesophilous taxa (Carpinus, Fagus, Quercus) followed by a coniferous forest with Pinus and Picea. The determination of plant taxa to species was made either directly through the identification of plant macrofossil remains and pollen or indirectly through the identification of phytophagous Coleoptera specifically related to certain plants. Stratigraphical information derived from pollen, plant macrofossil and insect data indicates that this sequence may be correlated with a temperate episode older than the Eemian and younger than the Holsteinian, possibly the Bouchet 2 (Oxygen Isotope Stage 7c) or Bouchet 3 (Oxygen Isotope Stage 7a) temperate periods or the Landos Interglacial (Oxygen Isotope Stage 9 pro parte). © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late quaternary pollen records from the Kobuk and Noatak river drainages, northwestern Alaska

Pollen diagrams from Joe and Niliq Lakes date to ca. 28,000 and 14,000 yr B.P., respectively. Mesic shurb tundra grew near Joe Lake ca. 28,000 to 26,000 yr B.P. with local Populus populations prior to ca. 27,000 yr B.P. Shrub communities decreased as climate changed with the onset of Itkillik II glaciation (25,000 to 11,500 yr B.P.), and graminoid-dominated tundra characterized vegetation ca. 18,500 to 13,500 yr B.P. Herb tundra was replaced by shrub Betula tundra near both sites ca. 13,500 yr B.P. with local expansion of Populus ca. 11,000 to 10,000 yr B.P. and Alnus ca. 9000 yr B.P. Mixed Picea glauca/P. mariana woodland was established near Joe Lake ca. 6000 yr B.P. These pollen records when combined with others from northern Alaska and northwestern Canada indicate (1) mesic tundra was more common in northwestern Alaska than in northeastern Alaska or northwestern Canada during the Duvanny Yar glacial interval (25,000 to 14,000 yr B.P.); (2) with deglaciation, shrub Betula expanded rapidly in northwestern Alaska but slowly in areas farther east; (3) an early postglacial thermal maximum occurred in northwestern Alaska but had only limited effect on vegetation; and (4) pollen patterns in northern Alaska and northwestern Canada suggest regional differences in late Quaternary climates.     

Pollen and macrofossil‐inferred palaeoclimate at the Ridge Site,Hudson Bay Lowlands,Canada: evidence for a dry climate and significant recession of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during Marine Isotope Stage 3

We examine pollen, macrofossils and sedimentological proxies from the Ridge Site, an 18‐m sequence of glacial and non‐glacial sediments exposed along the bank of the Ridge River in the southern Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL), Canada. As the HBL is located in the previously glaciated region of North America, palaeorecords from this region have important implications for understanding ice‐sheet palaeogeography and climate for the late Pleistocene. Two diamicton units were interpreted as subglacial till deposited by a glacier flowing toward the south‐southwest (lower diamicton) and west‐southwest (upper diamicton), respectively. Confined between these tills is a 6‐m non‐glacial unit, constrained to Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3; c. 57 000 to c. 29 000 a BP) by three radiocarbon dates. Quantitative analyses of the pollen record (dominated by Sphagnum, Cyperaceae, Pinus, Picea, Salix, Alnus and Betula) suggest that average summer temperature (June, July, August) was 14.6±1.51 °C, which is similar to that of the present day at the site. Total annual precipitation was 527±170 mm as compared to 705 mm present‐day. The macrofossil record confirmed the local presence of Betula, Salix and conifers. Our results, in combination with other records from the periphery of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, suggest that vast boreal forest‐type vegetation, along with a drier interstadial climate, existed in the region during MIS 3. We also compare pollen‐derived palaeoclimate reconstructions from the Ridge Site with reconstructions from a previously published site along the Nottaway River, HBL, which was dated to MIS 5a–d (c. 109 000 to c. 82 000 a BP). This comparison suggests that, with additional data, it may be possible to differentiate MIS 3 and MIS 5 deposits in the HBL on the basis of relative continentality, with MIS 3 characterized by lower total annual precipitation, and MIS 5 by values similar or greater than present‐day.     

川北若尔盖高原玛曲-红原一带表土中孢粉组合的特征

通过对四川若尔盖高原玛曲—红原一带20个表土孢粉样的分析,研究了该区域表土孢粉组合与现代植被的关系。结果显示,玛曲—红原一带表土的孢粉组合基本反映了现代植被的整体特征,与现代植被在植被类型、植被带的空间排列、主要建群种属和优势种属等方面基本一致。依据孢粉的百分含量,可以划分为亚高山灌丛植被区,亚高山灌丛、亚高山草甸植被区和高寒草甸、草原植被区3个植被带。表土花粉的代表性因种属的不同而各有差异,松属和菊科花粉具超代表性,云杉属花粉的代表性较好,禾本科和莎草科具低代表性,而桦木属则不具有超代表性,可能与桦木属花粉不易搬运有关。3个植被区中的表土孢粉的种类、比例与现代植被均存在一定的差别,这可能与植被退化有关。