Mastodon herbivory in mid-latitude late-Pleistocene boreal forests of eastern North America

Skeletal remains of the extinct American mastodon have often been found with deposits of short, decorticated twigs intermixed with plant fragments presumed to be gastrointestinal or fecal material. If such deposits are digesta, paleobotanical evidence may be used to analyze mastodon foraging strategy, with implications for assessing habitat selection, ecological roles, and response to environmental change. To identify components of mastodon diet in mid-latitude late-Pleistocene boreall forests of eastern North America, plant macrofossils and pollen from a molar socket (Hyde Park site, New York) were compared with dispersed deposits associated with skeletal remains (Hiscock and Chemung sites, New York). Similar macrofossil condition and twig morphology among samples, but difference from a modern boreal fen analog, confirmed the deposits were digesta. Comparison of twigs with material from other paleontological sites and modern elephants suggested dimensions generally indicative of digesta. Picea formed the bulk of each sample but Pinus may have been locally important. Wintertime browsing of Salix and Populus, and springtime consumption of Alnus, were indicated. Evidence for Cyperaceae, Gramineae, and Compositae was ambiguous. If conifers, broadleaf trees, shrubs, and herbs were necessary to fulfill dietary requirements, mastodons would have been nutritionally stressed by rapid late-Pleistocene decrease in vegetational diversity.     

Single-grain OSL dating of sediments from the Southern High Plains,USA

Single-grain OSL dating is applied to sediments from different depositional settings on the Southern High Plains of western Texas and eastern New Mexico. Criteria of acceptance are used to screen equivalent doses from individual grains and resulting distributions are evaluated in terms of normality. Wide variation is found in proportion of acceptable grains and in the distributions. While some of the latter are normal, many show broadening that may be the result of mixing of different-aged grains and skewness that may result from variant depositional and post-depositional modes. Geological modeling will be required to understand better these distributions, although for most samples means produced ages that agree with independent evidence. The resolution possible with single grains is necessary for best estimates of equivalent dose for other samples. A few samples do not agree with independent evidence, even with a normal distribution of equivalent dose. Sand dunes seem the most difficult to date accurately, probably because of mixing.     

Experimental hearths and the thermal alteration of Caliche on the Southern High Plains

Throughout the Holocene, caliche has been a ubiquitous technological resource for the people of the Southern High Plains. Archaeological sites on the Southern High Plains often contain thermal features that appear to utilize caliche nodules in various cultural processes. These processes usually involve some degree of thermal dynamic alteration to the caliche, identified in the archaeological record as fire‐scorched or blackened nodules. Previous studies of the pyrodynamic properties of caliche have focused on quantification of color and fracture patterns within a laboratory setting, without direct involvement of cultural processes or problems associated with thermal features. Thermal alteration variables of caliche are examined from an actualistic perspective, utilizing previously excavated basin feature geometry and local caliche outcrops. Results indicate that sustained, intense heating of caliche (above 204°C) causes significant, but variable, structural transformations at the specimen level. The experimental use of shallow basin hearths demonstrates that hearth structures were easily capable of achieving and sustaining temperatures that would result in the physical alteration of individual caliche nodules, defined here as hearthstones. The broader implications of this study suggest that the interpretation of archaeological hearthstone assemblages should reflect variability, as observed during this experiment. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Late Holocene paleoecology of the Southern Plains

Analyses of pollen and land snails from rocksheter sites in the Osage Hills of northeastern Oklahoma indicate that the period 2000-1000 yr B.P. was moister than today. During that time, colonies of the prairie vole Microtus ochrogaster were present in the Texas Panhandle. About 1000 yr B.P. the climate changed to dry conditions that have persisted to the present. Disjunct colonies of small mammals in Texas became extinct at the beginning of the dry episode, thereby establishing the composition of the modern fauna. The climatic model for the origin of the Panhandle Aspect (A.D. 1200–1500) is questioned on the grounds that the Southern Plains experienced a long period of dry climate commencing A.D. 950.     

Recharge into Southern High Plains aquifer—possible mechanisms,unresolved questions

The High Plains aquifer in the Southern High Plains (Texas and New Mexico), consisting of Tertiary, Cretaceous, and Triassic formations, has traditionally been considered to be recharged by its uppermost water-bearing unit, the Tertiary Ogallala aquifer. This article provides hydrologic, chemical, and isotopic evidence that in the Southern High Plains: (1) Cretaceous rocks actually contain independent recharge sources; (2) Triassic rocks cannot currently be recharged by the Ogallala aquifer in significant quantities; and (3) in places, both Cretaceous and Triassic aquifers recharge the overlying Ogallala aquifer. On the basis of chemical and isotopic data, playa lakes seem to act as the predominant recharge source of the Ogallala aquifer, suggesting recharge rates greater than 30 mm/yr, as opposed to the much lower rates reported by others. The Cretaceous aquifers are being recharged by cross-formational flow from the Ogallala aquifer but also from overlying Quaternary sands and the underlying Triassic aquifer in eastern New Mexico. Current recharge into the Triassic aquifer may be insignificant.     

New data on the stratigraphy and pedology of the Clovis and Plainview sites, Southern High Plains

The well known Clovis and Plainview archaeological sites of New Mexico and Texas have yielded new data on regional late Quaternary geologic, paleoclimatic, and pedologic histories. Eolian sedimentation at the Clovis site from about 10,000 to less than 8500 yr B.P. was followed by the formation of a cumulic soil between 8500 and 5000 yr B.P. Episodic eolian and slope wash deposition then culminated in massive eolian sedimentation about 5000 yr B.P. after which a Haplustalf formed then was subsequently buried by part of a dune system within the last 1000 yr. At the Plainview site, a basal stream gravel contains Plainview cultural material (ca. 10,000 yr B.P.), which is followed by a localized early Holocene lacustrine deposit, two eolian deposits (the younger dating to about 5000 yr B.P.), and a marsh deposit which slowly accreted as an Argiustoll formed in the younger eolian unit. The data indicate that on the Southern High Plains (1) between 12,000 and 8500 yr B.P. sedimentation varied from site to site, (2) there was a regional climate change toward warming and drying in the early Holocene, (3) two episodes of severe drought apparently occurred in the middle Holocene (6500 to 4500 yr B.P.), (4) between 4500 yr B.P. and the present an essentially modern climate existed, but with several shifts toward aridity within the last 1000 yr, (5) argillic horizons have developed in late Holocene soils, (6) clay illuviation can occur in calcareous soils, and (7) long-distance correlation of Holocene stratigraphy in the region is possible, particularly with the aid of soil morphology.     

Controls on the regional-scale salinization of the Ogallala aquifer,Southern High Plains,Texas, USA

An extensive saline plume (>250 km²) within the regionally important unconfined aquifer in the Neogene Ogallala Formation overlies the Panhandle oil and gas field in the Southern High Plains, Texas, USA. Relative to upgradient Ogallala water, the plume waters have δ¹⁸O (−6.7 to −8.8‰) and δD (−42 to −88‰) values that tend to be depleted and have higher Cl (>150 mg/l) and SO₄ (>75 mg/l) concentrations. Various end-member-mixing models suggest that the plume composition reflects the presence of paleowaters recharged during Middle to Late Wisconsinan time rather than salinization associated with petroleum production. Paleowaters probably mixed with salt-dissolution zone waters from the underlying Upper Permian formations before discharging upward into the Ogallala Formation. Cross-formational discharge is controlled primarily by the geometry of the underlying units, as influenced by the Amarillo uplift, pinch-out of the laterally adjoining confined aquifer in the Triassic Dockum Group, variations in the saturated thickness of the Ogallala aquifer and the presence of potential pathways related to salt dissolution.     

Lubbock Lake: Late Quaternary cultural and environmental change on the Southern High Plains,USA

Lubbock Lake (Southern High Plains of Texas) contains a cultural, faunal, and floral record within a virtually complete geological record spanning the past 11 100+ years. More than 88 archaeological occurrences have been excavated from five major stratigraphic units. The Paleoindian record (11 500–6500yr BP) begins with Clovis-age occupation (ca. 11 100yr BP) found within fluvial deposits (stratum 1). Subsequent Paleoindian occupations are found in lake and marsh sediments (stratum 2). Archaic occupations (8500-2000yr BP) are contained within aeolian and marsh deposits (strata 3 and 4). Ceramic occupations (2000-500yr BP) are found on a soil developed in stratum 4, in marsh sediments (strata 4 and 5), and in slopewash and aeolian sediments (stratum 5). The Protohistoric (500-300yr BP) and Historic (300-100yr BP) remains are in slopewash, aeolian, and marsh sediments (stratum 5) and associated soils. The Southern High Plains remained a grasslands throughout the last 11 500 years and neither man nor bison abandoned the region. The successive local faunas reflect changing ecosystems under pluvial to arid to more mesic to semiarid conditions. The occupation of Lubbock Lake through time appears to have been by small groups of people for both economic and short-term residential uses. These hunter-gatherer peoples underwent adaptive change brought about by climatic stress and alterations to food resources.     

Holocene fire disturbance in the boreal forest of central Sweden

Holocene fire disturbance and vegetation history were reconstructed using macroscopic charcoal and pollen accumulation rates from two lake sediment records (Holtjärnen and Klotjärnen) collected in the boreal forest of central Sweden. The records were used to examine the potential drivers associated with changes in fire regime. Climate, vegetation and human activity were all identified as factors variously influencing the fire regime. In the early Holocene, near bicentennial fire return intervals were regionally widespread, suggesting that fire disturbance was largely regulated by climate at that time. In the mid‐ and late Holocene, vegetation exerted an important control on the fire regime. During the mid‐Holocene, the expansion of thermophilous broadleaf vegetation offset the influence of warmer climate by altering the local microclimate and by changing the structure and flammability of the available fuels. During the transition to the late Holocene, thermophilous vegetation decreased in abundance and Pinus increased, resulting in a more flammable forest even though the climate was cooling and moistening. Fire disturbance correspondingly increased. The modern boreal forest was established in the late Holocene as Picea expanded regionally as the climate cooled, moistened, and became increasingly continental. Although no change in the frequency of fire was apparent at this time, increased stand densities likely facilitated greater fuel consumption in subsequent fires. Within the last millennium, human action markedly modified the forested landscape, altering the fire regime.     

Biomarkers of novel ecosystem development in boreal forest soils

Novel ecosystem development is occurring within the western boreal forest of Canada due to land reclamation following oil sand surface mining. Sphagnum peat is the primary organic amendment used to reconstruct soil in these novel ecosystems. We hypothesised that ecosystem recovery would be indicated by an increasing similarity in the biomolecular characteristics of novel soil organic matter (SOM) derived from peat to those of natural boreal ecosystems. We evaluated the use of the homologous series of long chain (⩾ C₂₁) n-alkanes with odd/even predominance to monitor the re-establishment of boreal forest on these anthropogenic soils. The lipids were extracted from dominant vegetation inputs and SOM from a series of natural and novel ecosystem reference plots. Twice the concentration of n-alkanes was extracted from natural than from novel ecosystem SOM (p < 0.01). We observed unique n-alkane signatures for the source vegetation, e.g. peat material was dominated by C₃₁, and aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) leaves by C₂₅. The n-alkane distribution differed between the two systems (p < 0.001) and reflected the dominant vegetation input, i.e. peat or tree species. Our results indicate that further research is required to clarify the influence of vegetation or disturbance on the signature of n-alkanes in SOM; however, the use of n-alkanes as biomarkers of novel ecosystem development is a promising application.     

The biogeochemistry of atmospherically derived Pb in the boreal forest of Sweden

The use of stable Pb isotopes for tracing Pb contamination within the environment has strongly increased our understanding of the fate of airborne Pb contaminants within the boreal forest. This paper presents new stable Pb isotope (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratio) measurements of solid soil samples, stream water (from a mire outlet and a stream draining a forest dominated catchment) and components of Picea abies (roots, needles and stemwood), and synthesizes some of the authors’ recent findings regarding the biogeochemistry of Pb within the boreal forest. The data clearly indicate that the biogeochemical cycling of Pb in the present-day boreal forest ecosystem is dominated by pollution Pb from atmospheric deposition. The ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratios of the mor layer (O-horizon), forest plants and stream water (mainly between 1.14 and 1.20) are similar to atmospheric Pb pollution (1.14–1.19), while the local geogenic Pb of the mineral soil (C-horizon) has high ratios (>1.30). Roots and basal stemwood of the analyzed forest trees have higher ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratios (1.15–1.30) than needles and apical stemwood (1.14–1.18), which indicate that the latter components are more dominated by pollution derived Pb. The low ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratios of the mor layer suggest that the upward transport of Pb as a result of plant uptake is small (<0.04 mg m⁻² a⁻¹) in comparison to atmospheric inputs (∼0.5 mg m⁻² a⁻¹) and annual losses with percolating soil-water (∼2 mg m⁻² a⁻¹); consequently, the Pb levels in the mor layer are now decreasing while the pool of Pb in the mineral soil is increasing. Streams draining mires appear more strongly affected by pollution Pb than streams from forested catchments, as indicated by Pb concentrations about three times higher and lower ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratios (1.16 ± 0.01 in comparison to 1.18 ± 0.02). To what extent stream water Pb levels will respond to the build-up of Pb in deeper mineral soil layers remains uncertain.     

Late Quaternary sedimentology and geochronology of small playas on the Southern High Plains, Texas and New Mexico, U.S.A.

Playas are small, circular basins forming a ubiquitous component of the southern High Plains landscape. They are filled with carbonaceous mud deposited since the terminal Pleistocene. The stratigraphy and geochronology of 30 playas was investigated to better understand the paleoenvironmental record of basin filling. At the base of the fill in some playas is a well sorted eolian sand dated between ~ 13,000 and ~ 11,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. The beginning of mud deposition, representing aggradation of eolian dust on a moist, vegetated playa floor was largely between ~ 12,000 and ~ 10,500 ¹⁴C yr BP. Playa filling slowed ~ 9000 to ~ 4000 ¹⁴C yr BP, probably due to dry conditions, increased ~ 4000 to ~ 2000 ¹⁴C yr BP, then slowed again. Eolian sand and loam, likely representing regional aridity, accumulated in some basins episodically just prior to ~ 10,700 ¹⁴C yr BP, between ~ 8600 and ~ 4700 ¹⁴C yr BP, and at ~ 1300 ¹⁴C yr BP. Stable C isotopes from one basin indicate that the playa was inundated only seasonally throughout the record beginning ~ 11,500 ¹⁴C yr BP. The phytolith record in that basin indicates an abrupt shift toward cooling ~ 11,400 to ~ 11,200 ¹⁴C yr BP and then increasing importance of xeric-adapted C₄ grasses through the Holocene.     

Elevated naturally occurring arsenic in a semiarid oxidizing system, Southern High Plains aquifer, Texas, USA

High groundwater As concentrations in oxidizing systems are generally associated with As adsorption onto hydrous metal (Al, Fe or Mn) oxides and mobilization with increased pH. The objective of this study was to evaluate the distribution, sources and mobilization mechanisms of As in the Southern High Plains (SHP) aquifer, Texas, relative to those in other semiarid, oxidizing systems. Elevated groundwater As levels are widespread in the southern part of the SHP (SHP-S) aquifer, with 47% of wells exceeding the current EPA maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 μg/L (range 0.3–164 μg/L), whereas As levels are much lower in the north (SHP-N: 9%  As MCL of 10 μg/L; range 0.2–43 μg/L). The sharp contrast in As levels between the north and south coincides with a change in total dissolved solids (TDS) from 395 mg/L (median north) to 885 mg/L (median south). Arsenic is present as arsenate (As V) in this oxidizing system and is correlated with groundwater TDS (Spearman’s ρ = 0.57). The most likely current source of As is sorbed As onto hydrous metal oxides based on correlations between As and other oxyanion-forming elements (V, ρ = 0.88; Se, ρ = 0.54; B, ρ = 0.51 and Mo, ρ = 0.46). This source is similar to that in other oxidizing systems and constitutes a secondary source; the most likely primary source being volcanic ashes in the SHP aquifer or original source rocks in the Rockies, based on co-occurrence of As and F (ρ = 0.56), oxyanion-forming elements and SiO₂ (ρ = 0.41), which are found in volcanic ashes. High groundwater As concentrations in some semiarid oxidizing systems are related to high evaporation. Although correlation of As with TDS in the SHP aquifer may suggest evaporative concentration, unenriched stable isotopes (δ²H: −65 to −27; δ¹⁸O: −9.1 to −4.2) in the SHP aquifer do not support evaporation. High TDS in the SHP aquifer is most likely related to upward movement of saline water from the underlying Triassic Dockum aquifer. Mobilization of As in other semiarid oxidizing systems is caused by increased pH; however, pH in the SHP aquifer is near neutral (10–90 percentiles, 7.0–7.6). Although many processes, such as competitive desorption with SiO₂, VO₄, or PO₄, could be responsible for local mobilization of As in the SHP aquifer, the most plausible explanation for the regional As distribution and correlation with TDS is the counterion effect caused by a change from Ca- to Na-rich, water as shown by the high correlation between As and Na/(Ca)^0.5 ratios (ρ = 0.57). This change in chemistry is related to mixing with saline water that moves upward from the underlying Dockum aquifer. This counterion effect may mobilize other anions and oxyanion-forming elements that are correlated with As (F, V, Se, B, Mo and SiO₂). Competition among the oxyanions for sorption sites may enhance As mobilization. The SHP case study has similar As sources to those of other semiarid, oxidizing systems (original volcanic ash source followed by sorption onto hydrous metal oxides) but contrasts with these systems by showing lack of evaporative concentration and pH mobilization of As but counterion mobilization of As instead in the SHP-S aquifer.     

Frequency domain electromagnetic and ground penetrating radar investigation of ephemeral streams: case study near the Southern High Plains,Texas

A frequency domain electromagnetic (FDEM) and ground penetrating radar (GPR) study was conducted on an ephemeral stream in north-central Texas to determine if FDEM and GPR measurements can be combined to determine the electrical characteristics of current and ancient stream channels. GPR data were collected at several frequencies to image sedimentary structures of different scale lengths, and to determine the formation porosity and water content of stream sediments. FDEM measurements were collected using Geonics EM31 and EM34 loop–loop instruments on a profile along the current stream channel and five profiles perpendicular to the channel. The results indicate that the greater spatial resolution of the EM31 mapped the current and possible ancient channels better than the EM34, however, the EM34 provided depth information on the formations underlying the channel sediments that the EM31 could not image. GPR measurements taken along a point bar deposit with 200, 100 and 25 MHz antennae indicated that the higher frequency antenna better resolved channel structures including laminar bedding, trough scours and cross-bedding, however, lower frequency antenna (25 MHz) imaged sedimentary structures within the underlying channel sediments. Common midpoint GPR measurements collected along the point bar deposit were used to estimate the sediment formation porosity (26%) and the water content, during a dry period, of the unsaturated (12%) and saturated (26 or 100% of the pore space) sediments. The combined results indicated that the FDEM data should be collected first because of the speed and ease of measurements. The FDEM data (especially the EM31) pointed to the locations of possible sedimentary structures, which can then be resolved by using different frequency GPR measurements.     

Identification of density-stratified waters in the late-Pleistocene North Atlantic: A faunal derivation

An expanded study of the radiolarian Cycladophora davisiana in late-Pleistocene North Atlantic marine sediments shows that over the last several hundred thousand years this species exhibits large variations in relative abundance. The C. davisiana curves in the North Atlantic cores are quite similar, with easily recognizable features common to all records. Minor deviations from the general pattern of this species' abundance apparently reflect the response of C. davisiana to specific oceanographic conditions characteristic of a particular area within the North Atlantic. C. davisiana occurs today in high abundance (>20%) only in the Sea of Okhotsk. Extensive winter and early spring sea-ice cover coupled with low surface-water salinities during summer and fall is responsible for maintaining near-freezing subsurface temperatures in this northwest Pacific marginal sea as well as relatively stable temperatures and salinities at depths below a shallow subsurface temperature minimum. During periods in the late Pleistocene, high C. davisiana abundances (>20%) in the North Atlantic were probably associated with oceanographic properties similar to those that exist in the Sea of Okhotsk today. Because of the relationship between relatively stable subsurface temperatures and salinities and high abundance levels of C. davisiana, analysis of this species' abundance pattern at several locations throughout the high-latitude North Atlantic should assist in identifying source areas of deep-water formation and determining the duration of deep convective processes at these sites.     

The lithology of Ogallala gravels and hunter‐gatherer procurement strategies along the Southern High Plains eastern escarpment of Texas,USA

Ogallala gravels are an important lithic material source for stone tool manufacture across the Great Plains. The lithology of eight gravel sample locations along the eastern escarpment of the Southern High Plains has been examined to quantify the composition and variability in Ogallala deposits. In addition, three Ogallala gravel quarry sites have been analyzed to determine how the lithology of Ogallala gravels influenced procurement and tool production strategies. Results indicate deposits of Ogallala gravels differ in their composition related to their position on the landscape, and the types of rocks vary by size and shape. Investigation of the quarry sites has revealed that the lithology of Ogallala gravels had an impact on testing and the initial stages of lithic reduction. Different rock types, however, may have more of an influence on later stages of tool manufacture at nearby campsites and other locations where Ogallala gravels are not as dense. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Importance of climate,forest fires and human population size in the Holocene boreal forest composition change in northern Europe

The relative importance of climate, forest fires and human population size on long‐term boreal forest composition were statistically investigated at regional and local scales in Fennoscandia. We employ pollen data from lakes, reflecting regional vegetation, and small forest hollows, reflecting local vegetation, from Russia, Finland and Sweden to reconstruct the long‐term forest composition. As potential drivers of the Holocene forest dynamics we consider climate, generated from a climate model and oxygen isotope data, past forest fires generated from sedimentary charcoal data and human population size derived from radiocarbon dated archaeological findings. We apply the statistical method of variation partitioning to assess the relative importance of these environmental variables on long‐term boreal forest composition. The results show that climate is the main driver of the changes in Holocene boreal forest composition at the regional scale. However, at the local scale the role of climate is relatively small. In general, the importance of forest fires is low both at regional and local scales. The fact that both climate and forest fires explain relatively small proportions of variation in long‐term boreal vegetation in small forest hollow records demonstrates the complexity of factors affecting stand‐scale forest dynamics. The relative importance of human population size was low in both the prehistorical and the historical time periods. However, this is the first time that this type of data has been used to statistically assess the importance of human population size on boreal vegetation and the spatial representativeness of the data may cause bias to the analysis.