The contemporary distribution of pollen in eastern North America: A comparison with the vegetation

By mapping and summarizing 478 pollen counts from surface samples at 406 locations in eastern North America, this study documents the relationships between the distributions of pollen and vegetation on a continental scale. The most common pollen types in this region are pine, birch, oak, and spruce. Maps showing isopercentage contours or isopolls for 13 important pollen types reflect the general N-S zonation of the vegetation. The maps and tabulations of average pollen spectra for the six major vegetational regions indicate high values for the following pollen types in each region: (1) tundra-nonarboreal birch, sedge, and alder; (2) forest/tundra-spruce, nonarboreal birch and alder; (3) boreal forest-spruce, jack pine (type), and arboreal birch with fir in the southeastern part; (4) conifer/hardwood forest-white pine, arboreal birch, and hemlock with beech, maple, and oak in the southern part; (5) deciduous forest-oak, pine, hickory, and elm, with beech and maple in the northern part, and highest values of oak and hickory west of the Appalachian crest; and (6) southeastern forest-pine, oak, hickory, tupelo, and Myricaceae. In some cases, less abundant pollen types are diagnostic for the region, e.g., bald cypress in the southeast. In the conifer-hardwood region and southward, pollen of weeds associated with deforestation and agriculture is abundant. The maps also show that much of southeastern U.S. and the area just to the east of Hudson Bay are in need of additional sampling. At 51 of the sites, absolute pollen frequencies (APF; grains/ml lake sediment) were obtained. These confirm the major conclusions from the percentage data, but differences are evident, e.g., the percentages of alder pollen peak in the tundra whereas alder APFs peak in the boreal forest, and spruce percentages peak in the forest-tundra whereas spruce APFs peak in the boreal forest. Because the APF data reflect the patterns of absolute abundance of individual taxa in the vegetation as well as the overall forest densities, future counts of modern pollen should include APF determinations. The effects of sedimentation processes on APF quantities indicate that APF samples should be obtained from moderate size lakes of similar morphology and hydrology and that, in each lake, several samples from the profundal zone should be pooled to create a sample representative of that lake.     

Occurrence of larch (Larix) in Fennoscandia during the Eemian interglacial and the Brørup interstadial according to pollen analytical data

The occurrence of pollen and macrofossils of larch in Eemian deposits in northern Finland indicates that this species must have grown in the area during the last interglacial. Lark spread to Finland from the east, its date of arrival being deducible from the general vegetational succession. It probably did not grow in central or southern Finland during the interglacial, but is thought to have extended fairly far south in Sweden and Noway along the Fennoscandian mountain range. The Lark pollen found at the upper boundary of the interglacial deposits at Margreteberg and Stenberget in southern Sweden may suggest that it did reach southern Sweden by the very end of the Eemian, but it cannot be said for certain whethcr this pollen represents an influx of Larix from the north or from Central Europe.     

Modern pollen assemblages and vegetational history of the moraines of the Klutlan Glacier and its surroundings,Yukon Territory,Canada

Modern pollen assemblages have been studied from surficial lake muds and moss polsters collected from five vegetated ice-cored moraines of the Klutlan Glacier. The youngest vegetated moraine (K-II) is characterized by high pollen values for Salix and Hedysarum, K-III by high Salix and Shepherdia canadensis and low Hedysarum and Picea, K-IV by high Betula, Salix, and Shepherdia, and K-V and the Harris Creek moraine (HCM) by high Picea. Variations are summarized by canonical variates analysis. A percentage pollen diagram from Gull Lake on the upland east of the glacier records vegetational development since the deposition of the White River volcanic ash 1220 ¹⁴C yr ago. An initial species-rich treeless vegetation was replaced by birch-alder-willow shrub-tundra, and this by open Picea glauca forest similar to present vegetation around the lake. Sites on HCM show two basic stratigraphies. Triangle Lake reflects vegetational succession from Salix-Shepherdia canadensis scrub similar to that on K-III today, through open Picea woodland of K-IV type, to closed Picea forests of K-V and HCM. Heart Lake and Cotton Pond reflect vegetational development following melting of ice underlying the spruce forests of HCM. These two types are summarized by positioning the fossil spectra on the first two canonical variate axes of the modern surface spectra.     

Changing patterns in the Holocene pollen record of northeastern North America: A mapped summary

By mapping the data from 62 radiocarbon-dated pollen diagrams, this paper illustrates the Holocene history of four major vegetational regions in northeastern North America. Isopoll maps, difference maps, and isochrone maps are used in order to examine the changing patterns within the data set and to study broad-scale and long-term vegetational dynamics. Isopoll maps show the distributions of spruce (Picea), pine (Pinus), oak (Quercus), herb (nonarboreal pollen groups excluding Cyperaceae), and birch + maple + beech + hemlock (Betula, Acer, Fagus, Tsuga) pollen at specified times from 11,000 BP to present. Difference maps were constructed by subtracting successive isopoll maps and illustrate the changing patterns of pollen abundances from one time to the next. The isochrone maps portray the movement of ecotones and range limits by showing their positions at a sequence of times during the Holocene. After 11,000 BP, the broad region over which spruce pollen had dominated progressively shrank as the boreal forest zone was compressed between the retreating ice margin and the rapidly westward and northward expanding region where pine was the predominant pollen type. Simultaneously, the oak-pollen-dominated deciduous forest moved up from the south and the prairie expanded eastward. By 7000 BP, the prairie had attained its maximum eastward extent with the period of its most rapid expansion evident between 10,000 and 9000 BP. Many of the trends of the early Holocene were reversed after 7000 BP with the prairie retreating westward and the boreal and other zones edging southward. In the last 500 years, man's impact on the vegetation is clearly visible, especially in the greatly expanded region dominated by herb pollen. The large scale changes before 7000 BP probably reflect shifts in the macroclimatic patterns that were themselves being modified by the retreat and disintegration of the Laurentide ice sheet. Subsequent changes in the pollen and vegetation were less dramatic than those of the early Holocene.     

Quantitative forest-composition sensing characteristics of pollen samples from Swedish lakes

Prentice, I. Colin, Berglund, Björn E. & Olsson, Tommy 1987 03 01: Quantitative forest-composition sensing characteristics of pollen samples from Swedish lakes. Boreas , Vol. 16, pp. 43–54. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
Surface pollen percentages of major tree genera in 53 moderate-sized lakes in south and central Sweden were compared with percentages of mean forest volume derived from survey plots within 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 km of each lake. A maximum likelihood extended R-value method was used to estimate relative slopes and intercepts of the pollen-tree relationship at each forest sampling radius. Slopes generally went up and intercepts down as sampling radius was increased. Visual goodness-of-fit was optimal at 5–10 km for Picea and at 50–100 km for Pinus , consistent with theoretical pollen source areas. Fagus gave good visual fits at all radii, but Quercus gave indifferent fits and Betula and Alnus poor fits. The taxa differed in relative pollen representation, with relative R-values on the order of 0.11 for Picea , 0.90 for Fagus , 1.0 for Pinus , 1.5 for Quercus , 2.3 for Alnus and 2.5 for Betula . Regional forest patterns can be reconstructed from lake pollen spectra by applying R-values, but the 'region' represented depends on each taxon's pollen dispersal characteristics and spatial pattern. The R-values given here could be used to calibrate European Holocene pollen spectra from moderate-sized lakes for long-term forest dynamic mapping.     

A Late Weichselian and early Flandrian pollen diagram from Østervatnet, Varanger peninsula, NE Norway

A relative and absolute (pollen concentration) diagram is presented from Østervatnet, southern Varanger peninsula, north of the Main sub-stage (Tromsø-Lyngen) moraines. The pollen assemblage zones are correlated biostratigraphically with chronozones from Bølling to Middle Flandrian. Sediment analyses (loss on ignition and particle size) and implied sedimentation rates support this chronology. The three 14 C-dates are considered too old by 1000–2000 years because of hard water error. Redeposited Tertiary palynomorphs were encountered in the lower, mineral sediments; their source is unknown. Pollen spectra and pollen deposition rates indicate tundra throughout the Late Weichselian, with Artemisia -grass steppe predominant during Older and Younger Dryas. Rapid vegetational changes began at around 10,000 B.P., followed by successive immigration and establishment of tree birch (with accompanying floristic change) and Juniperus. Ericales were conspicuously unimportant and the pollen diagram records a herb flora rich in basiphilous species     

On the early history of the wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) in Finland

This paper discusses the early migration of the wild reindeer into Finland. Reindeer bones found in dated archaeological contexts suggest that the two subspecies, the mountain reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus L.) and the forest reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus fennicus Lönnb.), were part of our fauna as early as c. 9000 BP and 7000 BP, respectively. The mountain reindeer may be descended from the European Pleistocene reindeer, and may have migrated into northern Finland via the west coast of Norway. The forest reindeer invaded Finland directly from the east, from its glacial refugia in Siberia. During the Holocene, the distribution ranges of these two subspecies fluctuated in accordance with climatic and vegetational changes in northern Finland.     

云南鹤庆盆地2.780~1.802MaB.P.期间的 古植被和古气候*

鹤庆深钻421.7m以下岩芯的孢粉组合揭示2.780~1.802MaB.P.期间鹤庆盆地周围山地植被类型的更替主要是松林和寒温针叶林林带的上下迁移,并且研究区在第四纪之前就已基本具备了目前的主要植物种类及其自然地理轮廓。根据孢粉组合中寒温针叶林主要成分的孢粉含量变化推测研究区周围的山顶气候在2.780~1.802MaB.P.期间依次经历了相对温和偏干→整体相对寒冷潮湿→温和偏干→寒冷较湿→温凉较干→温和偏干→寒冷较湿的7次明显波动;同时结合孢粉组合特征和山顶气候推测盆地周围较低海拔区的气候经历了温暖干旱→整体相对温暖潮湿→温暖干旱→温凉较湿→温和偏干→温暖干旱,但夏季有一定降雨→温凉较湿的7次明显波动。在重建古植被与古气候时,还根据孢粉组合中寒温针叶林的主要成分与喜热成分的孢粉含量变化,探讨了2.780~1.802MaB.P.期间不同时段导致研究区周围山地垂直植被带迁移的主要原因,即区分了构造抬升与气候变化对其影响的可能性。研究认为2.729~2.608MaB.P.期间寒温针叶林面积增加主要是由于山体强烈抬升造成的,此次山体强烈抬升正对应着晚新生代地质时期青藏高原强烈隆升的"青藏运动B幕",而其他时段的寒温针叶林面积增减主要是气候变化引起的。     

The Late-Glacial infill of three lake successions in The Netherlands: Regional vegetational history in relation to NW European vegetational developments

Pollen analyses of three Late Weichselian Late-Glacial lake sediment successions provided a basis for the construction of pollen assemblage zones for The Netherlands. Special attention is paid to the behaviours of Populus in the Alleröd boreal forest. Some aspects of the autecology of Juniperus and Hippohaë and the dynamics of birch and pine forests are discussed in the light of the observed succession. The Late-Glacial vegetational succession in The Netherlands is compared with data published for neighbouring NW European countries. It is concluded that differences in precipitation (snow cover) along a west-east transect to a great extent determined the inferred differences in vegetational development.     

Isopollen maps and principal components analysis of Finnish pollen data for 4000, 6000, and 8000 years ago

Isopollen maps of Betula, Pinus, Alnus, Corylus , and Ulmus for 4000, 6000, and 8000 B.P. and of Picea, Tilia , and Quercus for 4000 and 6000 U.P. are presented for Finland. The maps show the major geographical patterns in pollen composition for these three time intervals. Principal components analysis is used as a means of detecting the major gradients in the data. Over 50% of the total variance in the data for each of the three time intervals can he related to major geographical patterns. These patterns emphasize the distinction in pollen composition between southernmost Finland, central Finland, and the extreme north. Changes in the position of the ecotonal boundaries between these areas with time are discussed on the basis of the numerical analyses.     

莱州湾南岸滨海平原晚更新世以来古环境演变的孢粉记录

依据莱州湾南岸A1钻孔孢粉分析，结合14C、热释光测年、沉积物粒度、岩性等资料，对A1钻孔自下而上划分为7个孢粉组合带，并概括它们的主要特征。利用孢粉组合，探讨了120 ka BP 以来莱州湾南岸咸水入侵区的植被发展以及气候的冷暖、干湿交替变化。在85～76 ka BP、50～24 ka BP和10～4 ka BP出现三次暖湿期，分别对应于“羊口海侵”、“广饶海侵”和“垦利海侵”。在三次暖湿期中发生海陆交互相滨岸沼泽或湖泊相沉积，植被类型为落叶阔叶林或针阔叶混交林滨岸草原。在76～50 ka BP和24～10 ka BP两次冷干期为陆相沉积环境，前者出现以针叶林为主的草原植被类型，后者出现干冷的针叶林干旱草原或荒漠草原植被类型，它们分别对应于早大理亚冰期和晚大理亚冰期。孢粉组合所反映的莱州湾南岸晚更新世以来的环境演化同全球性的气候事件及渤海沿岸环境变化具有很好的可比性。     

A late Early Pleistocene pollen record from Fontana Ranuccio (central Italy)

A pollen record from a sediment core drilled underneath the Acheulian site of Fontana Ranuccio provides new data on the vegetation characters in central Italy during the late Early Pleistocene, in a forest phase possibly corresponding to a substage of Marine Isotope Stage 21. A number of tree taxa nowadays extinct in Europe (Cathaya, Tsuga, Taxodium type, Carya and Pterocarya) are present at Fontana Ranuccio in a temperate phase characterised by dense forest conditions, dominated by Alnus and Pterocarya. The comparison of the Fontana Ranuccio record with other dated sites distributed along the Italian peninsula indicates that the floristic and vegetational characters of the Mid Pleistocene revolution present a rather distinct succession of biostratigraphic events. Compared to other Early Pleistocene pollen records from southern Europe, the Italian Peninsula shows greater floristic similarities with the Eastern Mediterranean regions than with the Iberian Peninsula. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vegetation and associated environments during the past 14,000 years near Moulton Pond,Maine

Pollen influx and percentage diagrams were prepared from an 11.4 m core from Moulton Pond, Maine. The pond basin was deglaciated about 14,000 y. a., after which it was located on an island in a sea of subarctic character until about 12,400 y. a. when the surrounding area emerged from the sea. The terrestrial vegetation was tundra until about 10,000 y. a. A change in the tundra vegetation is synchronous with the emergence from the sea, but synchroneity with the Pineo Ridge glacial readvance, which reached its maximum 50 km to the east of the pond about 12,700 y. a., is also possible because of imprecision in the dating. Comparisons of the Moulton Pond results with late-glacial pollen sequences elsewhere in eastern United States and adjacent Canada reveal a lack of synchroneity in vegetational changes casting doubt on claims of major broad-scale climatic shifts over the entire area.The tundra period at Moulton Pond ended with a transition of a few hundred years to partly open, relatively xeric forests of low diversity dominated by white pine, oak, and birch trees. There was no intervening boreal forest. In the postglacial period the vegetation was continually changing, including in the early portion a series of immigrations of temperate tree taxa which later became important in the forests. The transient nature of these assemblages is further indicated by their differences from the closest modern analogs. From about 7100 y. a. until settlement by Europeans 200 y. a., the forests were closed. A major decline of conifers centering about 4700 y. a. was followed by maxima of mesic hardwoods about a thousand years later. In the most recent 2000 yr, the pollen record suggests greater environmental severity, evidenced by increasing spruce. But for the entire postglacial period, the closest modern vegetational analogs are all in the conifer-hardwood region. Much of the postglacial pollen sequence is inexplicable in climatic terms, as evidenced by nonsynchronous behavior of hemlock and beech.The pollen influx diagram is useful for distinguishing tundra from forest, but for the postglacial period it is difficult to interpret. Pollen influx data are strongly affected by shifts in the pattern of sedimentation in lakes. We propose that such shifts account for the major changes in influx in mid- and late-postglacial time at Moulton Pond and at Rogers Lake, Connecticut. This complicates the interpretation of influx data which otherwise are superior to percentage data.     

Holocene climatic change in the northern Midwest: Pollen-derived estimates

Mapping of Holocene pollen data in the midwestern United States has revealed several broadscale vegetational changes that can be interpreted in climatic terms. These changes include (1) the early Holocene northward movement of the spruce-dominated forest and its later southward movement after 3000 yr B.P. and (2) the eastward movement of the prairie/forest border into southwestern Wisconsin by 8000 yr B.P. and its subsequent westward retreat after 6000 yr B.P. When certain basic assumptions are met, multiple regression models can be derived from modern pollen and climate data and used to transform the pollen record of these vegetational changes into quantitative estimates of temperature or precipitation. To maximize the reliability of the regression equations, we followed a sequence of procedures that minimize violations of the assumptions that underlie regression analysis. Reconstructions of precipitation during the Holocene indicated that from 9000 to 6000 yr B.P. precipitation decreased by 10 to 25% over much of the Midwest, while mean July temperature increased by 0.5° to 2.0°C. At 6000 yr B.P. precipitation was less than 80% of its modern values over parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota. After 6000 yr B.P. precipitation generally increased, while mean July temperature decreased in the north, and increased in the south. The time of the maximum temperature varies within the Midwest and is earlier in the north and later in the south.     

The dynamics of chironomid assemblages and vegetation during the Late Quaternary at Laguna Facil, Chonos Archipelago, southern Chile

We compare high-resolution pollen and chironomid records from the last 15,000 yr in Laguna Facil, southern Chile. Major vegetation and chironomid changes are recorded between ca 14,900 and 14,700 cal. yr BP. During the Lateglacial, changes in the chironomid stratigraphy lag behind changes in the pollen stratigraphy suggesting that the chironomids are responding to changes in the tree canopy or in soil chemistry brought about by vegetational development. At about 7200 cal. yr BP there is a change in the chironomid stratigraphy in advance of changes in the vegetation. This suggests that the response is to regional climatic change. The relatively close correlation of the chironomid and pollen stratigraphies with changes in charcoal concentrations also implicates the importance of fire and/or vulcanism in influencing the dynamics of forest and limnological systems. There is no clear evidence of cooling during the Younger Dryas chronozone in Laguna Facil.     

Plio-Pleistocene climatic transition and the lifting of the Teton Range, Wyoming

Fine-grained lacustrine, riverine and ash-fall sediments of the Shooting Iron Formation, whose late Pliocene age is established by Blancan gastropods and vertebrates, yield a pollen flora that is essentially similar in composition to the modern pollen rain in the Jackson Hole area. The Pliocene assemblage suggests a climate like that of the Jackson valley and foothills today. These spectra also resemble a Pliocene pollen flora from Yellowstone Park dated at ∼ 2.02 Ma. However, the underlying Miocene Teewinot sediments differ by containing pollen of four exotic deciduous hardwoods (Tertiary relicts) that suggest a summer-moist climate, unlike that of today. The Shooting Iron sediments lie with an angular unconformity on and above the Miocene lake sediments of the Teewinot Formation. Both of these deposits probably preceded the main uplift of the Teton Range based on the absence of Precambrian clasts in the Tertiary valley deposits. Because the Pliocene floras were modern in aspect, a Plio-Pleistocene transition would be floristically imperceptible here. The sequence denotes a protracted period of relative stability of climate during Teewinot time, and a shift in vegetational state (summer-wet trees drop out) sometime between the latest Miocene and latest Pliocene. The Pliocene spectra suggest a dry, cooler climate toward the end of Shooting Iron time.     

Tepsankumpu revisited — pollen evidence of stable Eemian climates in Finnish Lapland

Several till-covered organic deposits, principally lake gyttja, in Finnish Lapland have been correlated with the last (i.e. Eemian) interglacial on the basis of their lithostratigraphic position and pollen stratigraphy. Most of the sequences are short, but together with three longer sequences from Finnish Lapland and one from Swedish Lapland (Leveäniemi) they provide a complete picture of Eemian vegetational and climatic development. The Tepsankumpu site was revisited, and the till-covered thick freshwater gyttja deposit was studied in detail for pollen in order to search for signals of rapid climatic fluctuations postulated for the earlier part of the Eemian on the basis of Greenland ice core studies. The Eemian pollen stratigraphy in Finnish Lapland closely resembles the Holocene pollen stratigraphy of the area. The abundance of spruce and alder pollen suggests, however, more northerly limits for forest vegetation zones during the Eemian than during the Holocene. Oak also grew closer to Lapland, indicating a wanner climate than during the Holocene climatic optimum. The Tepsankumpu pollen stratigraphy indicates climatic stability over the entire time-span it covers, i.e. the major part of the interglacial. This finding is in conflict with results from Greenland GRIP ice core studies and interpretations of some Continental European Eemian pollen diagrams.     

云南省玉龙雪山表土花粉垂直散布与植被关系研究

对云南省玉龙雪山地区8个垂直植被带下采集的49个表土样品进行表土孢粉的垂直散布研究,同时选择43个受人类活动干扰较少的样品和20个主要木本花粉类型进行了降维对应分析(DCA)。结果表明,玉龙雪山地区不同垂直植被带的孢粉组合具有不同的代表性成分与变化特征,能够较好地反映相应的植被带类型。在植物稀疏、花粉产量低的高山杜鹃灌丛植被带中,孢粉组合以外来的松属、冷杉属、落叶松属、云杉属和铁杉属等为主;   冷杉林、落叶松林、云杉林和铁杉林等植被带孢粉组合的指示性成分分别是冷杉属、落叶松属、云杉属和铁杉属花粉,它们对应的峰值分别为13.6％,4.7％,39.4％和11.5％;   针阔混交林、中山湿性常绿阔叶林的孢粉组合分别以高含量的常绿栎类、栲/石栎属为特征,并都含有多种落叶阔叶乔木和灌木的花粉,但后者比前者所包含的阔叶乔木与灌木成分更多,且蕨类孢子的峰值也出现在中山湿性常绿阔叶林中;   云南松林的孢粉组合中除松属外很少有木本花粉出现。DCA排序结果较好地反映了现代植被与环境之间的相互关系,认为温度是决定不同植被带样点分布的最重要因素,这与垂直植被带随着海拔升高、温度逐渐降低而发生更替的规律是一致的。     

Wisconsinan Late-glacial environmental change in Newfoundland: A regional review

The distribution of 75 lake and bog sites, from which pollen stratigraphical evidence relevant to the late Quaternary of Newfoundland has been obtained, is presented. The detailed records of lithology, pollen and diatoms, supplemented by geochemical data, are discussed for three of the sites — Southwest Brook Lake, Woody Hill Brook Pond and Leading Tickles — and interpretations made are based on vegetational history, relative climatic changes and extent of ice cover. Radiocarbon data from 14 sites are summarised. A summary chart of Late-glacial environmental changes, including a qualitative palaeotemperature curve, is provided.