Holocene fire and vegetation dynamics in a montane forest, North Cascade Range, Washington, USA

We reconstructed a 10,500-yr fire and vegetation history of a montane site in the North Cascade Range, Washington State based on lake sediment charcoal, macrofossil and pollen records. High-resolution sampling and abundant macrofossils made it possible to analyze relationships between fire and vegetation. During the early Holocene (> 10,500 to ca. 8000 cal yr BP) forests were subalpine woodlands dominated by Pinus contorta. Around 8000 cal yr BP, P. contorta sharply declined in the macrofossil record. Shade tolerant, mesic species first appeared ca. 4500 cal yr BP. Cupressus nootkatensis appeared most recently at 2000 cal yr BP. Fire frequency varies throughout the record, with significantly shorter mean fire return intervals in the early Holocene than the mid and late Holocene. Charcoal peaks are significantly correlated with an initial increase in macrofossil accumulation rates followed by a decrease, likely corresponding to tree mortality following fire. Climate appears to be a key driver in vegetation and fire regimes over millennial time scales. Fire and other disturbances altered forest vegetation at shorter time scales, and vegetation may have mediated local fire regimes. For example, dominance of P. contorta in the early Holocene forests may have been reinforced by its susceptibility to frequent, stand-replacing fire events.     

Late-glacial vegetational and climatic history of the Allegheny Plateau and the Till Plains of Ohio and Indiana, U.S.A.

Shane, Linda C. K. 1987 03 01: Late-glacial vegetational and climatic history of the Allegheny Plateau and the Till Plains of Ohio and Indiana, U.S.A. Boreas , Vol. 16, pp. 1–20. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
Pollen evidence from the Allegheny Plateau and the Till Plains south of the Great Lakes shows marked post-glacial vegetation gradients. C. 15,500–11,000 B.P .: On the Plateau, spruce forest was rapidly established, persisted for 2,000 years, then began a gradual change to deciduous-conifer forest. On the Till Plains, open spruce forest tundra closed slowly over 1,000 years, declined rapidly c . 13,500 B.P., and a deciduous open woodland developed. C. 11,000–10,300 B.P .: On the Till Plains, a brief cooling is recorded by increases in the abundance of spruce and fir, contemporaneous with the European Younger Dryas. No clear change is seen on the Plateau. 10,300–4,000 B.P .: Warming and/or drying occurred in both areas, as hemlock and jack/red pine trees immigrated, followed by white pine. Conifers disappeared from the Till Plains by 9,800 B.P., but pine and hemlock trees may have persisted on the Plateau. After 10,000 B.P. mixed deciduous forest was established across the entire region. Between 8,000 and 4,000 B.P., further warming/drying is indicated on the Till Plains with development of open oak forest and lake shallowing, and on the Plateau by a minor increase in herbs, lake shallowing, and reduction in pine.     

Vegetation,climate, and fire during the late-glacial–Holocene transition at Spruce Pond,Hudson Highlands,southeastern New York,USA

Pollen, plant macrofossil, and charcoal records from Spruce Pond (41°14′22″N, 74°12′15″W), southeastern New York, USA dated by AMS provide details about late-glacial–early Holocene vegetation development in the Hudson Highlands from >12410 to 9750 ¹⁴C yr BP. Prior to 12410 yr BP, vegetation was apparently open, dominated by herbs and shrubs (Cyperaceae, Gramineae, Tubuliflorae, Salix, Alnus, Betula), possibly with scattered trees (Picea and Pinus). However, Picea macrofossils are not found until 12410 yr BP. Development of a temperature deciduous–boreal-coniferous forest featuring Quercus, Fraxinus, Ostrya/Carpinus, Pinus, Picea, and Abies occurs between 12410 and 11140 yr BP. A return of predominantly boreal forest taxa between 11140 and 10230 yr BP is interpreted as an expression of the Younger Dryas cooling event. Holocene warming at 10230 yr BP is signalled by arrival of Pinus strobus, coincident with expansion of Quercus-dominated forest. Fire activity, as inferred from charcoal influx, appears to have increased as woodland developed after 12410 yr BP. Two charcoal influx peaks occur during Younger Dryas time. Early Holocene fire activity was relatively high but decreased for approximately 100 yr prior to the establishment of Tsuga canadensis in the forest at 9750 yr BP. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biogeographic implications of a packrat midden sequence from the Sacramento Mountains, south-central New Mexico

Thirteen packrat (Neotoma spp.) and two porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) middens from 1555 to 1690 m elevation from the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico, provide an 18,000-yr vegetation record in the northern Chiuahuan Desert. The vegetation sequence is a mesic, Wisconsin fullglacial (18,000–16,000 yr B.P.) pinyon-juniper-oak woodland; a xeric, early Holocene (ca. 11,000–8000 yr B.P.) juniper-oak woodland; a middle Holocene (ca. 8000-4000 yr B.P.) desert-grassland; and a late Holocene (ca. 4000 yr B.P. to present) Chihuahuan desertscrub. The frequency of spring freezes and summer droughts in the late Wisconsin probably set the northern limits of Pinus edulis and Juniperus monosperma at about 34°N, or 6° south of today's limit. Rising summer tempratures in the early Holocene eliminated pinyon and other mesic woodland plants from the desert lowlands and allowed the woodland to move upslope. At this time pinyon-juniper woodland and pine forest dominated by Pinus ponderosa probably began their spectacular Holocene expansions to the north. Continued warming in the middle Holocene led to very warm summers with strong monsoons, relatively dry, cold winters, and widespread desert-grasslands. Desertscrub communities in the northern Chihuahuan Desert did not develop until the late Holocene when the biseasonal rainfall shifted slightly back toward the winter, catastrophic winter freezes decreased, and droughts in all seasons increased. The creosote bush desertscrub corridor across the Continental Divide between the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts was probably connected for the first time since the last interglaciation.     

A continuous Holocene beetle record from the site Stavsåkra,southern Sweden: implications for the last 10 600 years of forest and land use history

Beetle remains from a small bog in southern Sweden contribute information concerning the forest history of the study area. The study shows that beetles are valuable indicators of woodland structures such as openness, field vegetation, presence of dead wood and disturbance factors such as climate change, fire regimes, grazing and land use. The early Holocene, ca. 8600–6450 cal. BC, was characterised by open, pine‐dominated woodlands maintained by fire and grazing disturbances. The changes in the wetland fauna, between 8600 and 7500 cal. BC, correlate well with low lake levels in southern Sweden. During the mid Holocene, ca. 6450–2400 cal. BC, the woodlands were relatively dense, with few openings in the canopy. Around 4200 cal. BC, there was a shift to a dominance of deciduous trees. Fire and grazing pressures were particularly low. Numbers of aquatic and hygrophilic beetles indicate dry conditions between ca. 5000 and 3000 cal. BC. During the late Holocene, ca. 2400 cal. BC to present, the woodlands opened up mainly through increased land use. The main disturbance factors were fire and grazing. The beetles indicate the formation of heather‐dominated heathland around 800 cal. BC. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article was published online on 23 December 2008. An error was subsequently identified. This notice is included in the online and print versions to indicate that both have been corrected (5 August 2009).     

Fire and Vegetation History from the Coastal Rain Forest of the Western Oregon Coast Range

High-resolution charcoal and pollen analyses were used to reconstruct a 4600-yr-long history of fire and vegetation near Taylor Lake in the wettest forests of coastal Oregon. Today, fires in these forests are rare because the season of ignition does not coincide with months of dry fuels. From ca. 4600 to 2700 cal yr B.P. fire episodes occurred at intervals of 140±30 yr while forest vegetation was dominated by disturbance-adapted taxa such as Alnus rubra. From ca. 2700 cal yr B.P. to the present, fire episodes have become less common, occurring at intervals of 240±30 yr, and fire-sensitive forest taxa, such as Tsuga heterophylla and Picea sitchensis, have become more prominent. Fire occurrence during the mid-Holocene was similar to that of the more xeric forests in the eastern Coast Range and suggests that summer drought was widespread. After ca. 2700 cal yr B.P., a decrease in fire episode frequency suggests that cooler conditions and possibly increased summer fog allowed the establishment of present-day Picea sitchensis forests within the watershed. These results provide evidence that fire has been an important disturbance agent in the Coast Range of Oregon, and variations in fire frequency and climate have led to the establishment of present-day forests.     

Postglacial vegetation, fire, and climate history of the Siskiyou Mountains, Oregon, USA

The forests of the Siskiyou Mountains are among the most diverse in North America, yet the long-term relationship among climate, diversity, and natural disturbance is not well known. Pollen, plant macrofossils, and high-resolution charcoal data from Bolan Lake, Oregon, were analyzed to reconstruct a 17,000-yr-long environmental history of high-elevation forests in the region. In the late-glacial period, the presence of a subalpine parkland of Artemisia, Poaceae, Pinus, and Tsuga with infrequent fires suggests cool dry conditions. After 14,500 cal yr B.P., a closed forest of Abies, Pseudotsuga, Tsuga, and Alnus rubra with more frequent fires developed which indicates more mesic conditions than before. An open woodland of Pinus, Quercus, and Cupressaceae, with higher fire activity than before, characterized the early Holocene and implies warmer and drier conditions than at present. In the late Holocene, Abies and Picea were more prevalent in the forest, suggesting a return to cool wet conditions, although fire-episode frequency remained relatively high. The modern forest of Abies and Pseudotsuga and the present-day fire regime developed ca. 2100 cal yr B.P. and indicates that conditions had become slightly drier than before. Sub-millennial-scale fluctuations in vegetation and fire activity suggest climatic variations during the Younger Dryas interval and within the early Holocene period. The timing of vegetation changes in the Bolan Lake record is similar to that of other sites in the Pacific Northwest and Klamath region, and indicates that local vegetation communities were responding to regional-scale climate changes. The record implies that climate-driven millennial- to centennial-scale vegetation and fire change should be considered when explaining the high floristic diversity observed at present in the Siskiyou Mountains.     

A 12,000-year history of vegetation and climate for Cape Cod,Massachusetts

Pollen and charcoal analysis of radiocarbon-dated sediment cores from Duck Pond in the Cape Cod National Seashore provide a continuous 12,000-yr vegetation and climate history of outer Cape Cod. A Picea-Hudsonia parkland and then a Picea-Pinus banksiana-Alnus crispa boreal forest association grew near the site between 12,000 and 10,000 yr B.P. This vegetation was replaced by a northern conifer forest of Pinus strobus-P. banksiana, and, subsequently, by a more mesophytic forest (Pinus strobus, Tsuga, Quercus, Fagus, Acer, Ulmus, Fraxinus, Ostrya) as the climate became warmer and wetter by 9500 yr B.P. By 9000 yr B.P. a Pinus rigida-Quercus association dominated the landscape. High charcoal frequencies from this and subsequent levels suggest that the pine barrens association developed during a warmer and drier climate that lasted from 9000 to about 5000 yr B.P. Increased percentages of Pinus strobus pollen indicate a return to moister and cooler conditions by about 3500 yr B.P. A doubled sedimentation rate, increased charcoal, and increased herb pollen suggest land disturbance near the pond before European settlement. These results suggest a rapid warming in the northeast in the early Holocene and support a hypothesis of a rapid sea level rise at that time. Comparison of the pollen results from Duck Pond with those from Rogers Lake, Connecticut, illustrates the importance of edaphic factors in determining the disturbance frequency and vegetation history of an area.     

Late Quaternary vegetation in the Southwestern Columbia Basin,Washington

A 33,000-yr pollen record from Carp Lake provides information on the vegetation history of the forest/steppe border in the southwestern Columbia Basin. The site is located in the Pinus ponderosa Zone but through much of late Quaternary time the area was probably treeless. Pollen assemblages in sediments dating from 33,000 to 23,500 yr B.P. suggest a period of temperate climate and steppe coinciding with the end of the Olympia Interglaciation. The Fraser Glaciation (ca. 25,000–10,000 yr B.P.) was a period of periglacial steppe or tundra vegetation and conditions too dry and cold to support forests at low altitudes. Aridity is also inferred from the low level of the lake between 21,000 and 8500 yr B.P., and especially after about 13,500 yr B.P. About 10,000 yr B.P. Chenopodiineae and other temperate taxa spread locally, providing palynological evidence for a shift from cold, dry to warm, dry conditions. Pine woodland developed at the site with the onset of humid conditions at 8500 yr B.P.; further cooling is suggested at 4000 yr B.P., when Pseudotsuga and Abies were established locally.     

Sequences of Holocene forest history in the Scandes, inferred from megafossil Pinus sylvestris

Kullman, Leif 1987 03 01: Sequences of Holocene forest history in the Scandes, inferred from megafossil Pinus sylvestris. Boreas , Vol. 16, pp. 21–26. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
Altogether 54 ¹⁴C-datings of megafossil Pinus sylvestris L. from above the present tree-limit in the southern Swedish Scandes were evaluated. The samples were discussed in relation to the present-day tree-limit of pine. Pine reached almost 200 m higher than at present shortly after deglaciation and remained at very high altitudes until at least 4,000–3,500 ¹⁴C years B.P. The conclusion was that the precise biological and climatological interpretation of these regionally sampled data is still obscure. It is impossible to judge whether clusters of megafossil pine represent periods relatively favourable for pine growth and reproduction or merely periods advantageous for production of dead wood and its long-term preservation. In terms of climate, these alternatives reasonably implicate widely different conditions.     

Processes controlling acid attenuation in the unsaturated zone of a Triassic sandstone aquifer (U.K.), in the absence of carbonate minerals

Continuous core samples were taken through the unsaturated zone at three sites on the outcrop of Permo-Triassic sandstone in the British West Midlands. Sample sites were chosen for lack of recent, direct anthropogenic disturbance, and for differing vegetation: heathland, birch woodland and conifer forest. Interstitial water was extracted and analyzed for 32 major and trace elements. Solid phases were analyzed for exchangeable cations and mineralogy. The rate of recharge calculated using a Cl mass balance method was three times greater below heathland than below afforested sites owing to higher evapotranspiration rates in the woodlands.Carbonate minerals were absent from the unsaturated zone at each site. Soil solutions were acidic and soils at the woodland sites were more acidic (pH 4.0) than those at the heathland site (pH 4.5). Acidic interstitial water solutions were found to up to 5.0 m depth in the unsaturated zone and are partially neutralized by two aluminosilicate mineral reactions in the unsaturated zone: cation exchange and K-feldspar dissolution. The rate at which these acid neutralizing reactions act to neutralize acidity is revealed by the rate of depletion of base cations from the unsaturated zone in recharge solutions; K⁺ (dissolution), Ca⁺² + Mg⁺² (cation exchange). The total base cation depletion rate was greatest below heathland; this can be attributed mainly to the greater rate of SO₄ assimilation by the woodland biome.     

A 23,000-yr pollen record from Lake Euramoo, Wet Tropics of NE Queensland, Australia

A new extended pollen and charcoal record is presented from Lake Euramoo, Wet Tropics World Heritage rainforest of northeast Queensland, Australia. The 8.4-m sediment core taken from the center of Lake Euramoo incorporates a complete record of vegetation change and fire history spanning the period from 23,000 cal yr B.P. to present. The pollen record is divided into five significant zones; 23,000–16,800 cal yr B.P., dry sclerophyll woodland; 16,800–8600 cal yr B.P., wet sclerophyll woodland with marginal rainforest in protected pockets; 8600–5000 cal yr B.P., warm temperate rainforest; 5000–70 cal yr B.P., dry subtropical rainforest; 70 cal yr B.P.–AD 1999, degraded dry subtropical rainforest with increasing influence of invasive species and fire.The process of rainforest development appears to be at least partly controlled by orbital forcing (precession), though more local environmental variables and human activity are also significant factors. This new record provides the opportunity to explore the relationship between fire, drought and rainforest dynamics in a significant World Heritage rainforest region.     

Local versus regional processes: can soil characteristics overcome climate and fire regimes by modifying vegetation trajectories?

We analysed charcoal and pollen from sediments obtained from two lakes in the northwestern mixed‐wood Canadian boreal forest in order to reconstruct fire‐return intervals and vegetation dynamics over the last 8000 years. Sites were selected with contrasting soil properties (mesic versus dry‐sandy soils), allowing an estimation of the potential influence of soils on long‐term vegetation and fire dynamics. The sites likely experienced fewer fires during the period extending from 8000 to 4000 cal. a BP than over the last 4000 years. At both sites, eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) populations were most extensive shortly after deglaciation, with vegetation later shifting towards mixed woodlands with less P. strobus and more extensive Picea and Pinus banksiana populations. This gradual vegetation shift was probably induced by the establishment of colder and moister conditions along with a fire‐regime change. In spite of the parallel long‐term vegetation trajectories, vegetation composition differed between the two sites in both the past and present. Whereas Picea was more abundant at the mesic site, the fire‐adapted P. banksiana populations were more extensive at the sandy‐soil site. These differences in vegetation composition indicate that, in addition to climate changes and fire occurrence, soil properties also influenced vegetation dynamics. A likely increase in fire frequency in the Canadian boreal forest during the 21st century might therefore favour the expansion of these two disturbance‐adapted trees with spatial heterogeneity in the populations due to varying soil types. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Long-term Trends in Vegetation Dynamics and Forest Fires in Brandenburg (Germany) Under a Changing Climate

The human influence on environmental processes has been described for many types of land use. One of the oldest tools to modify people’s environment is fire, which has dominated fire regimes in many regions over long time scales. This paper focuses on a German case study region, where 80–90% of the fires are human-caused. The objectives of this study are the application of the Regional Fire Model (Reg-FIRM), a process-based fire model that is incorporated into the LPJ Dynamic Global Vegetation Model, to temperate forests under historic climate conditions and to explore ranges of potential impacts of future climate change on fire and vegetation dynamics. Simulation experiments are designed to simulate historic fire pattern and to explore influences of vegetation on fire. Simulated fire pattern reproduced the observed average fire conditions reasonably well although with a smaller amplitude. This leads to underestimation of extreme fire years as well as an overestimation of low fire years. Vegetation composition influenced fire spread conditions in the temperate forest and had little impact on fire ignition potentials, except when only broad-leaved deciduous forests were assumed. Fire is likely to change under climate change conditions. Simulated experiments were conducted to explore the effects of climate change and rising CO₂ concentration given the potential natural vegetation as the best-case for Brandenburg. Three GCM scenarios predicting different future climatic changes were applied, and resulted in quantitatively different future fire patterns. Depending on future precipitation pattern and the influence of the CO₂ effect on canopy conductance and thus litter moisture, fire was predicted to either decrease or slightly increase in Brandenburg forests, but the burnt area would not exceed current, extreme fire years. Generally, fire changes had no implication for vegetation composition in Brandenburg, but reduced vegetation carbon gain after 2050. In the HadCM3 application, simulated increase in grass cover due to a large burnt area after 2075 accelerated fire spread conditions, thus still increasing the burnt area, while climatic fire danger and number of fires already began to decline. These interactions underline the importance to consider the full range of fire processes and interactions with vegetation dynamics in a simulation model.     

Charcoal analysis for paleoenvironmental interpretation: A chemical assay

Pollen and charcoal analysis of radiocarbon-dated sediment cores from Duck Pond in the Cape Cod National Seashore provide a continuous 12,000-yr vegetation and climate history of outer Cape Cod. A Picea-Hudsonia parkland and then a Picea-Pinus banksiana-Alnus crispa boreal forest association grew near the site between 12,000 and 10,000 yr B.P. This vegetation was replaced by a northern conifer forest of Pinus strobus-P. banksiana, and, subsequently, by a more mesophytic forest (Pinus strobus, Tsuga, Quercus, Fagus, Acer, Ulmus, Fraxinus, Ostrya) as the climate became warmer and wetter by 9500 yr B.P. By 9000 yr B.P. a Pinus rigida-Quercus association dominated the landscape. High charcoal frequencies from this and subsequent levels suggest that the pine barrens association developed during a warmer and drier climate that lasted from 9000 to about 5000 yr B.P. Increased percentages of Pinus strobus pollen indicate a return to moister and cooler conditions by about 3500 yr B.P. A doubled sedimentation rate, increased charcoal, and increased herb pollen suggest land disturbance near the pond before European settlement. These results suggest a rapid warming in the northeast in the early Holocene and support a hypothesis of a rapid sea level rise at that time. Comparison of the pollen results from Duck Pond with those from Rogers Lake, Connecticut, illustrates the importance of edaphic factors in determining the disturbance frequency and vegetation history of an area.     

云南阳宗海流域过去13000年植被演替与森林火灾

以云南阳宗海1020 cm长的湖泊沉积物岩芯为研究对象,由7个木屑和树叶残体样的AMS14C测年建立岩芯年代框架,以18~19 cm间隔获取52个样品作花粉/炭屑分析,重建了阳宗海流域过去13000年的植被、气候以及森林火灾历史。研究结果表明,过去13000年植被演替、气候变化和森林火灾可分为5个阶段:1)13200~11000 cal.a B.P.,植被以常绿、落叶阔叶混交林为主,气候温凉湿润,森林火灾多发,后期(12300~11000 cal.a B.P.)随着温度和湿度的降低,森林火灾发生愈加频繁;2)11000~8000 cal.a B.P.,松林扩张,阔叶林缩小,气候较上阶段温暖偏干,森林火灾发生次数明显降低;3)8000~5000 cal.a B.P.,松林和常绿阔叶林占优势,且出现暖热性的枫香林,流域内气温升至13000 cal.a B.P.以来的最高值,湿度进一步降低,但森林火灾发生频率低;4)5000~800 cal.a B.P.,松林扩张至最盛,常绿阔叶林收缩,落叶阔叶林成分增加,气温和湿度均明显下降,森林火灾发生频率有所增加;5)800 cal.a B.P.至今,松林和常绿阔叶林收缩,落叶阔叶成分增加,草本植物中禾本科迅速上升,可能与人类活动有关,森林火灾发生频率低。阳宗海花粉/炭屑记录重建的植被、气候和森林火灾史表明,在滇中地区,落叶阔叶成分易引起森林火灾,冷气候导致多发的森林火灾,冷干气候是宜森林火灾发生的气候条件。     

Late Weichselian vegetation, climate, and floral migration at Sandvikvatn, North Rogaland, southwestern Norway

Pollen analysis from Sandvikvatn has elucidated the local Late Weichselian vegetational and climatic history since deglaciation about 14,000 B.P. The pleniglacial period, the first of three climatic main periods and ending c. 13,600 B.P., is an Artemisia -dominated pioneer vegetation on disturbed mineral soils. The Late Weichselian Interstadial (13,600-11,000 B.P.) comprises a Salix -shrub consolidation phase and, from 12,900 B.P., a birch-forest optimum phase. In the Younger Dryas Stadial (11,000–10,100 B.P.) the Artemisia -dominated pioneer vegetation returns. Three climatic oscillations are demonstrated at intervals of about 500 years within the Interstadial. The oldest two, about 12,500 and 12,000 B.P., could both have been connected with the 'Older Dryas'. Cold winters and strong winds, causing soil erosion and drought, are suggested as important factors during the climatic periods unfavourable to woody vegetation. In the pleniglacial and Younger Dryas periods the winds are assumed to be katabatic. During the whole Late Weichselian southern species dominate locally. A northwards spread is demonstrated for the majority of the local late-glacial taxa, including the endemic Primula scandinavica and also Papaver radicatum and Aconitum , both previously discussed as part of the hypothesis of Weichselian ice-free refugia.     

A record of late Quaternary vegetation from Davis Lake,southern Puget Lowland,Washington

Pollen and macrofossil analyses of a core spanning 26,000 yr from Davis Lake reveal late Pleistocene and Holocene vegetational patterns in the Puget Lowland. The core ranges lithologically from a basal inorganic clay to a detritus gyttja to an upper fibrous peat and includes eight tephra units. The late Pleistocene pollen sequence records two intervals of tundra-parkland vegetation. The earlier of these has high percentages of Picea, Gramineae, and Artemisia pollen and represents the vegetation during the Evans Creek Stade (Fraser Glaciation) (ca. 25,000–17,000 yr B.P.). The later parkland interval is dominated by Picea, Tsuga mertensiana, and Gramineae. It corresponds to the maximum ice advance in the Puget Lowland during the Vashon Stade (Fraser Glaciation) (ca. 14,000 yr B.P.). An increase in Pinus ontorta pollen between the two tundra-parkland intervals suggests a temporary rise in treeline during an unnamed interstade. After 13,500 yr B.P., a mixed woodland of subalpine and lowland conifers grew at Davis Lake during a period of rapid climatic amelioration. In the early Holocene, the prolonged expansion of Pseudotsuga and Alnus woodland suggests dry, temperate conditions similar to those of present rainshadow sites in the Puget Lowland. More-mesic forests of Tsuga eterophylla, Thuja plicata, and Pseudotsuga, similar to present lowland vegetation, appeared in the late Holocene (ca. 5500 yr B.P.).     

Holocene vegetation change in northernmost Fennoscandia and the impact on prehistoric foragers 12 000–2000 cal. a BP – A review

While single pollen records are widely used in reconstructing the environment for nearby prehistoric settlements, they are less helpful when addressing large‐scale issues of variation in human settlement patterns. In order to assess the impact of vegetation change on regional prehistoric settlement and subsistence patterns in an ecotone sensitive area, we inferred the general change in main vegetation types based on palaeobotanical investigations from across northernmost Fennoscandia. Tundra vegetation was predominant during the Lateglacial and earliest parts of the Holocene. Maritime birch forests rich in ferns started to expand c. 11 000 cal. a BP and became dominant from 10 000 cal. a BP. Pine expanded from the NE of the investigation area and pine‐birch forest dominated in the inland around 8000 cal. a BP. A gradual degeneration of forest towards more open birch woodland started c. 6000 cal. a BP with the most marked change around 3500 cal. a BP. Along the northern outer coast, this eventually led to open heathland. Comparison with the archaeological setting suggests a general correlation between low forest cover and extensive mobility patterns, while widespread and varied forest cover appear to have led to a more sedentary way of life. The background for this is arguably that the forested landscapes hosted a larger diversity of resources within a shorter foraging distance, while areas and periods with low forest cover required longer travels to obtain the desired prey and materials.     

Postglacial fire, vegetation, and climate history in the Clearwater Range, Northern Idaho, USA

The environmental history of the Northern Rocky Mountains was reconstructed using lake sediments from Burnt Knob Lake, Idaho, and comparing the results with those from other previously published sites in the region to understand how vegetation and fire regimes responded to large-scale climate changes during the Holocene. Vegetation reconstructions indicate parkland or alpine meadow at the end of the glacial period indicating cold-dry conditions. From 14,000 to 12,000 cal yr B.P., abundant Pinus pollen suggests warmer, moister conditions than the previous period. Most sites record the development of a forest with Pseudotsuga ca. 9500 cal yr B.P. indicating warm dry climate coincident with the summer insolation maximum. As the amplification of the seasonal cycle of insolation waned during the middle Holocene, Pseudotsuga was replaced by Pinus and Abies suggesting cool, moist conditions. The fire reconstructions show less synchroneity. In general, the sites west of the continental divide display a fire-frequency maximum around 12,000–8000 cal yr B.P., which coincides with the interval of high summer insolation and stronger-than-present subtropical high. The sites on the east side of the continental divide have the highest fire frequency ca. 6000–3500 cal yr B.P. and may be responding to a decrease in summer precipitation as monsoonal circulation weakened in the middle and late Holocene. This study demonstrated that the fire frequency of the last two decades does not exceed the historical range of variability in that periods of even higher-than-present fire frequency occurred in the past.