Podzol development, vegetation change and glacier variations at Haugabreen, southern Norway

¹⁴C dating and pollen analysis of the surface organic (LFH) horizons of several humo-ferric podzol profiles forming a soil catena close to the 'Little Ice Agc' outer moraine ridge of Haugabreen, southern Norway, are used to examine the timing and nature of podzol development at the low-/sub-alpine margin of the Jostedalsbreen area. Comparison with results from a palaeosol buried beneath the outer moraine shows that FH horizon development began as early as 5,265 ± 65 B.P., but that it was not synehronous across the profiles, the latest profile having a date of 3,590 ± 65 B.P. It is argued that surface organic horizons developed as a response to a deterioration of climate and possibly the recrudescence of the Myklebustbreen ice cap at c . 5,000 B.P., and that the dates for horizon initiation vary according to local topographic and soil-hydrologic conditions. It is still uncertain whether the hump-ferric podzols were preceded by brown earths or weakly podzolised sub-alpine podzolic soils, but at all sites where pollen evidence is available it appears that FH initiation took place beneath Betula woodland.     

Development of pollen assemblage zones in soil profiles in southeastern England

Four soil profiles within c. 4 ha of dry heathland on lping Common, southeastern England were studied. Two were podzols, one was a buried profile from beneath a Bronze-age barrow and one was a profile buried beneath sediment in a small pond. Loss on ignition, particle size analysis, iron concentration and pollen concentration were determined and a pollen diagram prepared for each profile. It is suggested that discrete soil pollen assemblage zones arise from their incorporation by successively shallower-burrowing earthworm populations as the soils and vegetation change from mull to mor types. The implications of this mode of incorporation to the interpretation of soil pollen diagrams are discussed. A sequence of vegetation and soils for this area is suggested as follows:(1) mixed deciduous woodland of Quercus. Tilia and Corylus with a fern-rich understorey growing in a mull soil, (2) scrub woodland of Betula and Corylus with Pteridium and some Callunu, (3) Calluna heathland on podzolised soils. ¹⁴C dates obtained from podzol Bh horizons and the buried soil beneath the pond were inconclusive.     

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     

Late Weichselian and early Flandrian vegetational history of Varanger peninsula, northeast Norway

Relative a absolute (pollen concentration) diagrams are presented from Bergebyvatnet, Holmfjellvatnet and Stjernevatnet on Varanger peninsula. All three sites are outside the younger Dryas (Main substage) moraines and the pollen assemblage zones are correlated biostratigraphically with chronozones from Allerød to Middle Flandrian. Radiocarbon dates from Bergebyvatnet appear to have been affected by hard water error, but dates from the other two sites agree will with the inferred chronostratigraphy. Pollen diagrams from Varanger peninsula suggest broadly similar vegetational histories, the longest record beign that from Østcrvatnet (H. C. Prentice 1981, Boreas , Vol. 10, pp. 53–70). Open tundra-like conditions prevailed throughout the Late Weichselian, with Salix dominance interrupted by unstable vegetation with abundant Artemisia during the Older and Younger Dryas zones. Major vegetational and floristic changes began just before 10,000 B.P., the rapid scquence from herb pollen flora was rich and varied, including a mixture of floristic clements similar to that found during the Late Weichselian in southern Scandinavia. Basiphilous herbs were particularly abundant at Østervatnet and Bergebyvtnet. Betula nand and species of Ericales became locallydominant just before the full establishment of B. pubescens , which rapidly spread beyond its present limit. Later immigrants included Alnus incana; Juniperus communis ; and Pinus sylvestris , which reached the south western part.     

Detecting Holocene movements of the woodland–steppe ecotone in northern China using discriminant analysis

Discriminant functions link vegetation zones and surface pollen along the woodland–steppe ecotone in northern China. These links were utilised to reconstruct palaeovegetation using fossil pollen data from four lake sediment sites within the ecotone. Holocene movements of the vegetation zones were derived from the above results and were interpreted as the results of climatic, topographic and edaphic factors. This study shows that climatic change was the driving factor for ecotonal movement, but that the positions of vegetational zones were nevertheless controlled by topographical and edaphic conditions, and consequently boundaries between different vegetational zones responded individualistically. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

The identification, lateral variation, and chronology of two buried paleocatenas at Woodhall Spa and West Runton, England

Two buried paleocatenas were studied to determine some features and techniques by which buried soils could be recognized, and to define their pedological characteristics, their lateral variation, and their contemporary environment. At Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, a ferric podzol to sandy gley sequence was developed in sands under marine clay and fen peat. The peat was radiocarbon dated at about 4100 yr BP. The buried soil was evident from its obvious catenary character and the soil characteristics and contemporary environment were determined using sand mineralogy, micromorphology, and pollen analysis. At West Runton, Norfolk, an apparently similar ferric podzol sequence occurred in Beestonian sands and gravels under a layer of Cromerian organic muds. However, only the uppermost profile contained definite evidence of soil formation. Other lower profiles contained pseudosoil features produced by sedimentation or diagenetic subsurface iron mobilization. It is suggested that the occurrence of a paleocatena is the most important criterion for the identification of a buried soil. Sedimentation and diagenesis cannot reproduce this lateral variation.     

Age, origin, and palaeo-ecological evidence of blanket bogs in Nord-Trøndelag, Norway

Pollen diagrams, ¹⁴C-datings, and peat stratigraphy are presented from 3 sites in the Forradal sub-oceanic area in Nord-Trøndelag, a moorland complex of flat and sloping fens and blanket bogs lying 400–500 m above sea-level, ca. 40 km E of the Trondheimsfjord. The vegetational and climatic history during the last 8500 years is described, together with a survey of present-day conditions. The origin of the blanket-bog areas is shown to agree generally, in both time and mode of genesis, with similar bog types in Scotland and N England. Dates are given for the expansion of both alder and spruce, the latter occurring more than 1000 years later than in SE Norway. The possible role of provenance formation and Roman Iron Age amelioration of the climate is discussed in this connection. The course of the alder pollen curve indicates a drier and probably colder type of climate at ca. 3000–2400 B.C.     

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.     

Modern pollen spectra from lake sediments in Finland and Finnmark, north Norway

Absolute (APF) and relative surface pollen spectra from 67 moderate-sized lakes in Finland and Finnmark are presented as pollen diagrams and isopoll maps and analysed by multidimensional scaling. The results are applicable to problems of regional vegetational history through comparisons of pollen spectra and the use of R-values. It is shown that relative spectra can discriminate the major vegetational regions. APFs give better resolution among northern forest regions and low APFs characterize tundra. Gradients of tree-pollen percentages in south and central Finland are related quantitatively to the major forest gradients, which are azonal, mainly related to soils, and affected but not obscured by human influence. Forest clearance is reflected in frequencies of various non-tree pollen types. Non-tree pollen and spores also provide vegetational and climatic information in the far north.     

Catchment and in-stream influences on metal concentration and ochre deposit density in upland streams, Northern Ireland

Metal concentrations from stream waters in two geological blocks in Northern Ireland were compared to determine the contributions of catchment characteristics and in-stream conditions. One block is composed of metamorphosed schist and unconsolidated glacial drift with peat or peaty podzol (mainly humic) soils, while the other block consists of tertiary basalt with brown earth and gley soils. Water samples were collected from 52 stream sites and analysed for iron (Fe), manganese (Mn) and aluminium (Al) as well as a range of other chemical determinands known to affect metal solubility. Densities of metal-rich ochre deposit were determined for stream bed stone samples. Higher conductivities and concentrations of bicarbonate, alkalinity, calcium and magnesium occurred on basalt than on schist. Despite higher Fe and Mn oxide concentrations in basalt-derived non-humic soils, stream water concentrations were much lower and ochre deposit densities only one-third of those on schist overlain by humic soils. Neither rock nor soil type predicted Al concentrations, but pH and dissolved oxygen did. Peat-generated acidity and the limited acid neutralising capacity of base-poor metamorphosed schist have resulted in elevated concentrations of metals and ochre deposit in surface waters.     

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.     

Pollution caused by metallic fragments introduced into soils because of World War I activities

 The influence of parent rock and soil material on the corrosion rate of metallic fragments that remained in soil after World War I in the Soča front area (Slovenia), as well as the corrosion products of these fragments, were studied. The results of corrosion tests did not indicate appreciable differences in corrosion rates between various corrosion media. Consequently, the corrosion rates are influenced mostly by soil aeration, soil humidity and also by microstructures of alloys. Soil type seems to have the most influence on corrosion products. For the pH and Eh ranges that prevail in the studied soils, goethite is the only stable iron mineral. Lead minerals are not stable, and lead, in a Pb²⁺ cation form, is probably adsorbed onto some minerals – especially goethite – or is bound with organic matter. In distric brown soil, lead stays in the cation form as Pb²⁺ because of high soil acidity. Cuprite is stable in rendzina and brown soil on limestone, whereas in distric brown soil copper stays in solution as Cu²⁺. Received: 7 October 1999 · Accepted: 8 March 2000     

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.     

Late Quaternary environmental studies on salt lakes in western Rajasthan,India: a summarised view

The paper reviews pollen analytical and palaeoenvironmental work carried out on saline lakes in western Rajasthan, northwest India. The saline lakes are salient geomorphological features within the arid and semi-arid landscapes to the west of the Aravalli mountain ranges. Preliminary palynological work was carried out on two profiles from a gypsum-rich lake depression around Thob (District of Barmer). The varied pollen data are indicative of a fluctuating vegetational assemblage, possibly in response to local hydrological conditions and not necessarily indicative of climatic change. Pollen of Ephedra sp. (a typical desert species) in the lower levels suggests episodes of relatively dry conditions during the early phase of lake sedimentation at the end of the Pleistocene. Other work at four lake sites, on the basis of pollen analysis has indicated shifts in climatic and vegetational belts during the early Holocene, especially during the period of Indus Valley Culture. Later in the Holocene, between 5000 and 3500 yr BP, rainfall variations have been related to the dynamics of the monsoon. Pioneering geoarchaeological studies carried out at the palaeolithic site of 16 R and the adjacent Didwana lake have illustrated palaeoclimatic fluctuations and accompanying changes in cultural stages from the lower palaeolithic to mesolithic. These studies have been extended geochemically and sedimentologically through a detailed study documenting a history of salinity from 20000 to 13000 yr BP and freshwater conditions from 9000 to 6000 yr BP. Later studies have illustrated a sequence of changes reflecting summer and winter precipitation. These have indicated steppe vegetation during the last Glacial Maximum along with hypersaline lake conditions at Didwana, inferring a weakened summer monsoon and relatively high winter precipitation. The taxa indicative of both summer and winter precipitation in the mid-Holocene declined during the late Holocene, at the same time as falling lake levels around 4000 yr BP, a time when other lakes, at Sambhar, Lunkaransar and Pachpadra, also became ephemeral. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Effects of rock fragments on infiltration and evaporation in hilly purple soils of Sichuan Basin,China

This paper presents the results of laboratory experiments showing the effects of rock fragments contained in three different purple soils of the Sichuan basin of southwest China. The experiments investigated how these rock fragments alter the soil’s physical, chemical, and agronomical characteristics such as infiltration and evaporation. We found that the infiltration rate, whether horizontal or vertical, in the three soils has the following order: gray brown purple soil < reddish brown purple soil < brown purple soil. With increasing rock fragment contents the accumulated infiltration decreases, while the total time decreases first and then increases. The minimum occurs at approximately 10–20% of fragment content by weight. The infiltration rate also changes with the distance. In the 0–5 cm range, the initial infiltration rate increases with increasing rock fragment contents, while in the 5–10 cm range, the slope of infiltration curve increases with increasing rock fragment contents. With increasing distance, the slope gradually decreases and finally reaches a stable value. The presence of rock fragments reduces soil water content, the minimal value appearing when the rock fragments were on top of the soil column (soil + rock sample), decreasing with increasing rock fragments for other samples mixed with fragments. Under the constant 40°C temperature, the accumulated evaporation and evaporation rate are minimal for soils covered by rock fragments, and the accumulated evaporation decreases with increasing rock fragment for other soil samples. However, the evaporation rate increases with increasing rock fragments in the first 4 days and decreases thereafter.     

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.     

A Holocene vegetation record from the Mississippi River Valley, southeastern Missouri

Pollen preserved in a peat deposit from a large swamp, the Old Field in the Mississippi River Valley near Advance, Missouri, records radiocarbon-dated vegetation changes between 9000 and about 3000 years ago. The principal feature of both the percentage and influx pollen diagrams is the replacement of arboreal pollen, primarily Quercus, Fraxinus, and Cephalanthus, with Gramineae and NAP between 8700 and 5000 years BP. This vegetation shift is interpreted as reflecting a decrease in the extent of the Old Field swamp and its associated bottomland forest species along with the expansion of a grass-dominated herb community, as a result of a reduction in available ground water. The desiccation of the swamp during this period indicates a reduction in precipitation within the ground-water source area and a shift to a drier climate in the southern Midwest. The pollen suggests that the lowest water levels and driest climate in southeastern Missouri lasted from 8700 to 6500 years BP, at which time there is a partial reappearance of swamp species. Relatively dry conditions, however, continued until at least 5000 years BP. Although pollen influx data are lacking from the upper part of the profile, the relative pollen frequencies suggest an increase in trees after 5000 BP. The replacement of the arboreal vegetation by grasses and herbs between 8700 and 5000 years BP reflects the period of maximum expansion of the Prairie Peninsula in southeastern Missouri. The Old Field swamp provides the first pollen evidence that the vegetational changes along the southern border of the Prairie Peninsula were chronologically similar to those on the northern and northeastern margins.     

成都金沙遗址距今3000年的古气候探讨

成都金沙遗址位于成都西郊金沙村,可能是商代晚期至西周时期（约公元前11世纪–前770年）古蜀国的都邑所在地。本文分析了金沙遗址两个探方WT7908和IT8305的31个孢粉样品,探方IT8305孢粉组合表明：蕨类植物孢子占60.3%,草本被子植物花粉占24.8%,木本裸子和被子植物花粉占14.2%,水生植物花粉相对较少,仅占0.7%。蕨类植物主要以蹄盖蕨科、水龙骨科和凤尾蕨属为主,草本植物中野牡丹科占绝对优势,木本裸子和被子植物中主要以松属和桦木属为主,水生植物主要包括双星藻、鸭跖草科和香蒲属。成都平原在这个时期的气候分为两个阶段,前期阶段的气候属于亚热带温暖湿润气候,平原上生长着茂盛的草本植物和蕨类植物;后期阶段的气候虽然还属于亚热带气候,但较前期更加湿热,气温和降雨量都比前期要高。定量分析和重建了金沙遗址距今3000年的古气候：年均温17.7–19.8ºC、最热月均温21.7–28.6ºC、最冷月均温11.5–11.9ºC、年较差12.1–14.9ºC、年降雨量993.3–1113.3 mm、最大月降雨量224.6–268.1 mm、最小月降雨量6.9–14.1 mm。成都地区3000年前的年均温比现在要高1.7–2.8ºC,而年降雨量基本和现在一致。