Holocene environmental history and climate of Råtåsjøen,a low-alpine lake in south-central Norway

The Holocene environmental history and climate are reconstructed for Råtåsjøen, a low-alpine lake in south-central Norway. The reconstructions are based on chironomids, diatoms, pollen, plant macrofossils, and sediment characteristics. From plant macrofossil evidence, birch trees (Betula pubescens) immigrated ca. 10,000 cal BP. The chironomid-inferred mean July air temperature was high, but may be unreliable during the early stages of the lakes history due to the high abundance of Chironomus anthracinus type, a taxon that may include several species. From ca. 9000 cal BP the inferred mean July temperature was lower (ca. 9 °C). Temperatures increased towards 8000 cal BP and pine (Pinus sylvestris) reached its upper limit near the lake. July temperature may have become a significant factor controlling long-term pH in the lake, starting shortly after 8000 cal BP. High pH values were associated with periods of warm summers and lower pH values occurred during periods of colder summers. Alkalinity processes within the lake and/or the catchment are possible factors controlling this relationship. A temperature decline at ca. 5400 cal BP separated two 10.6 °C temperature maxima around 6400 and 4500 cal BP. The 1.5 °C decline in July air temperatures from ca. 4400 cal BP was paralleled by a decrease of pH from 7.2 to 6.8. Following the temperature drop, first pine and then birch trees declined and disappeared from the catchment and organic accumulation in the lake increased. The increased organic accumulation rate had a positive effect on diatom production. At ca. 2700 cal BP the temperature reached a minimum (ca. 9.2 °C) and correspondingly a second pH minimum was reached. Temperature decreased again slightly at ca. 400 cal BP during the Little Ice Age, before increasing by about 0.5 °C towards the present. Percentage organic carbon as estimated by loss-on-ignition appears to be better correlated with chironomid-inferred July temperatures than organic accumulation rates, at least for the last 9000 years. Accumulation rates of organic sediments are more coupled with catchment-related processes, such as erosion and major changes in vegetation, than is percentage organic carbon.     

Efstadalsvatn – a multi-proxy study of a Holocene lacustrine sequence from NW Iceland

Multi-proxy data, both lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic, are presented from Efstadalsvatn, a lake in NW Iceland. The sequence covers the period 10,000 to 3500 ¹⁴C yr B.P. The biostratgraphic data include the first Icelandic chironomid-based reconstruction of Holocene mean July air temperatures, using a Norwegian training set in the absence of modern Icelandic data. The results show that deglaciation and ecosystem development probably began before 10,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. and that July temperatures were around 4°C at ca. 9500 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Temperatures then rose to ca. 8°C at the time of the deposition of the Saksunarvatn tephra (9100 ¹⁴C yr B.P.), reaching ca. 10°C by 8500 ¹⁴C yr B.P., high enough for the growth of tree birch, although successful birch colonisation did not take place until 6750 ¹⁴C yr B.P. There is some evidence for cooling immediately preceding 9100 ¹⁴C yr B.P. There is little firm biostratigraphic evidence for the 8200 cal. B.P. event, although this may be due to a relatively low resolution pollen sampling interval, but there are changes at this time in the total carbon (TC) and mass susceptibility (MS) data. Optimal temperatures and relative vegetation stability may have occurred between 8000–6100 ¹⁴C yr B.P. but the chironomid assemblages indicate higher temperatures after 5000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. This latter interpretation may, however, reflect delayed colonisation of thermophilous taxa and requires further investigation. There is evidence in the lithostratigraphy for greater local terrestrial instability after 6100 ¹⁴C yr B.P. but it seems unlikely that this led to the redevelopment of ice in the catchment. The biostratigraphic records appear to show a degree of resistence to climate forcing throughout the early and middle Holocene. The new chironomid-based temperature reconstruction needs to be refined by further studies in Iceland, particularly the development of an Icelandic training set, but has already demonstrated the problems of paleoclimatic interpretations based on pollen and/or macrofossil evidence alone.     

Holocene regional and local vegetation history and lake-level changes in the Torneträsk area, northern Sweden

A combination of pollen and macrofossil analyses from six lakes at altitudes between 370 and 999 m above sea level (a.s.l.) in the Torneträsk area reflect the Holocene vegetation history. The main field study area has been the Abisko valley at altitudes around 400 m a.s.l. The largest lake, Vuolep Njakajaure has annually laminated (varved) sediments. The chronology and sedimentation rates in the pollen-influx calculations are based on varve yrs in this lake and on radiocarbon dated terrestrial plant macrofossils in the other lakes. A strong increase of mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. tortuosa) during the early Holocene with a tree-line c. 300 m above the present, indicates that the summer temperature was c. 1.5 °C higher than today, assuming that the land uplift has been 100 m since then. Scattered stands of pine (Pinus sylvestris) may have been growing in the area immediately after the deglaciation but a forest consisting of pine and mountain birch expanded first at low elevations and reached the eastern parts of the Torneträsk area at c. 8300 cal BP and the western parts at c. 7600 cal BP. The highest pine-birch forest limit was not reached until 6300 cal BP (110 m above present pine limit). Warm and dry conditions during the pine forest maximum led to lowering of the water level documented in Lake Badsjön in the Abisko valley about 1-1.5 m lower than today. Pine and mountain birch were growing at the maximum altitude until c. 4500 cal BP. Assuming that land uplift has been in the range of 20-40 m since the mid-Holocene, this implies that the temperature was then c. 1.5-2 °C higher than today. Rising lake-levels and lowering limits of pine and mountain birch since c. 4500 cal BP indicate a more humid and cool climate during the late Holocene.     

The development of the aquatic ecosystem at Kråkenes Lake, western Norway, during the late glacial and early Holocene - a synthesis

This paper synthesises the palaeoecological reconstructions, including palaeoclimatic inferences, based on the available fossil record of plants (pollen, macrofossils, mosses, diatoms) and animals (chironomids, Cladocera, Coleoptera, Trichoptera, oribatid mites) in the late-glacial and early-Holocene sediments of Kråkenes Lake, western Norway, with special emphasis on changes in the aquatic ecosystem. New percentage and influx pollen diagrams for selected taxa provide insights into the terrestrial setting. The information from all the proxies is collated in a stratigraphical chart, and the inferred changes in the lake and its catchment are discussed. The individual fossil sequences are summarised by detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), and sample scores on the first DCA axes are plotted against an estimated calendar-year timescale for comparison of the timing and magnitude of changes in assemblage composition. The DCA plots show that the large late-glacial biotic changes were synchronous, and were driven by the overriding forcing factor of temperature. During the early Holocene, however, the changes in different groups were more gradual and were independent of each other, showing that other factors were important and interactive, such as the inwash of dissolved and particulate material from the catchment, the base and nutrient status of the lake-water, and the internal processes of ecosystem succession and sediment accumulation. This multi-disciplinary study, with proxies for changes in the lake and in the catchment, highlights the dependence of lake biota and processes not only on regional climatic changes but also on changes in the lake catchment and on internal processes within the lake. Rates of change for each group are also estimated and compared. The reaction times to the sharp temperature changes at the start and end of the Younger Dryas were very rapid and occurred within a decade of the temperature change. Aquatic organisms tracked the temperature and environmental changes very closely, and are probably the best recorders of late-glacial climatic change in the fossil record.     

The effect of Holocene treeline fluctuations on the sediment chemistry of Lake Kilpisjärvi, Finland

The sediments of Lake Kilpisjärvi were described and analysed for element chemistry and pollen to study the effects of treeline fluctuations in the catchment. Lake Kilpisjärvi is one of the largest lakes in Finnish Lapland, with its catchment partly above the treeline and partly covered with mountain birch woodland. Although the presence of subfossil pine shows that the catchment was previously covered with mountain birch woodland during the Holocene, the present pine treeline has receded 70 km from the lake. Pollen analysis results show that pine immigrated to the area during the Atlantic chrone and that 7000 BP pine forests occupied much of the catchment. Pine started to decline around 3500 BP and vegetation in the catchment became more open. Alkaline and alkaline earth metals and some transition metals document the change from glaciolacustrine clay to more organic sediment. However, these geochemical trends give no indication of changes in erosion rate resulting from changes in catchment vegetation. These changes were detected by plotting suitable element ratios. In addition to the conventional Si/Al and Na/K ratios, the Ca _labile /Si ratio and especially the ratio of labile Ca to K were found to be useful. Of all the elements analysed, potassium showed the strongest reaction to changes in the balance between weathering and erosion. During the phase of denser forests, chemical weathering was dominant, whereas during phases of open catchment, physical erosion prevailed. The effects of changing climate and catchment vegetation were distinguished from other signals. For instance, iron and manganese were enriched at the top of the core due to diffusion and, at the same time, old precipitate layers persisted after burial to deeper levels in the sediment. These iron and manganese rich layers had an effect on the distributions of cobalt, zinc, and vanadium, showing increased concentrations of these elements. Other effects that made the interpretation of chemical records difficult were the effect of ongoing mineralization of organic matter in the top layers of sediment and the effect of biogenic silicon. Owing to the stable conditions of the lake, the desired chemical signals were detected, despite the masking trends.     

Design of environmental decision support system and its application to water quality management

1 IntroductionEnvironmental decision support systems could be divided into two categories by their organizational form and system functions. One is regional environmental analytical system based on commercial GIS and assisted by environmental models, such as BASINS developed by the American NEPA using ARC/VIEW as its user platform and including QUAL2E and NPSM as its prediction tools. The other is environmental information and prediction system based on mathematical models, such as…     

Holocene vegetation history of Bundjalung National Park and Bungawalbin Creek,north‐eastern New South Wales

Few studies have been conducted into the environmental history of the North Coast region of New South Wales (NSW). To address this, two sedimentary sequences located in the coastal Bundjalung National Park and at Bungawalbin Creek, just north of the Park (both near Evans Head, NSW) have been investigated. Palynological and geochemical analyses were used to reconstruct the history of the sites. Fossil pollen evidence representing much of the Holocene period — basal radiocarbon dates of 8700 ± 60 years BP and 6600 ± 60 years BP are available from the Bundjalung National Park and Bungawalbin Creek sites, respectively — indicates a dynamic past environment, with an overall tendency towards drier conditions. This evidence is supported, in part, by charcoal analyses indicating an increase in the occurrence of fire over time. Chemical analyses of the sediments indicate that the Bungawalbin site was strongly influenced by estuarine conditions, whereas the Bundjalung National Park site was only influenced indirectly by estuarine conditions.     

The shape of Fraught – urban – rural – the nation-state: tensions and dynamics

I argue that the tension between cities and nation states go through the countryside, or rural areas, at least in the U.S. Further, cities are decidedly constrained in their abilities to effectuate many of the changes associated with them: addressing climate change, economic inequality and more. What is missing is the way in which rural alienation from economic prosperity plays out politically.     

Quantification of Holocene lake-level changes in Finnish Lapland using a cladocera – lake depth transfer model

During recent years, numerous studies dealing with Holocene lake level fluctuations have been conducted in Finnish Lapland. However, no quantification of lake level variations exists to date. Here, we applied a recently developed modern cladocera – lake depth transfer model to subfossil cladocerans analysed from three small and shallow (< 6 m) kettle-hole lakes in northwestern Finnish Lapland to provide estimates of the amplitudes of long-term lake-level changes in the region. The quantitative inferences were compared to pollen, charcoal and geochemical records from one of the study sites. The lake levels were inferred to be high during the early Holocene; they faced marked reduction up to 4–6 m in the mid-Holocene (≈7000–4000 cal yr BP), and rose again during the latter part of the Holocene. There is some indication of lowered lake levels around 1500 cal yr BP, but interpretation of such small-scale changes is hazardous due to large prediction errors in the initial cladoceran model. The overall pattern of the Holocene lake level variation generally followed the regional changes in climate humidity as reconstructed in previous studies by means of other sedimentary proxy indicators, such as pollen and oxygen isotopic compositions. We postulate that changes in winter precipitation may have had a greater influence on lake-levels than variations in summer precipitation or evaporation.     

Environmental history of an urban lake: a palaeolimnological study of Lake Jyväsjärvi, Finland

Sedimentary diatom frustules and chironomid remains, in addition to the chemical stratigraphy of 32 elements and organic pollutants such as resin acids, PCB, DDT and its metabolites, were studied from core samples taken from Lake Jyväsjärvi in Central Finland (64° 14 N, 25° 47 E). The sediment profile covered over 200 years, with the oldest samples representing a period of very low human interference. The town of Jyväskylä was established on the lake shore in 1837, and the lake received untreated municipal wastewater from the town up until, 1977. A paper mill started operations in 1872 and began discharging effluent into Lake Jyväsjärvi. In recent years this effluent loading has been reduced. Based on the biological and chemical properties of the sediment strata, five developmental phases were distinguished and named as follows: (1) a pre-industrial phase (approximately up until the 1860s); (2) a phase of early changes in the lake ecosystem (from the 1870s to ca. 1940s); (3) a phase of increasing eutrophication (from ca. 1950 to ca. 1965); (4) a phase of severe pollution (from ca. 1966 to the early-1990s); and (5) a phase of recovery, which proceeded more quickly during the late-1990s following long-term hypolimnetic aeration. It was estimated that the ecological status of the lake changed from good to moderate during the second phase. Due to the poor chemical status of the lake (including increased concentrations of harmful substances) and the pronounced changes in diatom and chironomid communities, the ecological status from 1950 to the early-1990s was classified as bad. The present ecological status, after a slow recovery of about 20 years, can be classified as moderate/poor. Chemical analysis of the sediment revealed that some elements (C, N, P, S, Ba, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Ni and Zn) followed the known history of municipal waste water discharge into the lake, but Hg, Cr and persistent organic pollutants had different stratigraphies, and therefore mainly originated from other sources. Pronounced changes in profundal benthic communities (chironomids) started about 80 years later than those in diatoms, but later changes in chironomid assemblages were greater than those in diatoms.     

The spatial morphological determining mechanism in a evolution of RBD and its typical scenic tourist city： The case study of Yangshuo County

在讨论游憩商业区（RBD）定义与深度访谈的基础上,通过形状指数、土地利用动态度等指标测度典型旅游城市阳朔县RBD的形成与发展,并对其影响因素与成长机制进行路径分析,研究表明：（1）阳朔RBD的形成源于旅游业的发展,西街是RBD演变的初始地。以西街为基础衍生出“十字”、“工字”、南北“日字”与网状结构的RBD形态。1979～2005年,阳朔RBD空间形态上经历了从线性状态向网状的空间形态变化,而土地利用类型的动态变化经历了较长时期的平稳扩展时期后,2003～2005年开始急速扩展。（2）在土地市场、地方政府政策、大型事件以及外部控制等多种因素的影响下,阳朔RBD的变化呈现短期均衡,这种均衡是“旅游投资一旅游产业规模”,“游客人数一旅游产业规模”正反馈,“消费预期一游客人数”、“旅游121碑一游客人数”、“旅游产业规模一地价”负反馈共同作用下旅游用地从西街向其外围拓展,并不断循环的结果。（3）在客观存在的竞标地租与利益群体的集体选择行为下,阳朔RBD呈现从西街开始向外围扩展并最终形成以其为中心的网状结构。由于RBD的边界尚未有权威的界定,其外部性也没有办法得到量化。     

The development of Fujian’s outward-oriented economy and its regional differentiation

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Early Holocene shore displacement and evidence of irregular isostatic uplift northwest of Lake Vänern, western Sweden

In the 1920's the Swedish geologist Lennart von Post found evidence of irregular early Holocene isostatic uplift in the region northwest of Lake Vänern in western Sweden. von Post based his conclusions on levellings of ancient shore lines. These were indirectly dated by pollen stratigraphical investigations in basins situated at approximately the same altitudes as the shore lines. To test von Post's hypothesis, we have adopted a different methodological approach. The sediments in twelve small lake basins, within five minor areas in this region, have been investigated with respect to when they became isolated from ancient Lake Vänern. Initially all the lake thresholds were levelled. Altitudes range between 165 and 96 m above sea level. By combining the results of mineral magnetic and diatom stratigraphical analyses it has been possible to determine the level in the sediment when the basin became isolated. The ¹⁴C age of this isolation level has been inferred from AMS dates based on the NaOH-soluble fraction of bulk sediment, partly with very low organic content. Altogether, 36 radiocarbon datings have been carried out, ranging from 10080 to 8800 ¹⁴C years BP. Pollen analyses, and subsequent correspondence analysis (CA) of all pollen spectra, were carried out around the isolation level in each basin as a complement to the AMS datings.If the region had been subject to irregular isostatic uplift, lakes at the same altitude in the five areas should have been isolated at different times. The AMS determined isolation ages, corrected according to CA of the pollen stratigraphy and compensated for the relatively higher rebound of the northerly situated sites support von Post's conclusion, from the beginning of this century, that the region northwest of Lake Vänern has been subjected to irregular isostatic uplift.     

The Norwegian Nature Index – state and trends of biodiversity in Norway

The aim of the Norwegian Nature Index (NI) is to provide an overview of the state of biodiversity within and across major ecosystems. The index is composed of a series of indicators, each representing individual species or diversity measures. The indicators are standardized and scaled in relation to a reference state, and combined for ecosystems or geographical regions, to give a number between 1 (reference state) and 0 (seriously degraded biodiversity). In 2010, the state of biodiversity was highest in mountains, ocean, coastal waters, and freshwater (NI=0.69–0.80), intermediate for mires and wetlands (NI=0.55), and lowest for open lowlands and forests (NI=0.43–0.44). The NI increased 8–10% in freshwater and the ocean (bottom and pelagic) from 1990–2010, but decreased by>10% in open lowlands during the same period. Since its launch in September 2010, the Nature Index has been approved by the Ministry of Finance as an indicator for biodiversity in the set of sustainable development indicators and approved by the Ministry of Environment as an indicator of the state of major ecosystems.     

The causes and environmental effects of land use conversion during agricultural restructuring in Northeast China

1IntroductionLand use change has received lots of attention internationally (Turner etal., 1994). Understanding of the mechanism of land use change and its adverse effect on the environment is conducive to understanding of population, resources, environment and sustainable economic development on the global, national and regional scales. With the rapid rise in human population, human-induced changes in land use form an important component of regional environmental change. In China, to emphasi…     

The history and impact of air pollution at Čertovo Lake,southwestern Czech Republic

This multi-disciplinary investigation documents the longterm effects of atmospheric pollution of metals and acids on a geologically sensitive catchment in the umava Mountains, southwestern Czech Republic, a region with a long history of human disturbance. A 30 cm long sediment core (I) from ertovo Lake was analyzed for natural and artifical radionuclides, metals, diatoms, chrysophytes, and pollen in sediments accumulated during the last 200 years. A second core (II), extending to 95 cm, included sediment judged to be free of atmospheric deposition of pollutants associated with the Industrial Revolution. Chronostratigraphic markers include several changes in the pollen assemblages corresponding to well-documented changes in land-use, and distinct distributions of ¹³⁷Cs, ¹³⁴Cs and ²⁴¹Am from weapons testing and the 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Russia. These markers corroborate the ²¹⁰Pb dating and, together, produce a reliable chronology extending back nearly to 1800 A.D.Stratigraphic profiles of Cu, Pb, and Zn in Core I are unlike any previously reported in the literature. Concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Zn remain generally above 100, 400, and 200 g g^-1, respectively, for the 200 years represented by Core I. These values are unusually high for sediments from a watershed with no known heavy-metal ore bodies. Accumulation rates for Cu, Pb, and Zn, which include both atmospheric and watershed contributions, are also high (ca 1, > 1 and > 1 g cm^-2 yr^-1, respectively) for the same period, although the anthropogenic contribution of Zn rose from nearly zero at 1800 A.D. The Cu and Pb accumulation rates rose dramatically about 1640 A.D.Accumulation rates of anthropogenically-derived Be, a relatively abundant element in the soft coals of the region, are also elevated by about 0.01 g cm^-2 yr^-1 in sediments of this period. Vanadium accumulation rates increased only since 1980 A.D., presumably along with increased consumption of oil.Diatom assemblages illustrate that the lake was acidic (pH between 4.5 and 5) through at least the past 200 years. The pH declined significantly (from ca 5 to 4) between 1960 and 1985 with a slight increase to 4.5 in the last few years. Recent diatom and chrysophyte assemblages suggest high trace metal concentrations, consistent with the present lake-water chemistry.     

Late Pleistocene and early Holocene ecological response of Lake El Trébol (Patagonia, Argentina) to environmental changes

Stratigraphy of Lake El Trébol (41°S 71°W, 758 m a.s.l.) described from an 11 m long sediment core provided a continuous record of patecenvironmental changes occurred during the last 14,000 years in southern South America east of the Andes. Located in an ecotonal area within a strong humidity gradient, this lake offers a unique opportunity to develop paleolimnological studies. Using a geochemical approach that includes elemental analysis, bulk organic matter, major nutrients and pigments combined with chironomids and pollen analysis, three zones were identified in the sedimentary record of this take. The oldest one (between 680 and 1,100 cm) corresponds to the late Glacial period. During that time, clayish laminated sediments were formed in a proglacial environment. Low organic matter, biogenic silica and nitrogen contents and the absence of pigments, pollen and chironomids characterise this period. At the end of this period, ca. 14,000 yr BP, a sharp increase in phosphorus concentrations predates major changes in limnological parameters. The transition zone (between 560 and 680 cm) is related to major changes in the drainage system that started soon after ca. 14,000 yr BP and continued to ca. 10,500 yr BP. The chemical composition of the sediments was affected by an increase in physical weathering mechanisms almost coincident with the increase in the regional volcanic activity that produced suspended volcanic detritus. The increase of mainly coarser detritical components may indicate a reorganisation of the fluvial system by that time. Simultaneously, an increase in the productivity of the lake accompanied by a gradual replacement of open vegetation with Nothofagus, Poaceae and Ericaceae, by Nothofagusforest, was observed. In the last zone (between 0 and 560 cm) the productivity of Lake El Trébol achieves maximum values. The trends in geochemical and biological indicators observed at Lake El Trébol can be up to some extent, correlated to those registered in Lake Mascardi. The results support earlier paleoctimatic scenarios from southern South America.     

Holocene environmental change according to lake core in Fildes Peninsula of King George Island,Antarctica

Lake core sampled from Xihu in Fildes Peninsula of King Gorge Island, Antarctica could reveal the environmental change of the district. The lake core( GA7) , 9.28 meters long , was sectioned at an interval of 2 cm. Through measuring the organic carbon, magnetic susceptibility, granularity and organic carbon isotope of GA7, by use of 14C age it was estimated that there were four periods of high temperature in Fildes Peninsula; 4800-4400 aB. P. , 3600-3350 aB. P. ,2100 - 1800 aB. P. and 900 aB. P. - present. Meanwhile, results showed that there was a strikingly positive correlation between the content of organic carbon and that of organic carbon isotope (δC01213 ) which could be the substitute indicators of environmental temperature.     

The importance of being reliable – Local ecological knowledge and management of forage plants in a dryland pastoral system (Morocco)

In dryland rangelands with their high environmental variability, local ecological knowledge of forage plants is essential for management decisions. Ecological apparency hypothesis (EAH) predicts plants' availability and visibility to be important criteria for local valuation. However, EAH has mainly been tested in low-variability systems. We ask whether EAH is valid for forage plants in drylands; which other local criteria exist; and how criteria are connected to management decisions.In a Moroccan pastoral system, we applied a novel ethnobotanical method by calculating the Cognitive Salience Index (CSI) for plants' valuation (CSI_antro) and availability (CSI_eco). To evaluate explicit criteria, we correlated palatability and nutritive value to CSI_anthro. ANCOVAs related CSI_anthro to EAH criteria (CSI_eco and lifetime) and to plant occurrence on pasture types. We found EAH criteria to better predict CSI_antro than explicit criteria. Apparent plants from semi-arid pastures were more valued than those from arid pastures (HSD; p < 0.05). We introduce the criterion of reliability into EAH to explain this, and demonstrate how pastoralists adjust management decisions to resource reliability. Linking resource valuation to management decisions can thus improve our understanding of resilience mechanisms. Our study also confirms the validity of EAH for forage species and dryland environments.