Late Quaternary History of Tundra Vegetation in Northwestern Alaska
Abstract Pollen analysis of a new core from Joe Lake indicates that the late Quaternary vegetation of northwestern Alaska was characterized by four tundra and two forest-tundra types. These vegetation types were differentiated by combining quantitative comparisons of fossil and modern pollen assembl...
Published in: | Quaternary Research |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
1994
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/qres.1994.1035 http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589484710350?httpAccept=text/xml http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589484710350?httpAccept=text/plain https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589400036905 |
id |
crcambridgeupr:10.1006/qres.1994.1035 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crcambridgeupr:10.1006/qres.1994.1035 2024-06-09T07:50:00+00:00 Late Quaternary History of Tundra Vegetation in Northwestern Alaska Anderson, Patricia M. Bartlein, Patrick J. Brubaker, Linda B. 1994 http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/qres.1994.1035 http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589484710350?httpAccept=text/xml http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589484710350?httpAccept=text/plain https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589400036905 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Quaternary Research volume 41, issue 3, page 306-315 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 journal-article 1994 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1006/qres.1994.1035 2024-05-15T13:05:07Z Abstract Pollen analysis of a new core from Joe Lake indicates that the late Quaternary vegetation of northwestern Alaska was characterized by four tundra and two forest-tundra types. These vegetation types were differentiated by combining quantitative comparisons of fossil and modern pollen assemblages with traditional, qualitative approaches for inferring past vegetation, such as the use of indicator species. Although imprecisely dated, the core probably spans at least the past 40,000 yr. A graminoid- Salix tundra dominated during the later and early portions of the glacial record. The middle glacial interval and the transition from glacial to interglacial conditions are characterized by a graminoid- Betula-Salix tundra. A Populus forest- Betula shrub tundra existed during the middle potion of this transition, being replaced in the early Holocene by a Betula-Alnus shrub tundra. The modern Picea forest-shrub tundra was established by the middle Holocene. These results suggest that the composition of modem tundra communities in northwestern Alaska developed relatively recently and that throughout much of the late Quaternary, tundra communities were unlike the predominant types found today in northern North America. Although descriptions of vegetation variations within the tundra will always be restricted by the innate taxonomic limitations of their herb-dominated pollen spectra, the application of multiple interpretive approaches improves the ability to reconstruct the historical development of this vegetation type. Article in Journal/Newspaper Tundra Alaska Cambridge University Press Quaternary Research 41 3 306 315 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Pollen analysis of a new core from Joe Lake indicates that the late Quaternary vegetation of northwestern Alaska was characterized by four tundra and two forest-tundra types. These vegetation types were differentiated by combining quantitative comparisons of fossil and modern pollen assemblages with traditional, qualitative approaches for inferring past vegetation, such as the use of indicator species. Although imprecisely dated, the core probably spans at least the past 40,000 yr. A graminoid- Salix tundra dominated during the later and early portions of the glacial record. The middle glacial interval and the transition from glacial to interglacial conditions are characterized by a graminoid- Betula-Salix tundra. A Populus forest- Betula shrub tundra existed during the middle potion of this transition, being replaced in the early Holocene by a Betula-Alnus shrub tundra. The modern Picea forest-shrub tundra was established by the middle Holocene. These results suggest that the composition of modem tundra communities in northwestern Alaska developed relatively recently and that throughout much of the late Quaternary, tundra communities were unlike the predominant types found today in northern North America. Although descriptions of vegetation variations within the tundra will always be restricted by the innate taxonomic limitations of their herb-dominated pollen spectra, the application of multiple interpretive approaches improves the ability to reconstruct the historical development of this vegetation type. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Anderson, Patricia M. Bartlein, Patrick J. Brubaker, Linda B. |
spellingShingle |
Anderson, Patricia M. Bartlein, Patrick J. Brubaker, Linda B. Late Quaternary History of Tundra Vegetation in Northwestern Alaska |
author_facet |
Anderson, Patricia M. Bartlein, Patrick J. Brubaker, Linda B. |
author_sort |
Anderson, Patricia M. |
title |
Late Quaternary History of Tundra Vegetation in Northwestern Alaska |
title_short |
Late Quaternary History of Tundra Vegetation in Northwestern Alaska |
title_full |
Late Quaternary History of Tundra Vegetation in Northwestern Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Late Quaternary History of Tundra Vegetation in Northwestern Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Late Quaternary History of Tundra Vegetation in Northwestern Alaska |
title_sort |
late quaternary history of tundra vegetation in northwestern alaska |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1994 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/qres.1994.1035 http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589484710350?httpAccept=text/xml http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589484710350?httpAccept=text/plain https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589400036905 |
genre |
Tundra Alaska |
genre_facet |
Tundra Alaska |
op_source |
Quaternary Research volume 41, issue 3, page 306-315 ISSN 0033-5894 1096-0287 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1006/qres.1994.1035 |
container_title |
Quaternary Research |
container_volume |
41 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
306 |
op_container_end_page |
315 |
_version_ |
1801382954083024896 |