Past environmental and climatic changes related to tree-line shifts inferred from fossil diatoms from a lake near the Lena River Delta, Siberia

Changes in diatom assemblages in a sediment core taken from a tundra lake near the Lena River Delta, northeastern Siberia, reflect climatic and environmental changes throughout the Holocene. Significant limnological changes occurred at the same time as trees advanced into the region c. 9100 cal. yr...

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Published in:The Holocene
Main Authors: Laing, Tamsin E., Rühland, Kathleen M., Smol, John P.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publications 1999
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/095968399675614733
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1191/095968399675614733
id crsagepubl:10.1191/095968399675614733
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spelling crsagepubl:10.1191/095968399675614733 2024-10-06T13:50:28+00:00 Past environmental and climatic changes related to tree-line shifts inferred from fossil diatoms from a lake near the Lena River Delta, Siberia Laing, Tamsin E. Rühland, Kathleen M. Smol, John P. 1999 http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/095968399675614733 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1191/095968399675614733 en eng SAGE Publications https://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license The Holocene volume 9, issue 5, page 547-557 ISSN 0959-6836 1477-0911 journal-article 1999 crsagepubl https://doi.org/10.1191/095968399675614733 2024-09-24T04:11:57Z Changes in diatom assemblages in a sediment core taken from a tundra lake near the Lena River Delta, northeastern Siberia, reflect climatic and environmental changes throughout the Holocene. Significant limnological changes occurred at the same time as trees advanced into the region c. 9100 cal. yr BP (8500 radiocarbon yr BP) and subsequently retreated c. 3800 cal. yr BP (3500 radiocarbon yr BP). Prior to this tree-line shift, diatom assemblages were dominated by small benthic Fragilaria species, and diatom-inferred alka linity values were high, suggesting that climatic conditions were cool and relatively dry, and that lake pro ductivity was probably low. Coincident with tree-line advance into the region c. 9100 cal. yr BP, inferred alkalinity decreased and remained low throughout the forested period, reflecting soil development and increased organic runoff associated with the shift in catchment vegetation. The establishment of a larch forest in the catchment corresponded with an initial period of limnological change between 9100 and 7700 cal. yr BP, suggesting that soil and forest development took place over approximately 1400 years. Between c. 7700 cal. yr BP (c. 7000 radiocarbon yr BP) and 3800 cal. yr BP, a stable diatom assemblage dominated by Achnanthes species and low diatom-inferred alkalinity indicate the influence of organic runoff associated with a fully developed forest. A return to cooler conditions and reversion to shrub tundra c. 3800 cal. yr BP coincided with a shift back to a Fragilaria-dominated diatom assemblage and an increase in diatom-inferred alkalinity. Recent conditions have been marked by declining alkalinity estimates and a minor change in diatom assemblages, most likely reflecting an influx of humic substances from catchment peats. The close correlation between trends in reconstructed alkalinity and catchment vegetation suggests that diatom-inferred alkalinity may provide a sensitive record of soil and forest development in unpolluted circumneutral or alkaline tree-line lakes. Article in Journal/Newspaper lena river Tundra Siberia SAGE Publications Alka ENVELOPE(25.023,25.023,70.867,70.867) The Holocene 9 5 547 557
institution Open Polar
collection SAGE Publications
op_collection_id crsagepubl
language English
description Changes in diatom assemblages in a sediment core taken from a tundra lake near the Lena River Delta, northeastern Siberia, reflect climatic and environmental changes throughout the Holocene. Significant limnological changes occurred at the same time as trees advanced into the region c. 9100 cal. yr BP (8500 radiocarbon yr BP) and subsequently retreated c. 3800 cal. yr BP (3500 radiocarbon yr BP). Prior to this tree-line shift, diatom assemblages were dominated by small benthic Fragilaria species, and diatom-inferred alka linity values were high, suggesting that climatic conditions were cool and relatively dry, and that lake pro ductivity was probably low. Coincident with tree-line advance into the region c. 9100 cal. yr BP, inferred alkalinity decreased and remained low throughout the forested period, reflecting soil development and increased organic runoff associated with the shift in catchment vegetation. The establishment of a larch forest in the catchment corresponded with an initial period of limnological change between 9100 and 7700 cal. yr BP, suggesting that soil and forest development took place over approximately 1400 years. Between c. 7700 cal. yr BP (c. 7000 radiocarbon yr BP) and 3800 cal. yr BP, a stable diatom assemblage dominated by Achnanthes species and low diatom-inferred alkalinity indicate the influence of organic runoff associated with a fully developed forest. A return to cooler conditions and reversion to shrub tundra c. 3800 cal. yr BP coincided with a shift back to a Fragilaria-dominated diatom assemblage and an increase in diatom-inferred alkalinity. Recent conditions have been marked by declining alkalinity estimates and a minor change in diatom assemblages, most likely reflecting an influx of humic substances from catchment peats. The close correlation between trends in reconstructed alkalinity and catchment vegetation suggests that diatom-inferred alkalinity may provide a sensitive record of soil and forest development in unpolluted circumneutral or alkaline tree-line lakes.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Laing, Tamsin E.
Rühland, Kathleen M.
Smol, John P.
spellingShingle Laing, Tamsin E.
Rühland, Kathleen M.
Smol, John P.
Past environmental and climatic changes related to tree-line shifts inferred from fossil diatoms from a lake near the Lena River Delta, Siberia
author_facet Laing, Tamsin E.
Rühland, Kathleen M.
Smol, John P.
author_sort Laing, Tamsin E.
title Past environmental and climatic changes related to tree-line shifts inferred from fossil diatoms from a lake near the Lena River Delta, Siberia
title_short Past environmental and climatic changes related to tree-line shifts inferred from fossil diatoms from a lake near the Lena River Delta, Siberia
title_full Past environmental and climatic changes related to tree-line shifts inferred from fossil diatoms from a lake near the Lena River Delta, Siberia
title_fullStr Past environmental and climatic changes related to tree-line shifts inferred from fossil diatoms from a lake near the Lena River Delta, Siberia
title_full_unstemmed Past environmental and climatic changes related to tree-line shifts inferred from fossil diatoms from a lake near the Lena River Delta, Siberia
title_sort past environmental and climatic changes related to tree-line shifts inferred from fossil diatoms from a lake near the lena river delta, siberia
publisher SAGE Publications
publishDate 1999
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/095968399675614733
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1191/095968399675614733
long_lat ENVELOPE(25.023,25.023,70.867,70.867)
geographic Alka
geographic_facet Alka
genre lena river
Tundra
Siberia
genre_facet lena river
Tundra
Siberia
op_source The Holocene
volume 9, issue 5, page 547-557
ISSN 0959-6836 1477-0911
op_rights https://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1191/095968399675614733
container_title The Holocene
container_volume 9
container_issue 5
container_start_page 547
op_container_end_page 557
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