Late Quaternary vegetation history of the Yellowstone Lake basin, Wyoming

Baker, Richard G.

doi:10.3133/pp729e

Cited by 61 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…The climate conditions associated with the best seven modern "analogs" for each fossil sample were then averaged to calculate the reconstructed temperatures. Representative fossil pollen data series were obtained from the North American Pollen Database (Grimm 2010) for Yellowstone National Park (Buckbean Fen;44.30 N, -110.26 W, 2,362 m;Baker 1976) and the Bighorn Mountains (Sherd Lake; 44.27 N, -107.01 W, 2,665 m; Burkart 1976). These two records are among the six bestresolved pollen records from Wyoming in the database (those with >1-2 pollen samples per 500-yr interval over the past 12,000 years), and of these records, have the highest mean reconstructed temperature anomalies for the Holocene (11,700-0 years before AD 1950).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Wyoming temperature trends, their drivers, and impacts in a 14,000-year context

Shuman

2011

Climatic Change

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Wyoming provides more fossil fuels to the remainder of the United States than any other state or country, and its citizens remain skeptical of anthropogenic influences on their climate. However, much of the state including Yellowstone National Park and the headwaters of several major river systems, may have already been affected by rising temperatures. This paper examines the historic climate record from Wyoming in the context of ∼14,000-year temperature reconstructions based on fossil pollen data. The analysis shows that 24 of 30 U.S. Historical Climatology Network records from the state show an increase in the frequency of unusually warm years since 1978. Statewide temperatures have included 15 years (50%) from 1978 to 2007 that were greater than 1σ above the mean annual temperature for 1895-1978. The frequent warm years coincide with a reduction in the frequency of extremely low (<−20°C) January temperatures, and are not well explained by factors such as solar irradiance and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Linear regressions require inclusion of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations to explain the multi-decadal temperature trends. The observed warming is large in Yellowstone National Park where 21 years (70%) from 1978 to 2007 were greater than 1σ above the 1895-1978 mean; the deviation from the mean (>1°C) is greater than any time in the past 6,000 years. Recent temperatures have become as high as those experienced from 11,000 to 6,000 years ago when summer insolation was >6% higher than today and when regional ecosystems experienced frequent severe disturbances.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Wyoming temperature trends, their drivers, and impacts in a 14,000-year context

Shuman

2011

Climatic Change

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“…Tundra (Zone 1).-Prior to ϳ9500 yr BP the study area was apparently above treeline, as the percentage of tree pollen is lower than in surface samples collected from tundra sites in the region (Baker 1976, Whitlock 1993, Fall 1994, Mullenders and Coremans 1996. Whitebark pine probably grew at treeline, which was displaced during the late Pleistocene to an elevation of 1800-2400 m, or 600-1200 m below modern treeline (Thompson et al 1993).…”

Section: General Trends In Holocene Vegetation Near Fish Creek Parkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fossil pollen percentages have been used to reconstruct Holocene vegetation changes in the Rocky Mountains (for example, Waddington and Wright 1974, Baker 1976, Whitlock 1993, Fall et al 1995. For the present study it is necessary to refine these techniques to obtain a record of changes in a fine-scale vegetation mosaic within the subalpine forest zone.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pollen percentages were compared to modern surface samples (Baker 1976, Whitlock 1993, Fall 1994, Mullenders and Coremans 1996 and published pollen diagrams from the region (Waddington and Wright 1974, Baker 1976, Whitlock 1993, Fall et al 1995 to reconstruct regional trends in vegetation change.…”

Section: Vegetation Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The resulting ordinations showed long-term trends in fossil pollen data, provided a visual comparison of fossil samples to modern pollen samples, and helped justify the use of the C:H ratio and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) in portions of the five cores (Figs. Prior to ϳ5000 yr BP, regional climate and vegetation differed from the modern condition in the region (Waddington and Wright 1974, Baker 1976, Mehringer et al 1977, Whitlock 1993, Fall et al 1995. The C:H ratios and LDA scores based on modern pollen samples were used to separate fossil samples into park and forest vegetation.…”

Section: Vegetation Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Origin of a Park–forest Vegetation Mosaic in the Wind River Range, Wyoming

Lynch

1998

Ecology

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The vegetation of the montane and subalpine zones of the Rocky Mountains is a mosaic of conifer forests and large (1 ha to several square kilometers) treeless ''parks'' dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), grasses, and forbs. Three hypotheses for the origin of parks are proposed. The ''permanent site hypothesis'' states that the park-forest vegetation mosaic is a result of differences in physical characteristics of sites. In the ''remnant hypothesis'' parks are thought to be remnants of vegetation that was widespread under previous climate conditions. The ''replacement hypothesis'' states that parks replace forest vegetation in response to disturbance, climate change, or a combination of these two factors. Patterns in the past distribution of park and forest vegetation in the vicinity of Fish Creek Park (elevation 2750 m) were used to test these hypotheses.Fossil pollen extracted from the sediments of five small ponds in and around Fish Creek Park was used to reconstruct Holocene vegetation changes. Changes in vegetation were reconstructed through the use of multivariate analyses and pollen ratios derived from modern surface samples and by comparison with pollen data from other studies. The pollen record indicates that shortly after deglaciation (ϳ11 000 yr BP) the area supported alpine tundra, followed by whitebark pine-spruce-fir parkland at ϳ9500 yr BP. From ϳ8500 to 6000 yr BP, a pine parkland occupied the area, perhaps in response to climate conditions warmer than today. By 5000 yr BP a mixed pine-spruce-fir forest resembling the modern subalpine forest near Fish Creek Park probably replaced the pine parkland at all five sites. The modern park vegetation originated only within the last ϳ2500 yr.The conversion to park vegetation may not have been synchronous at all three sites, and the replacement of forest by park did not always result in a long-term conversion to park vegetation. The timing and pattern of changes in the vegetation mosaic eliminate the permanent site and remnant hypotheses and suggest instead that climatic cooling over the last several thousand years, possibly combined with removal of forest cover by fire or some other disturbance, could explain the origin of Fish Creek Park.

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Climatic and non‐climatic controls shaping early postglacial conifer history in the northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA

Krause¹,

Whitlock

2017

J Quaternary Science

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Mountain ecosystems are characterized by their complex vegetation responses to past climate variability because of the interplay between large‐scale climate changes and local‐scale biotic and abiotic conditions. This study reconstructs the early postglacial expansion of conifer populations in the northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The objective is to examine how climate change and non‐climatic factors, including species characteristics, edaphic conditions and disturbance, governed postglacial vegetation changes. Spruce populations expanded first at 13 300 cal a BP, concurrent with soil development and warming summers. Subalpine fir populations expanded after 12 300 cal a BP and probably lagged spruce expansion due to differences in climatic tolerances and/or its poorer seed dispersing capacity. Pine species expanded nearly synchronously after 11 300 cal a BP in response to elevated summer temperatures and increased fire activity. Douglas‐fir populations expanded last after 10 200 cal a BP during the early Holocene summer insolation maximum and cooler winters. The sequence and timing of conifer expansions in the northern GYE are consistent with the regional conifer history, indicating strong vegetation responses to millennial‐scale climate change associated with the seasonal cycle of insolation across spatial scales. Nonetheless, non‐climatic factors, including landscape stabilization and subsequent soil development, seed dispersing characteristics and fire, still shaped local‐scale patterns of conifer expansion.

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Late Quaternary vegetation history of the Yellowstone Lake basin, Wyoming

Cited by 61 publications

References 21 publications

Recent Wyoming temperature trends, their drivers, and impacts in a 14,000-year context

Recent Wyoming temperature trends, their drivers, and impacts in a 14,000-year context

Origin of a Park–forest Vegetation Mosaic in the Wind River Range, Wyoming

Climatic and non‐climatic controls shaping early postglacial conifer history in the northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA

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