The regional vegetational history of the High Peaks (Adirondack Mountains) New York

Whitehead, Donald R.; Jackson, Stephen T.

doi:10.5962/bhl.title.135552

Cited by 22 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…On the basis of macrofossils of spruce, balsam fir, and birch, Spear (1989) postulated early Holocene upward movement of treeline, ending some time before 6000 yBP. Macrofossil evidence from the Adirondack Mountains (Jackson, 1989;Whitehead and Jackson, 1990) and the White Mountains (Spear et al, 1994) shows raised elevational limits for white pine (300 m), hemlock (300 m, Adirondacks; 200 m, White Mountains), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) (150 m, Adirondacks), which is interpreted as an increase in temperature of 1°C or more from about 9000 to at least 4000 yBP.…”

Section: Conclusion and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Late-Quaternary history of the alpine flora of the New Hampshire White Mountains

Miller¹,

Spear²

2002

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A distinctive flora of 73 species of vascular plants and numerous bryophytes occurs in the ca. 20 km 2 of alpine tundra in the White Mountains, New Hampshire. The late- Quaternary distribution of these plants, many of which are disjuncts, was investigated by studies of pollen and plant macrofossils from lower Lakes of the Clouds (1 542 m) in the alpine zone of Mount Washington. Results were compared with pollen and macrofossils from lowland late-glacial deposits in western New England. Lowland paleofloras contained fossils of 43 species of vascular plants, 13 of which occur in the contemporary alpine flora of the White Mountains. A majority of species in the paleoflora has geographic affinities to Labrador, northern Québec, and Greenland, a pattern also apparent for mosses in the lowland deposits. The first macrofossils in lower Lakes of the Clouds were arctic-alpine mosses of acid soils. Although open-ground mosses and vascular plants continued to occur throughout the Holocene, indicating that alpine tundra persisted, fossils of a low-elevation moss Hylocomiastrum umbratum are evidence that forest (perhaps as krummholz) covered a greater area near the basin from 7 500 to 3 500 yBP. No calcicolous plants were recovered from sediments at lower Lakes of the Clouds. Climatic constraints on the alpine flora during the Younger Dryas oscillation and perhaps during other cold-climate events and intervening periods of higher temperature may have led to the loss of plant species in the White Mountain alpine zone. Late-glacial floras of lowland western New England were much richer than floras of areas above treeline during late-glacial time and at the present.

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Section: Conclusion and Summarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Late-Quaternary history of the alpine flora of the New Hampshire White Mountains

Miller¹,

Spear²

2002

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“…Diatom taxa were assigned to one of Hustedt's (1939) pH categories based on literature references (e.g., Lowe, 1974;Cholnoky, 1968;Marilainen, 1967;Renberg, 1976) and independently based on the present distribution of the taxa in 38 Adirondack lakes (Charles, 1982, The major aspects of vegetational change in the High Peaks region since deglaciation can be inferred from the pollen diagrams. Pollen sequences from all three sites are similar (Whitehead & Jackson, 1988), so we will present only the diagram for Heart Lake (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Regional Vegetational Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Open spruce-dominated woodlands developed between 11500 to 9 700 yr B.P. Whitehead & Jackson, 1988).…”

Section: Regional Vegetational Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This has been confn-med by many paleoecological studies, For example, the late-glacial and Holocene vegetational changes in mountainous regions of northeastern North America are now reasonably well understood. In general there appears to have been a progression from tundra to spruce-dominated boreal woodlands, to mixed conifer-hardwood forest with white pine, to hardwoods with much hemlock, to hardwoods with little hemlock, to hardwoods with some spruce (e.g., Whitehead et aL, 1986;Whitehead & Jackson, 1988;Davis, 1983;Webb, 1981;Overpeck, 1985;Davis & Jacobson, 1985;Webb et aL, 1983;Davis et al, 1980;Gaudreau & Webb, 1988). There have been major regional and local changes in vegetation, in some cases involving shifts from conifer domination to hardwoods and back to conifers once again.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The analyses have included pollen, plant macrofossils, diatoms, chrysophytes, sedimentary pigments, total metals, and 14C dating. Much of this study, in particular the lateglacial and Holocene acidity changes experienced by these lakes, has been described elsewhere (Whitehead et aL, 1986;Whitehead & Jackson, 1988;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The developmental history of Adirondack (N.Y.) lakes

et al. 1989

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We utilized paleoecological techniques to reconstruct long-term changes in lake-water chemistry, lake trophic state, and watershed vegetation and soils for three lakes located on an elevational gradient (661-1150 m) in the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains of New York State (U.S.A.). Diatoms were used to reconstruct pH and trophic state. Sedimentary chrysophytes, chlorophylls and carotenoids supplied corroborating evidence. Pollen, plant macrofossils, and metals provided information on watershed vegetation, soils, and biogeochemical processes. All three lakes were slightly alkaline pH 7-8) and more productive in the late-glacial. They acidified and became less productive at the end of the late-glacial and in the early Holocene. pH stabilized 8000-9000 yr B.P. at the two higher sites and by 6000 yr B.P. at the lowest. An elevational gradient in pH existed throughout the Holocene. The highest site had a mean Holocene pH close to or below 5; the lowest site fluctuated around a mean of 6. The higher pH and trophic state of the late-glacial was controlled by leaching of base cations from fresh unweathered till, a process accelerated by the development of histosols in the watersheds as sprucedominated woodlands replaced tundra. An apparent pulse of lake productivity at the late-glacialHolocene boundary is correlated with a transient, but significant, expansion of alder (Alnus crispa) populations. The alder phase had a significant impact on watershed (and hence lake) biogeochemistry. The limnological changes of the Holocene and the differences between lakes were a function of an elevational gradient in temperature, hydrology (higher precipitation and lower evapotranspiration at higher elevation), soil thickness (thinner tills at higher elevation), soil type (histosols at higher elevation), vegetation (northern hardwoods at lower elevation, spruce-fir at higher), and different Holocene vegetational sequences in the three watersheds.

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The paleolimnology of North Pond: watershed-lake interactions

Huvane

Whitehead

1996

J Paleolimnol

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The regional vegetational history of the High Peaks (Adirondack Mountains) New York

Cited by 22 publications

References 41 publications

Late-Quaternary history of the alpine flora of the New Hampshire White Mountains

Late-Quaternary history of the alpine flora of the New Hampshire White Mountains

The developmental history of Adirondack (N.Y.) lakes

The paleolimnology of North Pond: watershed-lake interactions

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