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• 1. [Article] Late Quaternary and Holocene Paleoecology of Interior Mesic Forests of Northern Idaho

  The mesic forests distributed within the Rocky Mountains of northern Idaho are unique because many species contained within the forest are separated from their main distribution along the Pacific Northwest ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Late Quaternary and Holocene Paleoecology of Interior Mesic Forests of Northern Idaho Author: Herring, Erin Year: 2014 The mesic forests distributed within the Rocky Mountains of northern Idaho are unique because many species contained within the forest are separated from their main distribution along the Pacific Northwest coast. It remains unclear whether most species within the inland disjunction survived the glacial periods of the Pleistocene, or whether they were more recently dispersed from coastal populations. To see if the dominant tree taxa of the mesic forests today could have persisted in a refugium south of the large ice sheets, four sediment cores were used to reconstruct the vegetation and climate history of the region. A nearly continuous record of pollen and sediment composition (biogenic silica and inorganic and organic matter) over the last ca. 120,000 years provides evidence of a dynamic ecosystem. Over a long timescale, the slow shifts in vegetation are attributed to the changes in climate. During the last interglacial period, the region was warmer and drier with a Pinus dominated mixed conifer forest. Approximately 71,000 years ago, a Pseudotsuga/Larix forest became established in the area as a response to the increased available moisture. As climate cooled and glaciers expanded the Pinus and Picea forest was the dominant vegetation type until ca. 40,000 years ago. The environment during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was so harsh that no vegetation record was recorded. After the LGM, climate warmed, enabling a Pinus and Picea forest to establish and persist until the Holocene. The mesic taxa that dominate the modern forests did not arrive in northern Idaho until the mid- to late-Holocene. The recent arrival of the dominant tree species, Thuja plicata and Tsuga mertensiana, suggests that they likely did not persist in a refugium during the last glaciation. Instead, these species recently dispersed from coastal populations, but expansion into their interior distributions was likely limited by both climate and species competition in already established forests. During the late-Quaternary, the deposition of thick tephra layers (>20 cm) from the eruptions of Glacier Peak (ca. 13,400 years ago) and Mt. Mazama (ca. 7,600 years ago) also facilitated an abrupt and persistent change in vegetation in northern Idaho. Title: Late Quaternary and Holocene Paleoecology of Interior Mesic Forests of Northern Idaho Author: Herring, Erin Year: 2014 The mesic forests distributed within the Rocky Mountains of northern Idaho are unique because many species contained within the forest are separated from their main distribution along the Pacific Northwest coast. It remains unclear whether most species within the inland disjunction survived the glacial periods of the Pleistocene, or whether they were more recently dispersed from coastal populations. To see if the dominant tree taxa of the mesic forests today could have persisted in a refugium south of the large ice sheets, four sediment cores were used to reconstruct the vegetation and climate history of the region. A nearly continuous record of pollen and sediment composition (biogenic silica and inorganic and organic matter) over the last ca. 120,000 years provides evidence of a dynamic ecosystem. Over a long timescale, the slow shifts in vegetation are attributed to the changes in climate. During the last interglacial period, the region was warmer and drier with a Pinus dominated mixed conifer forest. Approximately 71,000 years ago, a Pseudotsuga/Larix forest became established in the area as a response to the increased available moisture. As climate cooled and glaciers expanded the Pinus and Picea forest was the dominant vegetation type until ca. 40,000 years ago. The environment during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was so harsh that no vegetation record was recorded. After the LGM, climate warmed, enabling a Pinus and Picea forest to establish and persist until the Holocene. The mesic taxa that dominate the modern forests did not arrive in northern Idaho until the mid- to late-Holocene. The recent arrival of the dominant tree species, Thuja plicata and Tsuga mertensiana, suggests that they likely did not persist in a refugium during the last glaciation. Instead, these species recently dispersed from coastal populations, but expansion into their interior distributions was likely limited by both climate and species competition in already established forests. During the late-Quaternary, the deposition of thick tephra layers (>20 cm) from the eruptions of Glacier Peak (ca. 13,400 years ago) and Mt. Mazama (ca. 7,600 years ago) also facilitated an abrupt and persistent change in vegetation in northern Idaho. Close

• 2. [Article] Palynological Perspectives on Younger Dryas to Early Holocene Human Ecology at Paisley Caves, Oregon

  The Younger Dryas climatic event is a global phenomenon associated with a 1,000 year return to glacial conditions during the late Pleistocene period between 12,800 and 11,500 cal BP. Because of its significant ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Palynological Perspectives on Younger Dryas to Early Holocene Human Ecology at Paisley Caves, Oregon Author: Saban, Chantel V. The Younger Dryas climatic event is a global phenomenon associated with a 1,000 year return to glacial conditions during the late Pleistocene period between 12,800 and 11,500 cal BP. Because of its significant effects on paleoenvironmental conditions in some parts of the world, archaeologists commonly seek to assess whether the Younger Dryas climatic event had any measureable influence on prehistoric human societies. The early, well preserved archaeological and paleoenvironmental records held in the Paisley Caves site of Oregon's Northern Great Basin provide an opportunity to examine questions human-environmental interaction at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. Based on a study of pollen records and artifact frequency in the site's Cave 2 deposits, this thesis reports a positive relationship between artifact deposition and marsh expansion in the Summer Lake sub-basin during the Younger Dryas chronozone. While not indicative of a major change in early forager cultural patterns in the Northern Great Basin, these results provide an important perspective on early settlement patterns and human ecology in the far western region of North America. Title: Palynological Perspectives on Younger Dryas to Early Holocene Human Ecology at Paisley Caves, Oregon Author: Saban, Chantel V. The Younger Dryas climatic event is a global phenomenon associated with a 1,000 year return to glacial conditions during the late Pleistocene period between 12,800 and 11,500 cal BP. Because of its significant effects on paleoenvironmental conditions in some parts of the world, archaeologists commonly seek to assess whether the Younger Dryas climatic event had any measureable influence on prehistoric human societies. The early, well preserved archaeological and paleoenvironmental records held in the Paisley Caves site of Oregon's Northern Great Basin provide an opportunity to examine questions human-environmental interaction at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. Based on a study of pollen records and artifact frequency in the site's Cave 2 deposits, this thesis reports a positive relationship between artifact deposition and marsh expansion in the Summer Lake sub-basin during the Younger Dryas chronozone. While not indicative of a major change in early forager cultural patterns in the Northern Great Basin, these results provide an important perspective on early settlement patterns and human ecology in the far western region of North America. Close