Vegetative and fire history of the area surrounding Keyhold Pond, Yukon Territory
Dates
Year
2001
Citation
Whittmire, Christina Mabel, 2001, Vegetative and fire history of the area surrounding Keyhold Pond, Yukon Territory: The University of Regina (Canada).
Summary
Combining proxy methods in paleoecology studies has the potential to bring new insight into changes in vegetation over time. Keyhole Pond, a small lake in southwest Yukon Territory, is surrounded by small grasslands but located within the boreal forest. This lake was chosen to explore local grassland and forest changes over the Holocene, as well as the impact of fire on these communities. A 3-metre lake sediment core was retrieved from the deepest part of the lake using a modified Livingston piston-corer. The lake sediment core has a basal date of ∼11,000 before present (BP). Samples were extracted at 3-centimetre intervals (∼100 years between samples) and processed for both pollen and charcoal analysis. Only charcoal particles >150 [...]
Summary
Combining proxy methods in paleoecology studies has the potential to bring new insight into changes in vegetation over time. Keyhole Pond, a small lake in southwest Yukon Territory, is surrounded by small grasslands but located within the boreal forest. This lake was chosen to explore local grassland and forest changes over the Holocene, as well as the impact of fire on these communities. A 3-metre lake sediment core was retrieved from the deepest part of the lake using a modified Livingston piston-corer. The lake sediment core has a basal date of ∼11,000 before present (BP). Samples were extracted at 3-centimetre intervals (∼100 years between samples) and processed for both pollen and charcoal analysis. Only charcoal particles >150 μm in longest dimension were counted for analysis. At least 500 pollen grains were identified per sample, excluding aquatics. Grassland composition has remained essentially the same throughout the Holocene, and the grassland area has not fluctuated much in extent. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)