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Palynological Evidence for Late- and Postglacial Environmental Change in Central Colorado

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Lee A. Vierling
Lee A. Vierling*
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental, Population, and Organismic Biology and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80309
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Abstract

A sediment core recovered from Lost Park (39°17′30″N, 105°32′30″W; elevation 3079 m) provides palynological evidence for postglacial vegetational and environmental change in the central Front Range of Colorado. Pine–spruce woodland was the dominant vegetation type throughout the ∼12,000-yr-long record. Nonarboreal taxa, however, showed substantial changes. From 11,800 to 9100 14C yr B.P., high Artemisia levels suggest steppe vegetation indicative of a climate cooler than that at present with an annual precipitation regime dominated by winter moisture. The pollen spectra of this interval resemble modern spectra at two sites within Colorado and Wyoming; comparisons of modern climatic data suggest that Lost Park may have experienced winter temperatures 3° to 3.5°C colder than those at present and monthly winter precipitation levels 3.5 cm higher than those at present during this late-glacial time. Lower Artemisia, coupled with increases in Poaceae pollen, suggest a shift to warmer conditions dominated by summer (monsoon) precipitation around 9100 14C yr B.P. Increased charcoal occurrences between ∼6000 and ∼4000 14C yr B.P. may suggest the onset of drier summer conditions that would be expected with a waning summer monsoon circulation at that time. Since 180014C yr B.P., a resurgence in Artemisia pollen suggests a return to relatively cool and/or dry conditions similar to the present climate.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 49 , Issue 2 , March 1998 , pp. 222 - 232
Copyright
University of Washington

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