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Late Wisconsinan Vegetation and Environment of the Tunica Hills Region, Louisiana/Mississippi

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Stephen T. Jackson  and
Charles R. Givens
Stephen T. Jackson
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011-5640
Charles R. Givens
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Science, Nicholls State University, Thibodaux, Louisiana 70310
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Abstract

Pollen, plant macrofossil, and radiocarbon-dating studies of seven exposures of fluvial sediments in the Tunica Hills region of southeastern Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi provide new information on late Wisconsinan vegetation, flora, and environment of the region. The assemblages date between 25,250 and 17,530 yr B.P. Pollen and macrofossil assemblages are dominated by Picea, which comprises 40-70% of the pollen assemblages. Abies and Larix pollen and macrofossils are absent, in contrast to sites to the north in the central Mississippi Valley. Deciduous hardwoods (Quercus, Fagus, Fraxinus, Carya, Juglans nigra, Acer, Ulmus) are minor components of both pollen and macrofossil assemblages. Radiocarbon dates of Picea and Quercus wood indicate that these two genera grew contemporaneously in the region. Regional upland forests were dominated by Picea. Picea cones and cone fragments are not typical of any extant North American species, and probably represent either an extinct species or an extinct variety or subspecies of Picea glauca. Late Wisconsinan climate of the region was cooler than present, but not necessarily as cool as implied by P. glauca or other "boreal" taxa.

Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 41 , Issue 3 , May 1994 , pp. 316 - 325
Copyright
University of Washington

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