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A 14,300-year-long record of fire–vegetation–climate linkages at Battle Ground Lake, southwestern Washington

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Megan K. Walsh ,
Cathy Whitlock  and
Patrick J. Bartlein
Megan K. Walsh*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
Cathy Whitlock
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman MT 59717, USA
Patrick J. Bartlein
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA. Fax: +1 541 346 2067. E-mail address:mwalsh2@uoregon.edu (M.K. Walsh).
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Abstract

High-resolution macroscopic charcoal analysis was used to reconstruct a 14,300-year-long fire history record from the lower Columbia River Valley in southwestern Washington, which was compared to a previous vegetation reconstruction for the site. In the late-glacial period (ca. 14,300-13,100 cal yr BP), Pinus/Picea-dominated parkland supported little to no fire activity. From the late-glacial to the early Holocene (ca. 13,100-10,800 cal yr BP), Pseudotsuga/Abies-dominated forest featured more frequent fire episodes that burned mostly woody vegetation. In the early to middle Holocene (ca. 10,800-5200 cal yr BP), Quercus-dominated savanna was associated with frequent fire episodes of low-to-moderate severity, with an increased herbaceous (i.e., grass) charcoal content. From the middle to late Holocene (ca. 5200 cal yr BP to present), forest dominated by Pseudotsuga, Thuja-type, and Tsuga heterophylla supported less frequent, but mostly large or high-severity fire episodes. Fire episodes were least frequent, but were largest or most severe, after ca. 2500 cal yr BP. The fire history at Battle Ground Lake was apparently driven by climate, directly through the length and severity of the fire season, and indirectly through climate-driven vegetation shifts, which affected available fuel biomass.

Keywords

Fire historyMacroscopic charcoalPollenLate-glacialHoloceneLower Columbia River ValleyWashington
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 70 , Issue 2 , September 2008 , pp. 251 - 264
Copyright
University of Washington

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