Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-mwx4w Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-01T09:44:33.498Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Postglacial vegetation history of Mitkof Island, Alexander Archipelago, southeastern Alaska

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Thomas A. Ager ,
Paul E. Carrara ,
Jane L. Smith ,
Victoria Anne  and
Joni Johnson
Thomas A. Ager*
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mail Stop 980, Box 25046 Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225, USA
Paul E. Carrara
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Mail Stop 980, Box 25046 Denver Federal Center, Denver, CO 80225, USA
Jane L. Smith
Affiliation:
U.S. Forest Service, Tongass National Forest, Petersburg, AK 99833, USA
Victoria Anne
Affiliation:
U.S. Forest Service, Tongass National Forest, Petersburg, AK 99833, USA
Joni Johnson
Affiliation:
U.S. Forest Service, Tongass National Forest, Petersburg, AK 99833, USA
*
*Corresponding author.E-mail address:tager@usgs.gov (T.A. Ager).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

An AMS radiocarbon-dated pollen record from a peat deposit on Mitkof Island, southeastern Alaska provides a vegetation history spanning ∼12,900 cal yr BP to the present. Late Wisconsin glaciers covered the entire island; deglaciation occurred > 15,400 cal yr BP. The earliest known vegetation to develop on the island (∼12,900 cal yr BP) was pine woodland (Pinus contorta) with alder (Alnus), sedges (Cyperaceae) and ferns (Polypodiaceae type). By ∼12,240 cal yr BP, Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) began to colonize the island while pine woodland declined. By ∼11,200 cal yr BP, mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) began to spread across the island. Sitka spruce-mountain hemlock forests dominated the lowland landscapes of the island until ∼10,180 cal yr BP, when western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) began to colonize, and soon became the dominant tree species. Rising percentages of pine, sedge, and sphagnum after ∼7100 cal yr BP may reflect an expansion of peat bog habitats as regional climate began to shift to cooler, wetter conditions. A decline in alders at that time suggests that coastal forests had spread into the island's uplands, replacing large areas of alder thickets. Cedars (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, Thuja plicata) appeared on Mitkof Island during the late Holocene.

Keywords

Mitkof IslandSoutheastern AlaskaPollen recordsVegetation historyLate QuaternaryPaleoclimateRadiocarbon dating
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 73 , Issue 2 , March 2010 , pp. 259 - 268
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

1 Present address: U.S. Forest Service, Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest, 2150 Centre Street, Fort Collins, CO 80526-8119, USA.
2 Present address: Petersburg High School, P.O. Box 289, Petersburg, AK 99833, USA.

References

Aaby, B., Digerfeldt, G., (1986). Sampling techniques for lakes and bogs. Berglund, B., Handbook of Holocene Palaeoecology and Palaeohydrology. Wiley, Chichester, England., 181–194.Google Scholar
Ager, T.A., (2007). Vegetation development on Heceta Island, southeastern Alaska during the late glacial and Holocene. Geological Society of America, Program with Abstracts 39, 17.Google Scholar
Alley, R.B., Meese, D.A., Shuman, A.J., Gow, A.J., Taylor, K.C., Grootes, P.M., White, J.W.C., Ram, M., Waddington, E.D., Mayewski, P., Zielinski, G.A., (1993). Abrupt accumulation increase at the Younger Dryas termination in the GISP2 ice core. Nature 362, 527–529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baichtal, J.F., Streveler, G., Fifield, T.E., (1997). The geological, glacial, and archeological history of southern southeast. Rennick, P, Alaska's Southern Panhandle. Alaska Geographic 24, 6–31.Google Scholar
Barrie, J.V., Conway, K.W., (1999). Late Quaternary glaciation and postglacial stratigraphy of the northern Pacific margin of Canada. Quaternary Research 51, 113–123.Google Scholar
Barrie, J.V., Conway, K.W., Josenhans, H., Clague, J.J., Mathewes, R.W., Fedje, D.W., (2005). Late Quaternary geology of Haida Gwaii and surrounding marine areas. Fedje, D.W., Mathewes, R.W., Haida Gwaii " Human History and Environment from the Time of Loon to the Time of the Iron People. University of British Columbia Press, Pacific Rim Archaeology Series, Vancouver., 7–20.Google Scholar
Barron, J.A., Bukry, D., Dean, W.E., Addison, J.A., Finney, B., (2009). Paleoceanography of the Gulf of Alaska during the past 15,000 years: results from diatoms, silicoflagellates, and geochemistry. Marine Micropaleontology 72, 176–195.Google Scholar
Blaise, B., Clague, J.J., Mathewes, R.W., (1990). Time of maximum Late Wisconsin glaciation, west coast of Canada. Quaternary Research 34, 282–295.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calkin, P.E., (1988). Holocene glaciation in Alaska (and adjoining Yukon Territory. Canada. Quaternary Science Reviews 7, 159–184.Google Scholar
Carrara, P.E, Ager, T.A, Baichtal, J, Van Sistine, P., (2003). Map of glacial limits and possible refugia in southern Alexander Archipelago, Alaska, during the late Wisconsin glaciations. U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF 2424, 1:500,000 scale, with text.Google Scholar
Carrara, P.E., Ager, T.A., Baichtal, J., (2007). Possible refugia in the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska during the late Wisconsin glaciation. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 44, 229–244.Google Scholar
Clague, J.J., (1985). Deglaciation of the Prince Rupert-Kitimat area, British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 22, 256–265.Google Scholar
Cwynar, L.C., (1990). A late Quaternary vegetation history from Lily Lake, Chilkat Peninsula, southeast Alaska. Canadian Journal of Botany 68, 1106–1112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dachnowski-Stokes, A.P., (1941). Peat resources of Alaska. Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin 769, 84 pp.Google Scholar
Dixon, E.J., Heaton, T.H., Fifield, T.E., Hamilton, T.D., Putnam, D.E., Grady, F., (1997). Late Quaternary regional geoarchaeology of southeast Alaska karst: a progress report. Geoarchaeology 12, 689–712.Google Scholar
Doher, L.I., (1980). Palynomorph preparation procedures currently used in the Paleontology and Stratigraphy laboratories. U.S. Geological Survey. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 830, 1–29.Google Scholar
Engstrom, D.R., Hansen, B.C.S., Wright, H.E., (1990). A possible Younger Dryas record in southeastern Alaska. Science 250, 1383–1385.Google Scholar
Fairbanks, R.G., Mortlock, R.A., Chiu, T.C., Cao, L., Kaplan, A., Guilderson, T.P., Fairbanks, T.W., Bloom, A.L., (2005). Marine radiocarbon calibration curve spanning 0 to 50,000 years B.P. based on paired 230Th/234U/238U and 14C dates on pristine corals. Quaternary Science Reviews 24, 1781–1796.Google Scholar
Gehrels, G.E, Berg, H.C., (1992). Geologic map of southeast Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Map I-1867, scale 1: 600,000.Google Scholar
Grimm, E., (1991). TILIAGRAPH 2.0.b.5 (computer software). Illinois State Museum, Research and Collections Center, Springfield, IL. Google Scholar
Grimm, E., (1993). TILIA v 2.0 (computer software). Illinois State Museum, Research and Collections Center, Springfield, IL. Google Scholar
Hansen, B.C.S., Engstrom, D.R., (1996). Vegetation history of Pleasant Island, southeastern Alaska, since 13,000 yr B.P. Quaternary Research 46, 161–175.Google Scholar
Heaton, T.H., Grady, F., (2003). The late Wisconsin vertebrate history of Prince of Wales Island, southeast Alaska. Schubert, B.W., Mead, J.I., Graham, R.W., Ice Age Cave Faunas of North America. Indiana Univ. Press, Bloomington., 17–53.Google Scholar
Hebda, R.J., (1983). Late-glacial and postglacial vegetation history at Bear Cove Bog, northeast Vancouver Island. British Columbia: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 61, 3172–3192.Google Scholar
Hebda, R.J., Mathewes, R.W., (1984). Holocene history of cedar and native Indian cultures of the North American Pacific Coast. Science 225, 711–713.Google Scholar
Hetherington, R., Barrie, J.V., Reid, G.B., MacLeod, R., Smith, D.J., (2004). Paleogeography, glacially-induced crustal displacement, and late Quaternary coastlines on the continental shelf of British Columbia. Canada. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, 295–318.Google Scholar
Heusser, C.J., (1952). Pollen profiles from southeastern Alaska. Ecological Monographs 22, 331–352.Google Scholar
Heusser, C.J., (1954). Additional pollen profiles from southeastern Alaska. American Journal of Science 252, 106–119.Google Scholar
Heusser, C.J., (1960). Late-Pleistocene Environments of North Pacific North America. American Geographical Society Special Publication 35, New York, 308 pp.Google Scholar
Heusser, C.J., (1965). A Pleistocene phytogeographical sketch of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Wright Jr., H.E., Frey, D.G., The Quaternary of the United States. Princeton University Press, Princeton., 469–483.Google Scholar
Heusser, C.J., (1985). Quaternary pollen records from the Pacific Northwestern Coast: Aleutians to the Oregon-California Boundary. Bryant Jr., , , V.M., Holloway, , , R.G., Pollen Records of Late-Quaternary North American Sediments. American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists Foundation, Dallas., 141–165.Google Scholar
Heusser, C.J., (1989). North Pacific coastal refugia: the Queen Charlotte Islands in perspective. Scudder, G.G.E., Gessler, N., The Outer Shores. Queen Charlotte Islands Museum Press, Skidegate., 91–106.Google Scholar
Heusser, C.J., Heusser, L.E., Peteet, D.M., (1985). Late-Quaternary climatic change on the American North Pacific coast. Nature 315, 485–487.Google Scholar
Holloway, R G., (1989). Analysis of botanical materials. In Davis, S.D. (ed.), The Hidden Falls site, Baranof Island, Alaska . Aurora 5, 61-92., Anchorage, Alaska Anthropological Association. http://www.radiocarbon.ldeo.columbia.edu.http://www.wrcc.dri.edu.Google Scholar
Hult"n, E., (1968). Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories. Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, CA., 1008 pp.Google Scholar
Ives, P.C., Levin, B., Oman, C.L., Rubin, M., (1967). U.S. Geological Survey radiocarbon dates IX. Radiocarbon 9, 505–529.Google Scholar
Kaufman, D.S., Manley, W.F., (2004). Pleistocene maximum and late Wisconsin glacier extents across Alaska, U.S.A.. Ehlers, J., Gibbard, P.L., Quaternary Glaciations " Extent and Chronology, Part II. North America. Developments in Quaternary Science vol. 2, Amsterdam, Elsevier., 9–27.Google Scholar
Lacourse, T., Mathewes, R.W., (2005). Terrestrial paleoecology of Haida Gwaii and the continental shelf: vegetation, climate, and plant resources of the coastal migration route. Fedje, D.W., Mathewes, R.W., Haida Gwaii: Human History and Environment from the Time of Loon to the Time of the Iron People. Pacific Rim Archaeology Series. University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver., 38–58.Google Scholar
Lacourse, T., Mathewes, R.W., Fedje, D.W., (2003). Paleoecology of late-glacial terrestrial deposits with in situ conifers from the submerged continental shelf of western Canada. Quaternary Research 60, 180–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lacourse, T., Mathewes, R.W., Fedje, D.W., (2005). Late-glacial vegetation dynamics of the Queen Charlotte Islands and adjacent continental shelf, British Columbia, Canada. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 226, 36–57.Google Scholar
Mann, D.H., (1986). Wisconsin and Holocene glaciation of southeast Alaska. Hamilton, T.D., Reed, K.M., Thorson, R.M., Glaciation in Alaska " The Geologic Record. Anchorage, Alaska Geological Society., 237–265.Google Scholar
Mathewes, R.W., (1993). Evidence for Younger Dryas-age cooling on the north Pacific coast of America. Quaternary Science Reviews 12, 321–331.Google Scholar
Miller, R.D., (1973). Gastineau Channel Formation, a composite glaciomarine deposit near Juneau, Alaska. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1394-C, C1–C20.Google Scholar
Moriya, K., (1978). Flora and Palynomorphs of Alaska. Kodansha Publishing Co., Tokyo., 366 pp. (in Japanese with English captions).Google Scholar
Neiland, B.J., (1971). The forest-bog complex of southeast Alaska. Vegetatio 22, 1–64.Google Scholar
Nowacki, G, Shephard, M, Krosse, P, Pawuk, W, Fisher, G, Baichtal, J, Brew, D, Kissinger, E, and Brock, T., (2001). Ecological subsections of southeast Alaska and neighboring areas of Canada. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service Alaska Region Technical Publication R-10-TP-75, 306 pp.Google Scholar
Pawuk, W.H, Kissinger, E.J., (1989). Preliminary plant association classification of the Stikine Area, Tongass National Forest. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service Report R10-TP-72, Juneau, Alaska., 125 pp.Google Scholar
Peteet, D.M., (1986). Modern pollen ran and vegetational history of the Malaspina Glacier District. Alaska Quaternary Research 25, 100–120.Google Scholar
Peteet, D.M., (1991). Postglacial migration history of lodgepole pine near Yakutat, Alaska (USA). Canadian Journal of Botany 69, 786–796.Google Scholar
Peteet, D.M., Mann, D.H., (1994). Late-glacial vegetational, tephra, and climatic history on southwestern Kodiak Island, Alaska. Ecoscience 1, 255–267.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Baillie, M.G.L., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J.W., Bertrand, C., Blackwell, P.G., Buck, C.E., Burr, G., Cutler, K.B., Damon, P.E., Edwards, R.L., Fairbanks, R.G., Friedrich, M., Guilderson, T.P., Hughen, K.A., Kromer, B., McCormac, F.G., Manning, S., Bronk Ramsey, C., Reimer, R.W., Remmele, S., Southon, J.R., Stuiver, M., Talamo, S., Taylor, F.W., van der Plicht, J., Weyhenmeyer, C.E., (2004). Intcal04 terrestrial radiocarbon age calibration, 0-26 CAL KYR BP. Radiocarbon 46, 1029–1058.Google Scholar
Schofield, W.B., (1992). Some common mosses of British Columbia: Royal British Columbia Museum Handbook. 2nd ed. Victoria, 398 pp.Google Scholar
Southon, J., Fedje, D., (2003). A post-glacial record of 14C reservoir ages for the British Columbia coast. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 27, 95–111.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., Polach, H.A., (1977). Reporting of 14C data. Radiocarbon 19, 355–363.Google Scholar
S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service, (1994). Mitkof Island Road Guide, Alaska Region, Tongass National Forest. Map (1:63,360 scale) with text.Google Scholar
Viereck, L.A, Little Jr., E.L., (1975). Atlas of United States Trees. V. 2, Alaska Trees and Common Shrubs. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service Miscellaneous Publication 1293, 84 pp.Google Scholar
Warner, B.G., (1984). Late Quaternary paleoecology of eastern Graham Island. Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, Canada. Unpublished PhD Dissertation, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby. Google Scholar