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Assessing the effects of climate change and land use on northern Labrador forest stands based on paleoecological data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Isabel Lemus-Lauzon ,
Najat Bhiry  and
James Woollett
Isabel Lemus-Lauzon*
Affiliation:
Centre d’études nordiques and Département de géographie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
Najat Bhiry
Affiliation:
Centre d’études nordiques and Département de géographie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
James Woollett
Affiliation:
Centre d’études nordiques and Département des sciences historiques, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. Centre d’études nordiques and Département de geographie, Université Laval, 2405, rue de la terrasse, Quebec, QC G1V 1A0, Canada. E-mail address:isabel.lemus-lauzon.1@ulaval.ca(I. Lemus-Lauzon)
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Abstract

We reconstructed the late Holocene vegetation of the Nain region (northern Labrador, northeastern Canada) in order to assess the influence of climate and historic land use on past shifts in forest composition. Chronostratigraphy was used in combination with macrofossil and pollen data from monoliths sampled from four peatlands. Paleoecological reconstructions produced a vegetation history spanning 4900 years for the Nain region that is largely concordant with other studies in Labrador. An initial open forest tundra phase was followed by an increase in tree cover at around 2800 cal yr BP. Paludification began ∼200 cal yr BP. A decline in Picea and its subsequent disappearance from most of the sites occurred ∼170 cal yr BP (AD 1780) in a period of relatively mild conditions during the Little Ice Age. This event was followed by the establishment of Larix laricina in the region. Local anthropogenic factors are likely responsible for these later developments, as they were not observed in other regional studies. The period around AD 1780 corresponds to the establishment of the Moravian missionaries on the Labrador coast, which increased the need for fuel and lumber. We conclude that changes in land use are reflected in the patterns of vegetation and hydrological change at the study sites.

Keywords

PaleoecologyLabradorInuitLand useVegetation changeForestClimate changeLittle Ice AgeLate Holocene
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 86 , Issue 3 , November 2016 , pp. 260 - 270
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington 2016

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