Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-24hb2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T22:45:59.378Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Temperate rainforest response to climate change and disturbance agents in northwestern Patagonia (41°S) over the last 2600 years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Abstract

We present detailed pollen and charcoal records from Lago Pichilafquén (~ 41°S) to decipher the effects of climate change and varying disturbance regimes on the composition and structure of the vegetation on the Andean foothills of northwestern Patagonia during the last 2600 yr. Here, temperate rainforests have dominated the landscape since 2600 cal yr BP with variations ranging from cool-temperate and wet north Patagonian rainforests to relatively warm and summer-drought-resistant Valdivian rainforests. We interpret relatively warm/dry conditions between 1900–2600, 690–750 and 320–430 cal yr BP, alternating with cold/wet conditions between 1500–1900, 750–1100 and 430–690 cal yr BP. Rapid deforestation and spread of plants introduced by Europeans occurred at 320 and 140 cal yr BP. The record includes five tephras with ages of 2130, 1460, 1310, 1210, and 340 cal yr BP, all of which precede local fire events and increases in trees favored by disturbance by less than 100 yr. We conclude that centennial-scale changes in the southern westerlies were the primary driver of vegetation shifts in northwestern Patagonia over the last 2600 yr. Within this interval, local disturbance regimes altered the structure, composition, and dynamics of the lowland rainforest vegetation during several discrete, short-lived episodes.

Type
Original Articles
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.)

References

Abarzúa, A.M. Moreno, P.I. 2008, Changing fire regimes in the temperate rainforest region of southern Chile over the last 16,000 yr. Quaternary Research 69, 6271.Google Scholar
Abarzúa, A.M. Villagran, C. Moreno, P.I. 2004, Deglacial and postglacial climate history in east-central Isla Grande de Chiloe, southern Chile (43 degrees S). Quaternary Research 62, 4959.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birks, H.J.B. Lotter, A.F. 1994, The impact of Laacher See Volcano (11,000 yr BP) on terrestrial vegetation and diatoms. Journal of Paleolimnology 11, 313322.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daniels, L.D. Veblen, T.T. 2003, Regional and local effects of disturbance and climate on altitudinal treelines in northern Patagonia. Journal of Vegetation Science 14, 733742.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donoso, C. 1993, Bosques Templados de Chile y Argentina. Variación, estructura y dinámica. Editorial Universitaria Santiago, Chile.Google Scholar
Donoso, C. 2006, Las Especies arbóreas de los Bosques Templados de Chile y Argentina Autoecología. Marisa Cúneo Ediciones Valdivia, Chile.Google Scholar
Faegri, K. Iversen, J. 1989, Textbook of Pollen Analysis. John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Garreaud, R.D. 2007, Precipitation and circulation covariability in the extratropics. Journal of Climate 20, 47894797.Google Scholar
Garreaud, R.D. Vuille, M. Compagnucci, R. Marengo, J. 2008, Present-day South American climate. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 281, 180195.Google Scholar
González, M.E. Veblen, T.T. Donoso, C. Valeria, L. 2002, Tree regeneration responses in a lowland Nothofagus-dominated forest after bamboo dieback in South-Central Chile. Plant Ecology 161, 5973.Google Scholar
González-Ferrán, O. 1994, Volcanes de Chile. Instituto Geografico Militar Santiago, Chile.Google Scholar
Heiri, O. Lotter, A.F. Lemcke, G. 2001, Loss on ignition as a method for estimating organic and carbonate content in sediments: reproducibility and comparability of results. Journal of Paleolimnology 25, 101110.Google Scholar
Heusser, C.J. 1971, Pollen and Spores from Chile. University of Arizona Press Tucson.Google Scholar
Heusser, C.J. 1984, Late-glacial-Holocene climate of the Lake District of Chile. Quaternary Research 22, 7790.Google Scholar
Higuera, P.E. Gavin, D.G. Bartlein, P.J. Hallett, D.J. 2010, Peak detection in sediment-charcoal records: impacts of alternative data analysis methods on fire-history interpretations. International Journal of Wildland Fire 19, 9961014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mann, M.E. Jones, P.D. 2003, Global surface temperatures over the past two millennia. Geophysical Research Letters 30, 110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moberg, A. Sonechkin, D.M. Holmgren, K. Datsenko, N.M. Karlen, W. 2005, Highly variable Northern Hemisphere temperatures reconstructed from low- and high-resolution proxy data. Nature 433, 613617.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Montecinos, A. Aceituno, P. 2003, Seasonality of the ENSO-related rainfall variability in Central Chile and associated circulation anomalies. Journal of Climate 16, .Google Scholar
Moreno, P.I. 2004, Millennial-scale climate variability in northwest Patagonia over the last 15,000 yr. Journal of Quaternary Science 19, 3547.Google Scholar
Moy, C.M. Moreno, P.I. Dunbar, R.B. Kaplan, M.R. Francois, J.P. Villalba, R. Haberzettl, T. 2009, Climate change in southern South America during the last two millennia. Vimeux, F. Sylvestre, F. Khodri, M. Past Climate Variability from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene in South America and Surrounding Regions. Springer-Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research Series 353393.Google Scholar
Neukom, R. Luterbacher, J. Villalba, R. Kuttel, M. Frank, D. Jones, P.D. Grosjean, M. Wanner, H. Aravena, J.C. Black, D.E. Christie, D.A. D'Arrigo, R. Lara, A. Morales, M. Soliz-Gamboa, C. Srur, A. Urrutia, R. von Gunten, L. 2011, Multiproxy summer and winter surface air temperature field reconstructions for southern South America covering the past centuries. Climate Dynamics 37, 1–2 3551.Google Scholar
Newton, A.C. Cayuela, L. Echeverria, C. Armesto, J.J. Del Castillo, R.F. Golicher, D. Geneletti, D. González-Espinosa, M. Huth, A. Lopez-Barrera, F. Malizia, L. Manson, R. Premoli, A. Ramirez-Marcial, N. Benayas, J.M.R. Ruger, N. Smith-Ramirez, C. Williams-Linera, G. 2009, Toward integrated analysis of human impacts on forest biodiversity: lessons from Latin America. Ecology and Society 14, .Google Scholar
Osborn, T.J. Briffa, K.R. 2006, The spatial extent of 20th-century warmth in the context of the past 1200 years. Science 311, 841844.Google Scholar
Otero, L. 2006, La Huella del Fuego. Historia de los bosques nativos. Doblamiento y cambios en el paisaje del sur de Chile. Pehuén Editores Santiago, Chile.Google Scholar
Power, M.J. Marlon, J. Ortiz, N. Bartlein, P.J. Harrison, S.P. Mayle, F.E. Ballouche, A. Bradshaw, R.H.W. Carcaillet, C. Cordova, C. Mooney, S. Moreno, P.I. Prentice, I.C. Thonicke, K. Tinner, W. Whitlock, C. Zhang, Y. Zhao, Y. Ali, A.A. Anderson, R.S. Beer, R. Behling, H. Briles, C. Brown, K.J. Brunelle, A. Bush, M. Camill, P. Chu, G.Q. Clark, J. Colombaroli, D. Connor, S. Daniau, A.L. Daniels, M. Dodson, J. Doughty, E. Edwards, M.E. Finsinger, W. Foster, D. Frechette, J. Gaillard, M.J. Gavin, D.G. Gobet, E. Haberle, S. Hallett, D.J. Higuera, P. Hope, G. Horn, S. Inoue, J. Kaltenrieder, P. Kennedy, L. Kong, Z.C. Larsen, C. Long, C.J. Lynch, J. Lynch, E.A. McGlone, M. Meeks, S. Mensing, S. Meyer, G. Minckley, T. Mohr, J. Nelson, D.M. New, J. Newnham, R. Noti, R. Oswald, W. Pierce, J. Richard, P.J.H. Rowe, C. Goni, M.F.S. Shuman, B.N. Takahara, H. Toney, J. Turney, C. Urrego-Sanchez, D.H. Umbanhowar, C. Vandergoes, M. Vanniere, B. Vescovi, E. Walsh, M. Wang, X. Williams, N. Wilmshurst, J. Zhang, J.H. 2008, Changes in fire regimes since the Last Glacial Maximum: an assessment based on a global synthesis and analysis of charcoal data. Climate Dynamics 30, 887907.Google Scholar
Singer, B.S. Jicha, B.R. Harper, M.A. Naranjo, J.A. Lara, L.E. Moreno-Roa, H. 2008, Eruptive history, geochronology, and magmatic evolution of the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic complex, Chile. Geological Society of America Bulletin 120, 599618.Google Scholar
Stern, C. 2004, Active Andean volcanism: its geologic and tectonic setting. Revista Geológica de Chile 31, 161206.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M. Reimer, P.J. Reimer, R.W. 2005, CALIB 5.0. [WWW program and documentation]. .Google Scholar
Swanson, F.J. Major, J.J. 2005, Physical events, environments, and geological–ecological interactions at Mount St. Helens—March 1980 to 2004. Franklin, J.F. Dale, V.H. Swanson, F.J. Crisafulli, C.M. Ecological Responses to the 1980 Eruption of Mount St. Helens. Springer-Verlag New York, USA 2744.Google Scholar
Tsuyuzaki, S. 1995, Vegetation recovery patterns in early volcanic succession. Journal of Plant Research 108, 241248.Google Scholar
Veblen, T.T. Ashton, D.H. 1978, Catastrophic influences on the vegetation of the Valdivian Andes. Vegetatio 36, 149167.Google Scholar
Veblen, T.T. Schlegel, F.M. Escobar, R. 1980, Structure and dynamics of old-growth Nothofagus forests in the Valdivian Andes, Chile. Journal of Ecology 68, 131.Google Scholar
Veblen, T.T. Mermoz, M. Martin, C. Kitzberger, T. 1992, Ecological impacts of introduced animals in Nahuel-Huapi-National-Park, Argentina. Conservation Biology 6, 7183.Google Scholar
Villagrán, C. 1980, Vegetatiosgeschichtliche und pflanzensoziologische Untersuchungen im Vicente Perez Rosales National park (Chile). Dissertationes Botanicae 54, 1165.Google Scholar
Villagrán, C. 1991, Historia de los bosques templados del sur de Chile durante el Tardiglacial y Postglacial. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 447460.Google Scholar
Villagrán, C. 1993, Excursion guide. International Workshop: The Quaternary of Chile (Santiago, Chile).Google Scholar
Villalba, R. 1990, Climatic fluctuations in Northern Patagonia during the last 1000 years as inferred from tree-ring records. Quaternary Research 34, 346360.Google Scholar
Villalba, R. Lara, A. Boninsegna, J.A. Masiokas, M. Delgado, S. Aravena, J.C. Roig, F.A. Schmelter, A. Wolodarsky, A. Ripalta, A. 2003, Large-scale temperature changes across the southern Andes: 20th-century variations in the context of the past 400 years. Climatic Change 59, 177232.Google Scholar
Villalobos, S. 1980, Historia del Pueblo Chileno. Editorial Zig-Zag S.A. Santiago, Chile.Google Scholar
Whitlock, C. Bianchi, M.M. Bartlein, P.J. Markgraf, V. Marlon, J. Walsh, M. McCoy, N. 2006, Postglacial vegetation, climate, and fire history along the east side of the Andes (lat 41–42.5 degrees S), Argentina. Quaternary Research 66, 187201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitlock, C. Moreno, P.I. Bartlein, P. 2007, Climatic controls of Holocene fire patterns in southern South America. Quaternary Research 68, 2836.Google Scholar
Wilmshurst, J.M. McGlone, M.S. 1996, Forest disturbance in the central North Island, New Zealand, following the 1850 BP Taupo eruption. The Holocene 6, 399411.Google Scholar
Wilmshurst, J.M. Eden, D.N. Froggatt, P.C. 1999, Late Holocene forest disturbance in Gisborne, New Zealand: a comparison of terrestrial and marine pollen records. New Zealand Journal of Botany 37, 523540.Google Scholar
Wright, H.E.J. Mann, D.H. Glaser, P.H. 1984, Piston corers for peat and lake sediments. Ecology 65, 657659.Google Scholar