Late-glacial – early Holocene vegetation, climate, and fire at Sutherland Pond, Hudson Highlands, southeastern New York, U.S.A.

Abstract

Accelerator mass spectrometry dated pollen, plant-macrofossil, and charcoal records from Sutherland Pond (41°23′29″N, 74°02′16″W), located in the Black Rock Forest, provide a detailed account of forest history during the late-glacial – Holocene transition in the Hudson Highlands, lower Hudson Valley, southeastern New York. Pollen assemblages dating more than 12 600 radiocarbon years before present (years BP) are dominated by herbaceous and shrub types (Salix, Betula, Alnus, Ericaceae, Cyperaceae, Gramineae, and Tubuliflorae), with some arboreal types (Pinus and Picea), apparently representing an open landscape possibly with scattered trees. At 12 600 years BP increased organic deposition and pollen influx and the first occurrence of macrofossils indicate dramatic environmental change. Mixed assemblages of boreal and temperate taxa (Picea, Abies, Betula papyrifera, Quercus, Ostrya – Carpinus, and Fraxinus) are evident from 12 600 to 11 200 years BP. Low charcoal influx suggests that fire was a minor component of early woodland development beginning around 12 600 years BP. A Picea–Abies–Alnus assemblage, suggesting a cool climatic episode, dominates between 11 200 and 10 120 years BP, with rapid onset and termination each occurring within 150 years. Fire activity is also low during this colder interval. Warmer conditions, reestablished by 10 120 years BP, are inferred from expansion of Pinus strobus and increasing Quercus and Ostrya–Carpinus, followed by replacement of B. papyrifera by Betula populifolia and increased charcoal influx. Key words: late glacial, pollen, plant macrofossils, fire, accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating, New York.