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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:[email protected] (T.A. Ager).
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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

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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.

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