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Paleoecological and Climatic Changes of the Upper Lerma Basin, Central Mexico during the Holocene

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Beatriz Ludlow-Wiechers ,
Lucia Almeida-Leñero  and
Gerald Islebe
Beatriz Ludlow-Wiechers
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, México, D.F. México
Lucia Almeida-Leñero
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, México, D.F. México
Gerald Islebe
Affiliation:
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Herbarium, A. Centenario km 5.5, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México
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Abstract

The record of Almoloya Lake in the Upper Lerma basin starts with the deposition of the late Pleistocene Upper Toluca Pumice layer. The data from this interval indicate a period of climatic instability that lasted until 8500 cal yr B.P., when temperature conditions stabilized, although moisture fluctuations continued until 8000 cal yr B.P. Between 8500 and 5000 cal yr B.P. a temperate climate is indicated by dominance of Pinus. From 5000 to 3000 cal yr B.P. Quercus forest expanded, suggesting a warm temperate climate: a first indication of drier environmental conditions is an increase in grassland between 4200 and 3500 cal yr B.P. During the Late Holocene (3300 to 500 cal yr B.P.) the increase of Pinus and grassland indicates temperate dry conditions, with a considerable increase of Pinus between 1100 and 950 cal yr B.P. At the end of this period, humidity increased. The main tendency during the Holocene was a change from humid to dry conditions. During the Early Holocene, Almoloya Lake was larger and deeper; the changing humidity regime resulted in a fragmented marshland, with the presence of aquatic and subaquatic vegetation types.

Keywords

HolocenePollenVegetationClimate changeUpper Lerma BasinCentral Mexico
Type
Special issue articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 64 , Issue 3 , November 2005 , pp. 318 - 332
Copyright
University of Washington

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