Palynological and Sedimentological Evidence for a Radiocarbon Chronology of Environmental Change and Polynesian Deforestation from Lake Taumatawhana, Northland, New Zealand
| Autor: | D. G. Sutton, John Flenley, B. Striewski, M. B. Elliot |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1995 |
| Předmět: |
Palynology
010506 paleontology Archeology Dacrydium cupressinum 060102 archaeology biology Environmental change Ecology 06 humanities and the arts biology.organism_classification 01 natural sciences law.invention Ascarina lucida law Deforestation General Earth and Planetary Sciences 0601 history and archaeology Radiocarbon dating Agathis australis Holocene Geology 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
| Zdroj: | Radiocarbon. 37:899-916 |
| ISSN: | 1945-5755 0033-8222 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/s0033822200014983 |
| Popis: | We present pollen diagrams and sedimentological analyses from a lake site within an extensive dune system on the Aupouri Peninsula, Northland. Five thousand years ago, a regional Agathis australis–podocarp-broadleaf forest dominated the vegetation, which manifested an increasing preponderance of conifer species. Climate was cooler and drier than at present. From ca. 3400 bp, warmth-loving species such as A. australis and drought-intolerant species, Dacrydium cupressinum and Ascarina lucida, became common, implying a warm and moist climate. The pollen record also suggests a windier climate. The most significant event in the record, however, occurred after ca. 900 bp (800 cal bp) when anthropogenic deforestation commenced. A dramatic decline in forest taxa followed, accompanied by the establishment of a Pteridium–esculentum-dominated community. Fire almost certainly caused this, evidenced by a dramatic increase of charcoal. Sedimentological evidence for this site indicates a relatively stable environment before humans arrived and an increasingly unstable environment with frequent erosional events after human contact. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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