Post-Glacial Forest Succession in Northern New Jersey as Shown by Pollen Records from Five Bogs

Potzger, John; Otto, James

Pollen profiles are presented from five bogs located in northern and northwestern New Jersey, areas influenced by Late Wisconsin glaciation. The profile from the Squires Corner Bog in the lower levels does not correlate with those from the other four bogs, both the Picea-Pinus and Pinus periods being absent. This is attributed to the fact that the boring was made in a mat around a still-existing lake, so that it was evidently too far removed from the deepest section of the depression to include layers of early sedimentation. In New Jersey the initial Picea-Pinus association was gradually replaced by Pinus, and the latter genus controlled the crown cover for a period represented by an accumulation of three to four feet of peat. This was followed by a Pinus-Quercus-Tsuga association, after which a Quercus-Castanea-Tsuga-Pinus association succeeded, in which Pinus shows decreasing importance. Tsuga seems to have experienced two periods of greater prominence during which representation especially of Pinus declined. The increase in importance of Tsuga is interpreted as marking periods of more abundant available moisture. While Castanea is definitely associated with Quercus, it became prominent much later than its associate, and the profiles suggest that the Quercus-Castanea association was tending to assume a more leading role in control of the forest cover at the time when the bog mats closed. A striking feature is the fact that Tsuga came in with broad-leaved genera. Fagus, Acer, Juglans and Tilia are represented by low pollen percentages, but these indicate that the genera have invaded the area very recently.

Post-Glacial Forest Succession in Northern New Jersey as Shown by Pollen Records from Five Bogs

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