The Holocene landscape history of Isle Royale
Flakne RA and Cole KL. 1995. The Holocene landscape history of Isle Royale. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 76(2):81
Seven sediment cores have been collected from lakes and bogs on Isle Royale as part of a project funded by the NBS global change research program. Radiocarbon dating of the cores has yielded ages for the development of the lakes and bogs following deglaciation and Holocene lowering of Lake Superior. Lily Lake, at a high elevation on the western end of the island, is likely the first lake formed following deglaciation. Sediments in the lowest organic portion of the core were dated to 9420 +/- 90 yr B.P. On the eastern end of Isle Royale, Daisy Farm Bog dated to 6390 +/- 100 yr B.P., suggesting that even relatively high portions of the eastern end of Isle Royale were submerged for several thousand years following deglaciation. Preliminary fossil pollen data from Lily Lake show a gradual transition from a pine-dominated forest to one with increasing diversity as the post-glacial climate moderated and island soils developed. The most rapid change occurs in the postsettlement portion of the core, in which pine rapidly declines and birch increases, possibly due to logging and/or fire.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Flakne, Robyn; Cole, Kenneth
- Units
- ISRO
- Keywords
- Geology, Holocene, Landscape (Natural), Physical Sciences