Holocene environmental history of Lake Vuolep Njakajaure (Abisko National Park, northern Sweden) reconstructed using biological proxy indicators

Holocene environmental and climatic changes are reconstructed using analyses of biological proxies in lake sediments from Vuolep Njakajaure, a lake located near the altitudinal treeline in northern Sweden (68°20′ N, 18°47′ E). We analysed biological proxy indicators from both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, including diatoms, pollen and chironomid head capsules, in order to reconstruct regional Holocene climate and the development of the lake and its catchment. During the early Holocene and after 2500 cal b.p., Fragilaria taxa dominated the diatom assemblages, whereas planktonic Cyclotella taxa prevailed during the major part of the Holocene (7800-2300 cal b.p.), indicating the importance of the pelagic habitat for diatom assemblage composition. The planktonic diatoms appeared at the same time as Alnus became established in the catchment, probably altering nutrient availability and catchment stability. The pollen record is dominated by mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. tortuosa) pollen throughout the Holocene, but high percentage abundances of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) pollen suggest the presence of a mixed pine-birch forest during the mid-Holocene (6800-2300 cal b.p.). Head capsules of Tanytarsini and Psectrocladius dominated the chironomid assemblage composition throughout the Holocene, in combination with Corynocera ambigua after 2300 cal b.p. A quantitative, diatom-based reconstruction of mean July air temperature indicated a relatively cold temperature during the early Holocene (9000-8000 cal b.p.) and after ca. 2300 cal b.p., whereas the mid-Holocene period is characterised by stable and warm temperatures. The overall patterns of Holocene climate and environmental conditions are similarly described by all biological proxy-indicators, suggesting relatively warm conditions during the mid-Holocene (ca. 7800-2300 cal b.p.), with a subsequent colder climate after 2300 cal b.p. However, the onset and magnitude of the inferred changes differ slightly among the proxies, illustrating different responses to lake development phases, land-uplift, and climate forcing (e.g., insolation patterns) during the Holocene in northern Swede

Holocene changes in atmospheric circulation recorded in the oxygen-isotope stratigraphy of lacustrine carbonates from northern Sweden

The oxygen-isotope composition of local precipitation (d18OP) is reconstructed from carbonate lake-sediment components in a sediment core covering the last 10000 calendar years from Lake Tibetanus, a small, hydrologically open, groundwater-fed lake in the Abisko area, northern Sweden. Comparison of the d18OP history with a pollen-based palaeotemperature record from the same core clearly reveals pronounced deviations from the normally expected temporal d18OP-temperature relation (so-called ‘Dansgaard relation’) that may be a function of changing oceanicity. The transition from relatively moist, maritime conditions in the early Holo cene to a much drier climate after 6500 cal. BP is re‘ ected by major changes in forest extent and composition as recorded by pollen and plant macrofossil data. At the time of maximum in‘ uence of westerly air-mass circulation (high zonal index) c. 9500 cal. BP, brought about by high summer insolation and enhanced meridi onal pressure gradients, d18OP at Lake Tibetanus was about 2 higher than would be predicted by the modern isotope-temperature relation. The occurrence of long-term changes in d18OP-temperature relations, which are more sensitive measures of palaeoclimate than either d18OP or temperature alone, needs to be taken into account when extracting palaeoclimatic information from continental oxygen-isotope records

Holocene vegetation dynamics and climate changes in the Torneträsk area, northern Sweden

The aim of this study was to reconstruct the Holocene vegetation history and the climate changes in a subarctic area. The results are based on pollen and macrofossil records from six lakes in the Torneträsk area. The lakes are situated at altitudes between 370 and 999 m a.s.l., along a transect from the boreal pine-birch forest to the alpine tundra with heath vegetation. The chronology in each lake is based on radiocarbon dated terrestrial plant macrofossils and combined with varve chronology in one of the lakes. Ages from radiocarbon dated plant macrofossils were compared with ages from radiocarbon dated bulk sediment samples in two of the lakes. The results show that radiocarbon dated bulk sediment samples give older ages compared to the macrofossil samples. The age differences varied between 550 and 2200 years in samples from a lake with calcareous rich sediment and between 250 and 800 years in samples from lake sediment with a low carbonate carbon content. Erroneous high ages from bulk sediment samples will not only effect the chronology, but will also lead to incorrect pollen-influx calculations. The results of this study also indicate that the tree-line, which consists of mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. tortuosa), was situated c. 300-400 m above the present tree-line during the early and the mid-Holocene. When land up-lift has been taken into account this higher tree-line corresponds to a summer temperature of 1.5-2°C higher than today. The climate was warm and moist during the early Holocene and warm and dry during the mid-Holocene. A pine-birch forest expanded first in the eastern part of the Torneträsk area at c. 8300 cal BP and about 700 years later to the western part at low altitudes. Optimal conditions for pine (Pinus sylvestris) occurred between 6300 and 4500 cal BP when the pine-birch forest reached its highest altitude at least 560 m a.s.l., i.e. 110 m above the present pine limit. During this time the pine limit reached 175 m above the present. Dry conditions during this interval are also supported from lake-level studies in one of the lakes, which show that the lake level was lowered c. 1-1.5 m. At 4500 cal BP the tree-line begun to descend and the lake-level rose again. The climate became both colder and more humid than before. As a result of this climate change the vegetation became more mosaic-like with sparse forests also at low altitudes and the heath vegetation increased

A comparison of chironomid biostratigraphy from Lake Vuolep Njakajaure with vegetation, lake-level, and climate changes in Abisko National Park, Sweden

Chironomid remains from the sediment of Lake Vuolep Njakajaure reflect limnological conditions resulting from changing climate and vegetation throughout the Holocene, but do not strictly follow accepted climate trends or the vegetation history based on regional pollen and macrofossil analyses. Chironomid community changes appear to be influenced by organic nutrient input from the surrounding catchment vegetation and lake hydrology, both of which are indirectly responding to some combination of climate change, hypolimnetic oxygen concentration, and changes in basin morphology. The chironomid-based quantitative mean July air-temperature reconstruction differs from other regional quantitative records; this discrepancy is likely related to limnological conditions particular to Lake Vuolep Njakajaure. Comparison of a northern Swedish temperature transfer function and one from western Canada reveals differences in the mean July air-temperature optima of several common taxa, suggesting that the existing conservative estimates of Holocene climate change in northern Sweden may be underestimated due to the limited temperature gradient captured by the Swedish training set

Late Holocene multi-proxy records of environmental change on the South Atlantic island Tristan da Cunha

Sediment stratigraphies from three sites, one lake, one overgrown lake, and an exposed section, on the island Tristan da Cunha in the temperate South Atlantic were analysed by means of pollen analysis, total carbon, nitrogen and sulphur content determination, magnetic susceptibility measurements and detailed radiocarbon dating. The aim of these studies was to reconstruct the late Holocene vegetation and climatic variations. The oldest sediment sequence extends back to 2300 cal. years BP. The vegetation was relatively stable up to the arrival of humans in the 17th century. The appearance of the introduced taxon Rumex acetosa/acetosella at c. 300 cal. years BP and a subsequent decline in forest cover on the lowland plain provide evidence of substantial human influence on the vegetation well before the establishment of the first permanent settlement in the 19th century. Before the first anthropogenic influence centennial-scale fluctuations in the proxy records are interpreted as reflections of local hydrological changes, probably caused by variations in precipitation. As inferred mainly from changing proportions of pollen derived from telmatic and terrestrial taxa and corresponding changes in the deposition of mineral matter by fluvial erosion, lake levels were low between c. 1450 and 1050 cal. years BP, and high between c. 1050 and 300 cal. years BP. These variations coincide with known climatic changes in Southern Africa and in the North Atlantic, suggesting that the inferred hydrological changes on Tristan da Cunha were related to large-scale variations in the general oceanic and atmospheric circulation in the Atlantic region

Holocene changes in atmospheric circulation recorded in the oxygen-isotope stratigraphy of lacustrine carbonates from northern Sweden

The oxygen-isotope composition of local precipitation (d18OP) is reconstructed from carbonate lake-sediment components in a sediment core covering the last 10000 calendar years from Lake Tibetanus, a small, hydrologically open, groundwater-fed lake in the Abisko area, northern Sweden. Comparison of the d18OP history with a pollen-based palaeotemperature record from the same core clearly reveals pronounced deviations from the normally expected temporal d18OP-temperature relation (so-called ‘Dansgaard relation’) that may be a function of changing oceanicity. The transition from relatively moist, maritime conditions in the early Holo cene to a much drier climate after 6500 cal. BP is re‘ ected by major changes in forest extent and composition as recorded by pollen and plant macrofossil data. At the time of maximum in‘ uence of westerly air-mass circulation (high zonal index) c. 9500 cal. BP, brought about by high summer insolation and enhanced meridi onal pressure gradients, d18OP at Lake Tibetanus was about 2 higher than would be predicted by the modern isotope-temperature relation. The occurrence of long-term changes in d18OP-temperature relations, which are more sensitive measures of palaeoclimate than either d18OP or temperature alone, needs to be taken into account when extracting palaeoclimatic information from continental oxygen-isotope records

Boreal forest dynamics in north-eastern Sweden during the last 10,000 years based on pollen analysis

A pollen record obtained from a 2.2-m sediment succession deposited in a small lake in the province of Vasterbotten, north-eastern Sweden, reveals the presence of continuous forest cover since 8,500 calendar years before present (cal B.P.). Forest with abundant Pinus (pine) and Betula (birch) initially colonized the area, followed by a dominance of deciduous trees, primarily Betula, from ca. 8,000 to ca. 3,200 cal B.P. Pollen accumulation rates of Quercus (oak), Ulmus (elm) and Tilia (linden) suggest the possible local presence of these thermophilous tree species during this period. The climate gradually became colder and moister around 3,500 cal B.P. and an increased abundance of Sphagnum spores indicates paludification. Picea (spruce) became established around 3,200 cal B.P. and less than 500 years later this was the dominant tree species around the lake. The fire frequency as inferred from charcoal particles exhibits a general increase from ca. 3,000 cal B.P. with subsequent charcoal accumulation maxima at around 2,800 cal B.P., 1,700 cal B.P. and in recent time. The human influence on vegetation was significant during the last 200-300 years. Soil erosion increased substantially and fern spores amount to ca. 55% of the total pollen assemblage in the uppermost samples. These results suggest an extensive anthropogenic impact on the local forest ecosystem, with abundant logging, burning and ditching in the vicinity of the lake. Independent evidence of sub-recent human-induced environmental change is provided by historical accounts. Complementary information on catchment soil development and aquatic nutrient status was provided by records of magnetic susceptibility and elemental carbon, and nitrogen contents obtained from the same sediment core

Holocene palaeoecology and shoreline displacement on the Biskopsmala Peninsula, southeastern Sweden

High-resolution palaeoecological proxies of pollen, macrofossils and diatoms from an isolation lake provide a long-term record of the Holocene landscape history and shoreline displacement on the Biskopsmala Peninsula in central Blekinge, SE Sweden. During the Preboreal/Boreal transition, the peninsula was sparsely vegetated by woodlands, along with lateglacial dwarf shrub/steppe communities. The lake basin was isolated from the shallow Yoldia Sea during this time. The regional climate improved from 10 700 cal. BP, evident as progressive expansion of Pinus -dominated mixed forest with deciduous trees. The lake basin was probably connected with the Ancylus Lake during the period 10 700-10 100 cal. BP. Subsequently the basin became isolated again, corresponding to the Early Littorina Sea phase. Replacement of freshwater diatoms by those with brackish-water affinity at 8100 cal. BP indicates the initial transgression of the Littorina Sea in this basin. But not until 7500 cal. BP were brackish conditions fully established. Peaks of brackish-marine diatoms and dinoflagellates during 7500-7000 cal. BP indicate increased saltwater inflow to the Baltic Sea in response to global meltwater pulse 3. However, interactive changes in seagrass and stonewort macrofossil concentrations suggest that three minor transgressions during 5900-5300, 5000-4700 and 4400-4000 cal. BP occurred locally, associated with centennial-scale variations in regional wind pattern or coastal storminess. By 3000 cal. BP, the lake basin was finally isolated from the Baltic, and thereafter the landscape on the peninsula became gradually more influenced by human activities

Deglacial vegetation succession and Holocene tree-limit dynamics in the Scandes Mountains, west-central Sweden: stratigraphic data compared to megafossil evidence

High-resolution records of plant macrofossils, magnetic susceptibility, and total carbon content, complemented by pollen data, were obtained from a postglacial lake sediment sequence at alpine Lake Stentjarn (987 m a.s.l.), in west-central Sweden. Holocene vegetational and environmental changes were reconstructed from the data, with particular emphasis on the deglacial establishment of terrestrial vegetation and subsequent tree-limit dynamics. A short-lived pioneer flora with Geum rivale, Dryas octopetala, Empetrum nigrum, Ledum palustre, Saxifraga sp., Salix spp., and Oxyria digyna established locally following deglaciation at c. 10,500 cat year BP. The pioneer flora was out-competed by establishing Betula pubescens and grasses at c. 10,300 cat year BP. Subsequent local expansions of B. pubescens at c. 9800 cat year BP and Pinus sylvestris at c. 9200 cal year BP were followed by a temporary retraction of the birch tree-limit and a permanent retreat of pine between 8500 and 8000 cat year BP, accompanied by declining aquatic productivity and increasing catchment erosion. A gradual decrease in forest density initiated at c. 6000 cat year BP led to a retreat of the birch tree-limit from the lake catchment at c. 3500 cat year BP, followed by persistence of scattered trees until c. 2000 cat year BP. A mosaic heath vegetation dominated by Empetrum nigrum and Betula nana developed at c, 3500 cat year BP. Comparison of the stratigraphic data from Lake Stenljiirn with records of radiocarbon-dated subfossil wood remains (megafossils) obtained from adjacent areas during recent decades revealed a high level of consistency of the inferred tree-limit variations for P. sylvestris, B. pubescens, and Alnus incana. Chronological control was established by radiocarbon dating of terrestrial macrofossils and geochemical identification of a tephra horizon originating from the Icelandic Askja- 1875 eruption