A climatic driver for abrupt mid-Holocene vegetation dynamics and the hemlock decline in New England.

The mid-Holocene decline of eastern hemlock is widely viewed as the sole prehistorical example of an insect- or pathogen-mediated collapse of a North American tree species and has been extensively studied for insights into pest-host dynamics and the consequences to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of dominant-species removal. We report paleoecological evidence implicating climate as a major driver of this episode. Data drawn from sites across a gradient in hemlock abundance from dominant to absent demonstrate: a synchronous, dramatic decline in a contrasting taxon (oak); changes in lake sediments and aquatic taxa indicating low water levels; and one or more intervals of intense drought at regional to continental scales. These results, which accord well with emerging climate reconstructions, challenge the interpretation of a biotically driven hemlock decline and highlight the potential for climate change to generate major, abrupt dynamics in forest ecosystems.

• Publication year

  2006

• Venue

  Ecology

• Publication date

  2006-12-01

• Fields of study

  Geography, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[2959:ACDFAM]2.0.CO;2PMID 17249218
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• Lake sediments, aquatic taxa, and regional-to-continental drought evidence indicate low water levels during the interval of vegetation change.

  Confidence 0.93

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) reviewKiller Whale (322360f1c1) review
• Across sites spanning a gradient in hemlock abundance, oak shows a synchronous and dramatic decline during the hemlock-decline episode.

  Confidence 0.91

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) reviewKiller Whale (322360f1c1) review
• Paleoecological evidence supports climate as a major driver of the mid-Holocene eastern hemlock decline in New England.

  Confidence 0.96

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) reviewKiller Whale (322360f1c1) review

• aquatic taxa

  biological proxy, taxon group

  Aquatic organisms preserved or represented in the lake records and used as indicators of environmental conditions.

  Aliases: aquatic organisms

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) reviewKiller Whale (322360f1c1) review
• climate change

  climatic phenomenon, driver

  The broader climatic forcing invoked here as a major influence on mid-Holocene vegetation dynamics.

  Aliases: climate

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) reviewKiller Whale (322360f1c1) review
• drought intervals

  climatic event

  One or more periods of unusually intense drought inferred at regional to continental scales from the paleoecological evidence.

  Aliases: intense drought

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) reviewKiller Whale (322360f1c1) review
• eastern hemlock decline

  vegetation event

  The mid-Holocene reduction in eastern hemlock abundance that is the central vegetation event discussed in the abstract.

  Aliases: hemlock decline

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) reviewKiller Whale (322360f1c1) review
• hemlock abundance gradient

  sampling framework, ecological gradient

  A set of sites ranging from hemlock-dominated to hemlock-absent conditions used to compare the episode across different forest compositions.

  Aliases: gradient in hemlock abundance

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) reviewKiller Whale (322360f1c1) review
• lake sediments

  proxy record, material

  Sediment records from lakes that provide paleoenvironmental evidence in the study.

  Aliases: sediment records

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) reviewKiller Whale (322360f1c1) review
• low water levels

  hydrologic condition

  A hydrologic condition inferred from the lake sediment and aquatic evidence during the interval of change.

  Aliases: lower lake levels

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) reviewKiller Whale (322360f1c1) review
• new england

  region

  The geographic region where the hemlock decline and associated paleoecological records are discussed.

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) reviewKiller Whale (322360f1c1) review
• oak decline

  vegetation event, taxon response

  A synchronous decrease in oak abundance reported from sites within the same interval as the hemlock decline.

  Aliases: decline in oak

  박진우 (dztg5apj7m) extraction뀨 (7c402c1b98) reviewB (s683577b42) reviewKiller Whale (322360f1c1) review

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