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Paleoecological analyses of lake sediments reveal prehistoric human impact on forests at anthony island UNESCO World Heritage Site, Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii), Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Terri Lacourse ,
Rolf W. Mathewes  and
Richard J. Hebda
Terri Lacourse*
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z4
Rolf W. Mathewes
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6
Richard J. Hebda
Affiliation:
Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 9W2 Department of Biology and Schools of Earth and Ocean Sciences and Environmental Studies, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 2Y2
*
1Corresponding author. Fax: +1 604 822 6089.E-mail address:lacourse@interchange.ubc.ca (T. Lacourse).
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Abstract

Pollen and plant macrofossil analyses of lake sediments from Anthony Island in the southern Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii), British Columbia, reveal 1800 yr of relatively stable temperate rainforest vegetation. Cupressaceae (cedar) pollen percentages and accumulation rates decline about 1000 cal yr BP, coincident with occupation of the island by Haida peoples, who use Thuja plicata (western red cedar) almost exclusively for house construction, dugout canoes, monumental poles, and many other items. Anthropogenic disturbance offers the most likely explanation for the decline of T. plicata.

Keywords

Pollen analysisPlant macrofossilsThuja plicataWestern red cedarHaidaAboriginal peoplesHuman impactDisturbanceBritish Columbia
Type
Short Paper
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , September 2007 , pp. 177 - 183
Copyright
University of Washington

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Footnotes

* Current address: Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 3P5.

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