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A high-resolution paleolimnological study of climate and human impacts on Lac Noir, Québec, over the past 1000 yr

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2018

Karen Neil  and
Konrad Gajewski
Karen Neil*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Paleoclimatology and Climatology, Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N6N5, Canada
Konrad Gajewski
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Paleoclimatology and Climatology, Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N6N5, Canada
*
*Corresponding author at: Laboratory of Paleoclimatology and Climatology, Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1N6N5, Canada. E-mail address: kneil079@uottawa.ca (K. Neil).
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Abstract

Diatom assemblages in lake sediments of Lac Noir, southwestern Québec, were studied at a resolution of 10 yr to determine principal drivers of primary producers for the past ~1000 yr. Generalized additive modeling revealed strong links between broadscale climate intervals of the late Holocene, forest composition, and diatom flora. During the Medieval Warm Period (~AD 1200) and onset of the Little Ice Age (~AD 1450), increases in Tabellaria flocculosa str. IIIp at the expense of Discostella stelligera reflected low lake productivity. At AD 1630, an abrupt shift to cooler temperatures and dry conditions triggered a decline in hemlock (Tsuga), replaced by disturbance and cool-adapted taxa. Greater nutrient availability and soil erosion in the catchment led to a corresponding and rapid increase in diatoms with higher optima for nitrogen, such as Asterionella formosa and Fragilaria crotonensis. After AD 1870, an increase in pollen of taxa associated with disturbances signaled the arrival of Euro-Canadians, and associated nutrient inputs to the lake triggered increases in Stephanodiscus minutulus and Achnanthidium minutissimum. Overall results of the study indicate that climate played an important underlying role in lake-ecosystem dynamics; however, disturbances affecting forest composition had more direct influences on the diatom communities of Lac Noir.

Keywords

DiatomVarveHolocenePaleolimnologyMedieval Warm PeriodLittle Ice AgeGeneralized additive models (GAMs)European settlement
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 91 , Issue 2 , March 2019 , pp. 665 - 678
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2018 

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