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Sensitivity of wetland hydrology to external climate forcing in central Florida

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Emmy I. Lammertsma ,
Timme H. Donders ,
Christof Pearce ,
Holger Cremer ,
Evelyn E. Gaiser  and
Friederike Wagner-Cremer
Emmy I. Lammertsma
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Palaeoecology, Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands
Timme H. Donders*
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Palaeoecology, Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands
Christof Pearce
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 8, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden Department of Geoscience, Aarhus University, Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 2, 8000Aarhus, Denmark
Holger Cremer
Affiliation:
TNO Sustainable Geosciences, Princetonlaan 6, 3584 CB Utrecht, the Netherlands
Evelyn E. Gaiser
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences and Southeast Environmental Research Center, Florida International University, University Park, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL OE 148, USA
Friederike Wagner-Cremer
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Palaeoecology, Department of Physical Geography, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands
*
*Corresponding author.Email Address:T.H.donders@uu.nl
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Abstract

Available proxy records from the Florida peninsula give a varying view on hydrological changes during the late Holocene. Here we evaluate the consistency and sensitivity of local wetland records in relation to hydrological changes over the past ~ 5 ka based on pollen and diatom proxies from peat cores in Highlands Hammock State Park, central Florida. Around 5 cal ka BP, a dynamic floodplain environment is present. Subsequently, a wetland forest establishes, followed by a change to persistent wet conditions between ~ 2.5 and 2.0 ka. Long hydroperiods remain despite gradual succession and basin infilling with maximum wet conditions between ~ 1.3 and 1.0 ka. The wet phase and subsequent strong drying over the last millennium, as indicated by shifts in both pollen and diatom assemblages, can be linked to the early Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age, respectively, driven by regionally higher sea-surface temperatures and a temporary northward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Changes during the 20th century are the result of constructions intended to protect the Highlands Hammock State Park from wildfires. The multiple cores and proxies allow distinguishing local and regional hydrological changes. The peat records reflect relatively subtle climatic changes that are not evident from regional pollen records from lakes.

Keywords

Precipitation variabilityHydroperiodWetlandPollenDiatomscentral FloridaLate Holocene
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 84 , Issue 3 , November 2015 , pp. 287 - 300
Copyright
University of Washington

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