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Development of the mixed conifer forest in northern New Mexico and its relationship to Holocene environmental change

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

R. Scott Anderson*
Affiliation:
Center for Environmental Sciences & Education, Box 5694, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA Quaternary Sciences Program & Bilby Research Center, Box 6013, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
Renata B. Jass
Affiliation:
Quaternary Sciences Program & Bilby Research Center, Box 6013, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
Jaime L. Toney
Affiliation:
Quaternary Sciences Program & Bilby Research Center, Box 6013, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
Craig D. Allen
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Jemez Mountains Field Station, Bandelier National Monument, HCR-1, Box 1, #15, Los Alamos, NM 87544, USA
Luz M. Cisneros-Dozal
Affiliation:
Earth & Environmental Sciences Division, Hydrology, Geochemistry & Geology Group, EES-6, MS-D462, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
Marcey Hess
Affiliation:
Earth & Environmental Sciences Division, Hydrology, Geochemistry & Geology Group, EES-6, MS-D462, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
Jeff Heikoop
Affiliation:
Earth & Environmental Sciences Division, Hydrology, Geochemistry & Geology Group, EES-6, MS-D462, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
Julianna Fessenden
Affiliation:
Earth & Environmental Sciences Division, Hydrology, Geochemistry & Geology Group, EES-6, MS-D462, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Center for Environmental Sciences & Education, Box 5694, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA. Fax: +1 928 523 7423.E-mail address:Scott.Anderson@nau.edu (R.S. Anderson).

Abstract

Chihuahueños Bog (2925 m) in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico contains one of the few records of late-glacial and postglacial development of the mixed conifer forest in southwestern North America. The Chihuahueños Bog record extends to over 15,000 cal yr BP. AnArtemisiasteppe, then an openPiceawoodland grew around a small pond until ca. 11,700 cal yr BP whenPinus ponderosabecame established. C/N ratios,δ13C andδ15N values indicate both terrestrial and aquatic organic matter was incorporated into the sediment. Higher percentages of aquatic algae and elevated C/N ratios indicate higher lake levels at the opening of the Holocene, but a wetland developed subsequently as climate warmed. From ca. 8500 to 6400 cal yr BP the pond desiccated in what must have been the driest period of the Holocene there. C/N ratios declined to their lowest Holocene levels, indicating intense decomposition in the sediment. Wetter conditions returned after 6400 cal yr BP, with conversion of the site to a sedge bog as groundwater levels rose. Higher charcoal influx rates after 6400 cal yr BP probably result from greater biomass production rates. Only minor shifts in the overstory species occurred during the Holocene, suggesting that mixed conifer forest dominated throughout the record.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
University of Washington

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Footnotes

Present address: 4014 Lewis Lane, Austin, TX 78756, USA.
Present address: Geological Sciences, Brown University, 324 Brook St, Box 1846, Providence, RI 02912, USA.

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