Journal article
Vegetation, climate and fire regime changes in the Andean region of southern Chile (38°S) covaried with centennial-scale climate anomalies in the tropical Pacific over the last 1500 years
MS Fletcher, PI Moreno
Quaternary Science Reviews | PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD | Published : 2012
Abstract
Pollen and charcoal analysis from Laguna San Pedro (38°26'S, 71°19'W), a small closed-basin lake located within the present-day distribution of Araucaria- Nothofagus forest in the Temperate-Mediterranean Transition zone in the Andes of Chile (35.5-39.5°S), reveal centennial-scale changes in vegetation, climate and fire regime since 1500 cal yr BP. We interpret periods of relatively low growing season (summer) moisture and increased fire activity between 1500-1300 and 1000-725 cal yr BP, the latter period is also characterised by remarkably rapid bulk sediment accumulation and we infer prolonged annual sedimentation resulting from a decrease in the duration of lake freezing under a warmer cli..
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Awarded by Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico, Tecnológico y de Innovación Tecnológica
Funding Acknowledgements
M.S.F. is funded by Fondecyt 3110180 and the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity, Chile, and P.I.M by Fondecyt 1110612, and Iniciativa Cientifica Milenio P05-002, contract PFB-23. Our appreciation goes to Oscar Pesce and Bree Fletcher for help in the field and to Loreto Hernandez for processing the palynological samples and for conducting LOI and macroscopic charcoal analyses, and to Carmen Miranda for drafting Fig. 1.