Late Holocene climate, fire, and vegetation history on the northern range, Yellowstone National Park
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Date
2019
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Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science
Abstract
Yellowstone National Park is an iconic natural landscape that encompasses unique geologic features as well as a diverse and ecologically important flora and fauna. The ecological resilience of the Northern Range of the park, home to the park's ungulate herds, faces an uncertain future with a projected warming climate over the next century. Understanding the variability of vegetation organization in response to past changes in climate can help park managers plan for future climate scenarios. Lake sediment cores from two lakes were collected, analyzed for pollen type, charcoal accumulation and lithological components, and compared with other studies to highlight commonalities in fire-histories and vegetation trends across the Northern Range over the past 4000 cal yr BP. Foster Lake the records suggest fire-episodes and changes to lake productivity and between ~3500-2900 cal yr BP, large intense fire-episodes between ~2500-2150 cal yr BP, ~1000 cal yr BP and frequent large fire episodes from ~700 cal yr BP to the present day. Floating Island Lake records between ~4000-3000 cal yr BP suggest the site experienced infrequent, large fire episodes concurrent with periods of protracted drought and decreases in water level. Between ~3000-1500 low intensity fire episodes were common, punctuated by infrequent large fire episodes at ~2900, ~2250, ~2050 and ~1880 cal yr BP. During the last ~1ka two fire episodes were recorded at Floating Island Lake, at ~1030 cal yr BP coincident with the Medieval Climate Anomaly, and 270~ cal yr BP during the Little Ice Age. A comparison of fire histories from studies spanning the Northern Range shows that during periods of protracted drought large fire episodes are common across the landscape, and that during periods of moderate climate fire size and severity is likely modulated by local site controls such as topography and vegetation structure. This study shows that fire episodes in the Northern Range have occurred as a spatial and temporal mosaic, and are likely to continue to do so. Additionally, this study increases our understanding of how vegetation structure and fire regimes in the Northern Range have varied as a result of a range of climate conditions in the past. Such baseline information helps us anticipate some of the ecological responses that may occur in the decades ahead with global warming.