Temperature and Fire Drivers of Deglacial Vegetation Dynamics in Eastern North America

Talk by: John (Jack) Williams, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, USA 

Description: Eastern North America is a classic model system for studying climate-driven vegetation dynamics, anchored by dense networks of fossil pollen records, but the network of paleoclimatic and paleofire records is surprisingly sparse.  This talk will present a new network of lake sediment records from eastern North America and their records of past temperature, fire, and vegetation dynamics.  Part 1 will present evidence for a spatial fingerprint of temperature variations during the Younger Dryas climate event, with minimal cooling or even warming in Florida.  Part 2 assesses the role of fire in accelerating the climate-driven regional ecosystem transformation and loss of spruce woodlands in the upper Midwest.