Vegetation response to abrupt climate changes in Western Europe from 45 to 14.7k cal a BP: the Bergsee lacustrine record (Black Forest, Germany)

Fanny Duprat-Oualid*, Damien Rius, Carole Bégeot, Michel Magny, Laurent Millet, Sabine Wulf, Oona Appelt

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Between 45 and 14.7k cal a BP, the North Atlantic climate was characterized by a succession of short-lived Greenland Stadials (GS)/Interstadials (GI), which impacted terrestrial environments. We present a new pollen record from the Bergsee (47°34′20″N, 7°56′11″E), which was ice free during the Last Glacial. We constructed a robust chronology for the period 45–14.7k cal a BP based on 14 accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dates and a tephra attributed to the Laacher See Tephra. Vegetation history was reconstructed at the sub-millennial scale using pollen analysis. At millennial timescale, a 45–30k cal a BP period shows relatively high tree percentages and marked forest developments, consistent with warmer and more humid conditions during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. This contrasts with a 30–14.7k cal a BP period of steppe conditions, favoured by a colder/more arid MIS 2. In detail, vegetation seems to respond to GIs and GSs with the successive development of steppes and boreal forests. The impact of Heinrich events is also recorded with a marked development of Artemisia. Comparison with European records shows the contribution of the Bergsee pollen record to understanding impacts of the North Atlantic climate variability on landscapes across longitudinal and latitudinal gradients.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1008-1021
    Number of pages14
    JournalJournal of Quaternary Science
    Volume32
    Issue number7
    Early online date22 Sept 2017
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2 Oct 2017

    Keywords

    • climate variability
    • interstadials
    • Last Glacial
    • pollen
    • stadials
    • vegetation response

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Vegetation response to abrupt climate changes in Western Europe from 45 to 14.7k cal a BP: the Bergsee lacustrine record (Black Forest, Germany)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this