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History of the spruce–fir forest in the Catskill Mountains of New York
Author(s) -
Kudish Michael
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/nyas.12274
Subject(s) - balsam , abies balsamea , macrofossil , watershed , taiga , forestry , red pine , black spruce , geography , ecology , pinus <genus> , botany , biology , pollen , machine learning , computer science
Red spruce ( Picea rubens Sarg.) and balsam fir ( Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) were present by 13,700 years B.C.E. in the Catskills Mountains of southeastern New York State. These conifers were, and still are, largely confined to the eastern and far western portions of the region. A gap in the distribution exists between these populations. Both species are absent from the intervening East Branch Delaware River watershed. No red spruce macrofossils were found in this watershed, suggesting that this conifer never colonized the gap postglacially. Rare macrofossils of balsam fir were found in only three of the 24 peatlands in this watershed, the conifer having disappeared between 11,300 and 8,200 years B.C.E.