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A CLIMATIC DRIVER FOR ABRUPT MID‐HOLOCENE VEGETATION DYNAMICS AND THE HEMLOCK DECLINE IN NEW ENGLAND
Author(s) -
Foster David R.,
Oswald W. Wyatt,
Faison Edward K.,
Doughty Elaine D.,
Hansen Barbara C. S.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[2959:acdfam]2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - ecology , holocene , climate change , ecosystem , vegetation (pathology) , environmental change , taxon , abundance (ecology) , geography , biology , medicine , archaeology , pathology
The mid‐Holocene decline of eastern hemlock is widely viewed as the sole prehistorical example of an insect‐ or pathogen‐mediated collapse of a North American tree species and has been extensively studied for insights into pest–host dynamics and the consequences to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of dominant‐species removal. We report paleoecological evidence implicating climate as a major driver of this episode. Data drawn from sites across a gradient in hemlock abundance from dominant to absent demonstrate: a synchronous, dramatic decline in a contrasting taxon (oak); changes in lake sediments and aquatic taxa indicating low water levels; and one or more intervals of intense drought at regional to continental scales. These results, which accord well with emerging climate reconstructions, challenge the interpretation of a biotically driven hemlock decline and highlight the potential for climate change to generate major, abrupt dynamics in forest ecosystems.