HOLIVAR2006 Abstracts
Late glacial presence of conifers in north-eastern Europe?
Maija Heikkilä and Heikki Seppä
Department of Geology, University of Helsinki, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2a, FIN-00014, Finland
Contact: Maija Heikkilä (maija.heikkila@helsinki.fi)
Presence of Picea and Pinus in north-eastern Europe during the Late Glacial is tentatively suggested based on pollen, stomata and macrofossil evidence from a Latvian lake sediment sequence. Pinus reaches 60% in the presumed Allerød assemblages, in addition to minor representation of Picea. Following a decline in Pinus pollen percents to ~10%, distinct assemblages appear, comprising as much as 24% of Picea together with tundra-steppe herbs (e.g. Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae, Helianthemum) typical of the Younger Dryas period. The presence of Picea at the site is supported by stomata and conifer macrofossil finds: a conifer seed winglet and a Picea needle. The importance of the preliminary reconstruction of the vegetation to the development of Holocene environments is considered, and the climatic implications of the data are further discussed.
Maija Heikkilä is PhD student of Quaternary Geology, Department of Geology, University of Helsinki.