1. Synchronous vegetation response to the last glacial-interglacial transition in northwest Europe
- Author
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Engels, Stefan, Lane, Christine S., Haliuc, Aritina, Hoek, Wim Z., Muschitiello, Francesco, Baneschi, Ilaria, Bouwman, Annerieke, Bronk Ramsey, Christopher, Collins, James, de Bruijn, Renee, Heiri, Oliver, Hubay, Katalin, Jones, Gwydion, Laug, Andreas, Merkt, Josef, Müller, Meike, Peters, Tom, Peterse, Francien, Staff, Richard A., ter Schure, Anneke T. M., Turner, Falko, van den Bos, Valerie, Wagner-Cremer, Frederike, Geomorfologie, Coastal dynamics, Fluvial systems and Global change, Organic geochemistry, Palaeo-ecologie, Organic geochemistry & molecular biogeology, Engels, S [0000-0002-2078-0361], Lane, CS [0000-0001-9206-3903], Haliuc, A [0000-0002-5681-8210], Hoek, WZ [0000-0001-7313-100X], Baneschi, I [0000-0001-6924-1599], Bronk Ramsey, C [0000-0002-8641-9309], Peterse, F [0000-0001-8781-2826], Staff, RA [0000-0002-8634-014X], ter Schure, ATM [0000-0002-2177-5441], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, Geomorfologie, Coastal dynamics, Fluvial systems and Global change, Organic geochemistry, Palaeo-ecologie, and Organic geochemistry & molecular biogeology
- Subjects
Dewey Decimal Classification::500 | Naturwissenschaften::550 | Geowissenschaften ,13 Climate Action ,vegetation dynamics ,lacustrine deposit ,plant community ,37 Earth Sciences ,3705 Geology ,3709 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience ,Lake Meerfelder Maar ,Laacher See eruption ,Greenland ice-core ,Younger Dryas ,climate-change ,varve chronology ,Early Holocene ,laminated sediments ,Western-Europe ,record ,environmental impact ,climate variation ,Last Glacial-Interglacial ,terrestrial ecosystem ,Germany ,community response ,ddc:550 ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,ddc:333.7 ,geog ,palynology ,Dewey Decimal Classification::300 | Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie, Anthropologie::330 | Wirtschaft::333 | Boden- und Energiewirtschaft::333,7 | Natürliche Ressourcen, Energie und Umwelt ,ddc:333,7 ,General Environmental Science - Abstract
The North Atlantic region experienced abrupt high-amplitude cooling at the onset of the Younger Dryas stadial. However, due to chronological uncertainties in the available terrestrial records it is unclear whether terrestrial ecosystem response to this event was instantaneous and spatially synchronous, or whether regional or time-transgressive lags existed. Here we use new palynological results from a robustly dated lake sediment sequence retrieved from lake Hämelsee (north Germany) to show that vegetation change started at 12,820 cal. yr BP, concurrent with the onset of changes in local climate. A comparison of the Hämelsee results to a compilation of precisely dated palynological records shows instant and, within decadal-scale dating uncertainty, synchronous response of the terrestrial plant community to Late-Glacial climate change across northwest Europe. The results indicate that the environmental impact of climate cooling was more severe than previously thought and illustrates the sensitivity of natural terrestrial ecosystems to external forcing.
- Published
- 2022