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Quaternary Research 47 (1997) 235-248. doi:10.1006/qres.1997.18822016-03-04T18:46:15

Quaternary Research 47 (1997) 169-180. doi:10.1006/qres.1997.1881Received by publisher: 1996-05-07Harvest Date: 2016-01-04 12:20:38DOI: 10.1006/qres.1997.1881Page Range: 169-18

Chemical, paleontological, and mineralogical analyses of a 7.5-meter core from the middle of Lake Valencia, Venezuela, have provided information on the paleoclimatic history of this low-elevation, low-latitude site for the last 13,000 years. The data show that dry climates existed in this region from 13,000 years before present (B.P.) until about 10,000 years B.P. The Lake Valencia Basin was occupied by intermittent saline marshes at that time. About 10,000 years B.P., a permanent lake of fluctuating salinity formed and arboreal plant communities replaced the earlier dominant xeric herbaceous vegetation and marsh plants. By 8500 years B.P., Lake Valencia reached moderate to low salinities and discharged water; the modern vegetation became established at that time. After 8500 years B.P., the lake twice ceased discharging as a result of reduced watershed moisture. The second of these drying episodes is still in progress and has been aggravated by human activities in the watershed.

Pleistocene and Holocene vegetation dynamics in the American tropics are inferred largely from pollen in continental lake sediments. Maritime influences may have moderated climate and vegetation changes on Caribbean islands. Stable isotope (δ18O) study of a 7.6-m core from Lake Miragoane, Haiti, provided a high-resolution record of changing evaporation/precipitation (E/P) since ∼10,300 14C yr B.P. The Miragoane pollen record documents climate influences and human impacts on vegetation in Hispaniola. The δ18O and pollen data near the base of the core indicate cool, dry conditions before ∼10,000 14C yr B.P. Lake Miragoane filled with water in the early Holocene as E/P declined and the freshwater aquifer rose. Despite increasing early Holocene moisture, shrubby, xeric vegetation persisted. Forest expanded ∼7000 14C yr B.P. in response to greater effective moisture and warming. The middle Holocene (∼7000–3200 14C yr B.P.) was characterized by high lake levels and greatest relative abundance of pollen from moist forest taxa. Climatic drying that began ∼3200 14C yr B.P. may have driven some mesophilic animal species to extinction. The pollen record of the last millennium reflects pre-Columbian (Taino) and European deforestation. Long-term, Holocene vegetation trends in southern Haiti are comparable to trends from continental, lowland circum-Caribbean sites, suggesting a common response to regional climate change.

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