Herbaceous Vegetation Response to Holocene Climate Dynamics in South-Central Minnesota.

Abstract

This study examined the carbon isotopic composition of charred vegetation (Poaceae) epidermis preserved in Holocene deposits within Kimble Pond and Sharkey Lake in south-central Minnesota. Kimble Pond and Sharkey Lake lay in a critical location along the current prairie-forest ecotone. As such, Poaceae fossils preserved in the sediments of these lakes provide outstanding records to test the hypothesis regarding changes in vegetation community composition associated with climatically driven longitudinal shifts in this boundary throughout the Holocene.