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KKopera_EESMSTHESIS_FINAL.pdf (2.57 MB)
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
Vegetation sensitivity during the mid-Holocene warming in western Ohio
Author Info
Kopera, Kristin
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1559146757516433
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2019, Master of Science (MS), Wright State University, Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Abstract
There has been a growing interest in prairie reconstruction in western Ohio, yet there are few recent academic sources supporting the claim that prairies appeared in western Ohio during the mid-Holocene. The hypsithermal was the warmest and driest part of the Holocene and occurred from 8,000-4,000 years ago in the Midwest. During the hypsithermal, the Prairie Peninsula appeared from Minnesota to eastern Ohio. If prairie did appear in Ohio, it occurred during the mid-Holocene hypsithermal. The goal of this study was to determine if western Ohio experienced a prairie period during the hypsithermal using pollen as a proxy for past regional vegetation. Outside of prairie reconstruction, vegetation studies are vital for climate modelling and understand an areas sensitivity to climate changes. An 8.4m sediment core was collected from Crystal Lake, Clark County, OH. There are seven zones in the Crystal Lake record, covering the Pleistocene, the early, middle, and late Holocene, the mid-Holocene hypsithermal, and the movement of homesteaders into Ohio. There are no identifiable spikes in grass, sedge, or ragweed exceeding 10%, suggesting that prairie grassland was not present around Crystal Lake during the mid-Holocene hypsithermal. The only peak of ragweed, occurring at the top of the core, likely represents the beginning of homesteading activity in the area. Based on the lack of prairie taxa, the vegetation in the Crystal Lake area was likely insensitive to the warming and drying of the hypsithermal. Although the Crystal Lake area did experience a shift in vegetation in response to the hypsithermal, it was not a shift from deciduous forest to a prairie. The vegetation in the Crystal Lake area will likely remain insensitive and the vegetation is likely not to experience any large changes in response to ongoing climate change.
Committee
Rebecca Teed, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Silvia E. Newell, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Chad R. Hammerschmidt, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Pages
77 p.
Subject Headings
Ecology
;
Environmental Science
Keywords
mid-Holocene
;
Holocene
;
hypsithermal
;
Prairie Peninsula
;
Crystal Lake
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Citations
Kopera, K. (2019).
Vegetation sensitivity during the mid-Holocene warming in western Ohio
[Master's thesis, Wright State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1559146757516433
APA Style (7th edition)
Kopera, Kristin.
Vegetation sensitivity during the mid-Holocene warming in western Ohio.
2019. Wright State University, Master's thesis.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1559146757516433.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Kopera, Kristin. "Vegetation sensitivity during the mid-Holocene warming in western Ohio." Master's thesis, Wright State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1559146757516433
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
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Document number:
wright1559146757516433
Download Count:
432
Copyright Info
© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Wright State University and OhioLINK.