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Throughout human history man has utilized the environment to varying degrees, depending on technology and population. These ¨ecosystem services¨ have suffered sustained degradation over the centuries, resulting in large investments having to be made to prevent and reverse further changes to the environment. Few studies have attempted to quantitatively compare how these changes, occurring long before modern environmental monitoring programs started, affected important ecosystem services such as species diversity, water quality, carbon burial and soil stability. The aims of this study were to i) assess whether human impact on ecosystem services have varied over time in perspective of relative change, and ii) to assess the individual (per capita) contributions. I used multiple sediment proxies from a 6 m C¹⁴-dated core collected from lake Ekoln, South-Central Sweden, to reconstruct environmental changes while tracking the population growth in the city of Uppsala during the last ten centuries. Through the use of pollen and diatom assemblages I reconstructed the changing terrestrial and aquatic diversities over time, while sediment accumulation rates and the X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy of the sediment was used to reconstruct soil stability, carbon burial and water quality, respectively. In the latter case, sediment phosphorus concentrations were used as a proxy for freshwater eutrophication while metals (mercury and lead) were used to infer inputs of toxic pollutants. Finally, I normalized (z) all data to create meta-data. The z-values and reconstructed population for Uppsala made it possible to differentiate 5 unique time periods based on anthropogenic induced change, which were not previously visible in the data, and all of which have been linked to the most likely historical causes, including the Black Death. The results show that the most significant anthropogenic impacts in terms of pollution volume occurred in the 1960s, while the period from 1200-1500 AD saw the most significant environmental change in terms per head of capita, most likely caused by the shift from woodland to open landscape through twiddening, a process of burning forest to create agricultural land, prior to 1500 AD. Moreover, rapid recovery is visible after the implementation of environmental policies from the 1970s onwards. / <p>Full surname: Kilpatrick van Houte</p>

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Geography / Kendra K. McLauchlan / Throughout the Holocene, North American grassland vegetation has shifted in composition and spatial extent. However, it has been difficult to characterize these changes because the drivers—particularly climate, fire, topography, or grazing from large herbivores—operate at different spatial and temporal scales. Long-term archives such as lacustrine sediment cores, and the proxy records they contain, can help illustrate vegetation changes on relevant timescales. Yet, accurate interpretations of grassland vegetation composition from pollen (a common proxy used to infer vegetation of the past) remain limited by the number of calibrations of pollen and the drivers of vegetation change in modern conditions. This research addresses those gaps by evaluating grassland vegetation at different spatial and temporal scales in the context of modern and historical drivers. First, I reconstruct vegetation composition and diversity, fire activity, and erosion activity at a sub-regional scale over the last 9,300 years by analyzing pollen, charcoal, and magnetic data from a sediment core from a grassland lake in southern Minnesota. Second, I quantify the relationships between modern grassland pollen and fire, grazing, and topography at a fine spatial and temporal resolution, using pollen samples collected annually from traps at Konza Prairie Biological Station in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Finally, I synthesize modern pollen assemblages across the Great Plains to create a transfer function that quantitatively links precipitation and temperature with pollen. I apply this function to pollen data from the past to interpret the climate history of three sites across the Great Plains, including the aforementioned site in southern Minnesota. The results from this research suggest that grassland vegetation diversity remained relatively resilient to the climatic fluctuations of the Holocene, including the driest time at 5,000 yr BP. In addition, this work facilitates more informed interpretations of fossil pollen by effectively calibrating modern grassland pollen assemblages with their abiotic and biotic drivers.

Modern Kusawa Lake (60° 19' 55” N, 136° 4' 48” W, 142 km2) of southwestern Yukon Territory drains a 4290 km2 catchment, 4.7 % of which is glacier covered. Sediment cores show variability both down-lake and within specific sub-basins of the lake. In Regions II -V of Kusawa Lake, sediments are mainly clastic with massive to weakly laminated silts and clays interrupted by fine sand units, which reflect distinct runoff events into Region IV from glacier sources. In Region I, massive silts, silt-clay couplets are interrupted by thick sand deposits derived from the Primrose River delta. Further up-lake, the sediment record is further interrupted by modern sediment delivery from the Kusawa Campground alluvial fan. The relatively small accumulation of lake glacial and Holocene sediment input in Kusawa Lake is similar to other large lakes of the Canadian Cordillera. These patterns reflect a particular style of deglaciation and Holocene sediment inputs.

Modern Kusawa Lake (60° 19' 55” N, 136° 4' 48” W, 142 km2) of southwestern Yukon Territory drains a 4290 km2 catchment, 4.7 % of which is glacier covered. Sediment cores show variability both down-lake and within specific sub-basins of the lake. In Regions II -V of Kusawa Lake, sediments are mainly clastic with massive to weakly laminated silts and clays interrupted by fine sand units, which reflect distinct runoff events into Region IV from glacier sources. In Region I, massive silts, silt-clay couplets are interrupted by thick sand deposits derived from the Primrose River delta. Further up-lake, the sediment record is further interrupted by modern sediment delivery from the Kusawa Campground alluvial fan. The relatively small accumulation of lake glacial and Holocene sediment input in Kusawa Lake is similar to other large lakes of the Canadian Cordillera. These patterns reflect a particular style of deglaciation and Holocene sediment inputs.

Sediment accumulated in lakes stores valuable information about past environments and paleoclimatological conditions. Cores previously obtained from Saint Albans Bay, located in the Northeast Arm of Lake Champlain, VT record the transition from the Champlain Sea to Lake Champlain. Belrose (2015) documented the presence of a peat horizon separating the sediments of the Champlain Sea from those of Lake Champlain. Initially, this layer was thought to comprise the transition from the marine environment of the Champlain Sea to a freshwater wetland. However, based on the results from this study, the transition between marine and freshwater conditions is thought to be represented by an erosional unconformity, indicative of a lowstand at the end of the Champlain Sea period. For this study, five additional cores were collected from Saint Albans Bay along a transect following the long axis of the bay moving into progressively deeper water. These cores better constrain the spatial extent, thickness and age variability of the peat layer within the bay and allow us to better understand the environmental conditions that preceded the period of peat deposition. In each of the cores there is evidence of sediment reworking in the uppermost Champlain Sea sediments, indicated by the presence of coarse-grained sediment, which is suggestive of a lowstand at the end of the Champlain Sea period before the inception of Lake Champlain. This coarse-grained layer is immediately overlain by a thick peat horizon. The widespread occurrence of the peat layer points to a large wetland that occupied the entire inner portion of Saint Albans Bay, and lake level ~ 9 m lower than at present during the Early Holocene. Based on radiocarbon dating, this paleo-wetland existed in Saint Albans Bay from ~ 9,600-8,400 yr BP. The development of this wetland complex is time transgressive, reflecting rapidly increasing lake level during the Early Holocene. This hypothesis is supported by the basal peat radiocarbon dates, as well as by the composition of plant macrofossils recovered from the peat horizons. The shift from peat deposition to fine-grained, low organic content lacustrine sedimentation is believed to have occurred at ~8.6-8.4 ka and is likely the result of continued isostatically driven lake level rise coupled with a changing climate. Although it was not its primary focus, this study also seeks to address the variations in sediment composition in the Lake Champlain sections of the cores. Evidence from the Lake Champlain record in Saint Albans Bay indicates that there were notable fluctuations in sedimentation, which were likely linked to both climatic variations and a change in the morphology of the bay. The rebound in productivity from ~8-5 ka is likely the result of warmer conditions during the Hypsithermal period. An increase in terrigenous sedimentation during this same time suggests a change in the morphology of the bay in which the Mill River delta migrated towards the inner bay. Initially, the cooler conditions of the Neoglacial are reflected in Saint Albans Bay by a decrease in organic matter content from ~5-3 ka. During the latter part of the Neoglacial (~3-1 ka), increases in organic matter content and detrital input point to enhanced productivity in response to increased precipitation and runoff from the watershed. The most recently deposited sediments in Saint Albans Bay bear out the legacy of anthropogenic nutrient enrichment of the bay in the form of increased algal productivity.

<p>In order to explore site formations and reconstruct environmental development in Medieval and Post-Medieval towns, urban occupational strata in Norrköping and Karlstad were studied according to biostratigraphy, sedimentology and pedology. New field procedures including continuous pilot sampling, parallel archaeological and geological stratigraphic interpretation, and on-site analysis of plant macrofossils were developed and applied at archaeological excavations in both towns. Representation of both disciplines in the field during excavations greatly contributed to more complete field interpretations.</p><p>Stratigraphical analyses indicate that geological processes have been active in both towns, and reveal similarities in site formation. The earliest proto-urban phase is represented by the presence of dark earths, formed by the combination of alluvial processes and cattle tramping. Alluvial processes were common in Karlstad due to the flooding of the river delta, and in Norrköping due to the sloping topography. Both situations were enhanced by human activity, which caused drainage problems. A significant change in composition and origin of house foundation fill was also noted. The oldest foundations contained fine-grained material of local origin in contrast to younger foundations, which contained coarser material, sometimes of regional origin. This is interpreted as a professionalisation of the urban building tradition, which in Norrköping occurred during the 16th century and in Karlstad during the 18th century. Site formations of urban strata are regulated by three major factors: deposition, post-depositional soil formation and erosion/truncation, which all may occur both culturally and naturally.</p><p>Plant macrofossil analyses in Norrköping and Karlstad resulted in a fossil record with a total amount of 203 and 169 different types of plant species and taxa respectively. The records indicate that site formation processes seem to have been inhibited during wintertime. The results also confirm the idea of the early Scandinavian towns as rural, also during the Post-Medieval time. The finds of cultural plants in Karlstad indicate 18th century cultivation of Fragaria moscata and 17th century import of Pimento officinalis. In Norrköping remains of beer additives confirm that the tradition of combining Humulus lupulus and Myrica gale disappeared after the 15th century, but also indicate a the use of Filipendula ulmaria as a beer addative. Finds of seeds from Nicotiana rustica suggests that tobacco cultivation occurred in Norrköping 1560-1640, which is some decades earlier than known so far in Sweden.</p>

In order to explore site formations and reconstruct environmental development in Medieval and Post-Medieval towns, urban occupational strata in Norrköping and Karlstad were studied according to biostratigraphy, sedimentology and pedology. New field procedures including continuous pilot sampling, parallel archaeological and geological stratigraphic interpretation, and on-site analysis of plant macrofossils were developed and applied at archaeological excavations in both towns. Representation of both disciplines in the field during excavations greatly contributed to more complete field interpretations. Stratigraphical analyses indicate that geological processes have been active in both towns, and reveal similarities in site formation. The earliest proto-urban phase is represented by the presence of dark earths, formed by the combination of alluvial processes and cattle tramping. Alluvial processes were common in Karlstad due to the flooding of the river delta, and in Norrköping due to the sloping topography. Both situations were enhanced by human activity, which caused drainage problems. A significant change in composition and origin of house foundation fill was also noted. The oldest foundations contained fine-grained material of local origin in contrast to younger foundations, which contained coarser material, sometimes of regional origin. This is interpreted as a professionalisation of the urban building tradition, which in Norrköping occurred during the 16th century and in Karlstad during the 18th century. Site formations of urban strata are regulated by three major factors: deposition, post-depositional soil formation and erosion/truncation, which all may occur both culturally and naturally. Plant macrofossil analyses in Norrköping and Karlstad resulted in a fossil record with a total amount of 203 and 169 different types of plant species and taxa respectively. The records indicate that site formation processes seem to have been inhibited during wintertime. The results also confirm the idea of the early Scandinavian towns as rural, also during the Post-Medieval time. The finds of cultural plants in Karlstad indicate 18th century cultivation of Fragaria moscata and 17th century import of Pimento officinalis. In Norrköping remains of beer additives confirm that the tradition of combining Humulus lupulus and Myrica gale disappeared after the 15th century, but also indicate a the use of Filipendula ulmaria as a beer addative. Finds of seeds from Nicotiana rustica suggests that tobacco cultivation occurred in Norrköping 1560-1640, which is some decades earlier than known so far in Sweden.

Antarctic ice cores preserve the record of past aerosols, an important proxy of past atmospheric chemistry. Here we present the aerosol compositions of sulphate and chloride particles in the Talos Dome (TD) ice core from the Holocene and Last Glacial Period. We find that the main salt types of both periods are NaCl, Na2SO4 and CaSO4, indicating that TD ice contains relatively abundant sea salt (NaCl) from marine primary particles. By evaluating the molar ratio of NaCl to Na2SO4, we show that about half of the sea salt does not undergo sulphatisation during late Holocene. Compared to in inland Antarctica, the lower sulphatisation rate at TD is probably due to relatively little contact between sea salt and sulphuric acid. This low contact rate can be related to a reduced time of reaction for marine-sourced aerosol before reaching TD and/or to a reduced post-depositional effect from the higher accumulation rate at TD. Many sulphate and chloride salts are adhered to silicate minerals. The ratio of sulphate-adhered mineral to particle mass and the corresponding ratio of chloride-adhered mineral both increase with increasing dust concentration. Also, the TD ice appears to contain Ca(NO3)(2) or CaCO3 particles, thus differing from aerosol compositions in inland Antarctica, and indicating the proximity of peripheral regions to marine aerosols. / <p>AuthorCount:9;</p>

Submitted by Jorge Silva (jorgelmsilva@ufrrj.br) on 2017-02-21T17:24:10Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2015 - Paula Fernanda Chaves Soares.pdf: 3452589 bytes, checksum: a609eacd7f5462af0a01edb94f3837f5 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-21T17:24:10Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2015 - Paula Fernanda Chaves Soares.pdf: 3452589 bytes, checksum: a609eacd7f5462af0a01edb94f3837f5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-02-25 / CAPES / According to the Brazilian Soil Classification System the Organossolos (Histosols) are characterized by horizons with high organic matter content and a given thickness. The carbon content is related to pedogenesis processes; however for the carbon addition and maintenance in the soil in such amount and thickness to meet the criteria of the classification system there are several factors working in conjunction, culminating in the soil genesis process. These soils can be formed by paludization or litter accumulation. The overall objective of the study was to characterize and classify Organossolos and to verify the influence of their genesis in the soil attributes, evaluating physical and chemical properties; in addition, the application of isotopic methods for analyzing natural abundance of carbon and nitrogen isotopes, relating the data with changes in vegetation and in soil evolution. The soils are under Atlantic Forest in the state of Rio de Janeiro. There were selected four profiles in different environments, one in the municipality of Mag? in the plains neighboring the Guanabara Bay, the second in Campos dos Goytacazes municipality, near Lagoa Feia, both in hot and humid climate and lowland plain relief. Two other soil profiles were located in Itatiaia municipality, in the highland section of the Itatiaia National Park, under cold weather and humid and mountainous vegetation environment. A series of analytical procedures were made: description and morphological characterization, analysis of chemical and physical properties, determination of carbon and nitrogen, chemical fractionation of humic substances, mineral material (MM), density of organic matter (DOM), minimum residue (MR), solubility in sodium pyrophosphate (SSP), determination of fibers and Von Post decomposition scale; plus the quantification of natural abundance of carbon isotopes (12C and13C) and nitrogen (14N and 15N), and carbon dating by the method of C. The RJ-01 profile was classified as ORGANOSSOLO Tiom?rfico S?prico t?pico, the RJ-02 as ORGANOSSOLO H?plico S?prico t?pico, the RJ-03 as ORGANOSSOLO H?plico H?mico t?pico and RJ-04 as ORGANOSSOLO F?lico S?prico cambiss?lico, equivalent to Sulfosaprists (RJ-01) Haplosaprists (RJ-02), Haplohemists (RJ-03) and Udifolists (RJ-04), in the Soil Taxonomy (USDA-NRCS). The RJ- 01 was significantly thicker and higher in carbon content in the subsurface. The RJ-02 profile was shallower, but had a higher organic matter deposition. The RJ-03 profile had the organic matter (OM) with the oldest C dating, in the range of 3351-3699 years at 40-50 cm. However, the RJ-04 profile stood out from the others because it had better soil drainage, higher degree of OM humification. Also, this profile had a variation of ?6 of 13C, indicating a change in local floristic composition with an increase of vegetation with C3 photosynthetic cycle, which is a hint of climate change. / De acordo com o Sistema Brasileiro de Classifica??o de Solo os Organossolos s?o caracterizados por horizontes com elevado teor de material org?nico e uma espessura m?nima. O teor de carbono esta ligado ao processo pedogen?tico, por?m para que ocorra a adi??o e manuten??o de carbono em quantidade e espessura de forma a atender os crit?rios do sistema de classifica??o uma s?rie de fatores atua em conjunto, culminando com o processo de g?nese do solo. Esses solos podem ser formados atrav?s de um desses processos: paludiza??o ou acumula??o de liteira. O objetivo geral do trabalho foi caracterizar e classificar Organossolos e verificar a influ?ncia da sua g?nese sobre os atributos ed?ficos, analisando as propriedades f?sicas e qu?micas; ainda a aplica??o de m?todos de an?lise da abund?ncia natural de is?topos de carbono e nitrog?nio, relacionando-as as altera??es na vegeta??o e na evolu??o do solo, em dois ambientes de Floresta Atl?ntica, no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Para tanto foram selecionados quatro perfis em locais distintos, um em Mag? ao fundo da Ba?a de Guanabara, o segundo em Campos dos Goytacazes pr?ximo a Lagoa Feia, ambos em ambientes de clima quente e ?mido e relevo plano de v?rzea. Outros dois perfis localizam-se em Itatiaia, na parte alta do Parque Nacional de Itatiaia (PNI), em ambiente de clima frio e ?mido e vegeta??o altomontana. Realizou-se uma s?rie de procedimentos anal?ticos: descri??o e caracteriza??o morfol?gica, an?lises de atributos qu?micos e f?sicos, determina??o de carbono e nitrog?nio, fracionamento qu?mico das subst?ncias h?micas, material mineral (MM), densidade da mat?ria org?nica (DMO), res?duo m?nimo (RM), solubilidade em pirofosfato de s?dio (IP), determina??o de fibras (FE e FN) e escala de decomposi??o de Von Post, abundancia natural de is?topos do carbono (12C e 13C) e nitrog?nio (14N e 15N) e data??o da mat?ria org?nica do solo atrav?s do m?todo de C. O perfil RJ-01 foi classificado como ORGANOSSOLO Tiom?rfico S?prico t?pico, o RJ-02 como ORGANOSSOLO H?plico S?prico t?pico, o RJ-03 como ORGANOSSOLO H?plico H?mico t?pico e o RJ-04 como ORGANOSSOLO F?lico S?prico cambiss?lico. O perfil RJ-01 apresentou maior espessura e teores de carbono mais elevados em subsuperf?cie. O perfil RJ-02 foi o de menor profundidade, por?m possui maior deposi??o atual de mat?ria org?nica (MO). O perfil RJ- 03 possui a MO mais antiga, datando na faixa de 3351-3699 anos a 40-50 cm. No entanto, o perfil RJ-04 destacou-se dos demais por apresentar melhor drenagem e maior grau de humifica??o da MO. Al?m disso, esse perfil mostrou varia??o do valor de C de ?6, indicando altera??o na composi??o flor?stica local, com o aumento de vegeta??o do ciclo fotossint?tico C3, o que ? apontado como ind?cio de altera??es clim?ticas.