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This thesis combines detailed analyses of living plant communities with paleolimnological methods to develop the use of plant macrofossils as an effective tool to track hydroecological changes in ponds of the Slave River Delta (SRD), N.W.T. Several approaches were used to develop an understanding of the relationships between hydrolimnological conditions, living plant communities, and the composition of sedimentary macrofossil remains across spatial and temporal scales. A spatial survey approach was used to assess the relationships between the composition of plant macrofossil assemblages contained in the surface sediments and the hydrological and limnological conditions of 40 SRD basins that span a broad range of hydrological settings in the delta. Results show that there are strong relationships between the prevailing hydrolimnological conditions in the SRD and the composition of sedimentary macrofossil remains, and subsequently indicator macrofossil taxa were identified to distinguish between sites with high river influence (flood-dominated sites: ostracode shells, Daphnia ephippia, Chara oospores; exchange-dominated sites: Myriophyllum winter-bud scales, Daphnia ephippia) and sites with low river influence (evaporation-dominated: Ceratophyllum leaves, Lemna leaves, Drepanocladus leaves). In light of the strong connection between spring flood events and the hydrolimnological conditions of SRD ponds, and growing concerns that the frequency of spring floods have declined in recent decades, paleolimnological investigations were initiated at a pond (SD2) adjacent to the Slave River to construct a record of flood events in the SRD. Prior to analysis of macrofossil assemblages from sediment cores, a detailed study of the living plant community was conducted at SD2, and results were compared to the distributions of surficial sedimentary plant macrofossil assemblages to assess how representative surficial sediment assemblages are of the living plant community. This study indicates distinct patch-scale (or quadrat-scale)similarity between the living vegetation and sedimentary remains in the central basin, as well as distinct similarity between the living aquatic macrophytes and sedimentary remains at a pond-scale, suggesting there is excellent potential to track changes in the composition and percent cover of aquatic macrophytes in pond sediment cores using plant macrofossil assemblages. Additionally, this study indicates that influence of long-distance transport of macrofossils during the 2005 flood event was minor at this pond, and may not be an important factor affecting paleolimnological reconstructions of plant communities. With contemporary studies as a framework, an ~90-year record of ice-jam flood frequency was reconstructed from a sediment core collected from pond SD2. Multi-proxy analyses indicated decadal-scale oscillations in flood frequency at this site, with at least three multi-year periods of low river influence. Beginning in ~1943, an 18-year period of particularly low river influence and greatly reduced water levels was indicated by abundant macrofossils of Sagittaria cuneata and represents the driest period over the past ~90-years. Similarities between the flood history of SD2 and upstream sites in the Peace-Athabasca Delta suggest that spring discharge generated from headwaters and major contributing rivers plays a key role in the frequency and magnitude of spring flood events of both deltas.

This thesis combines detailed analyses of living plant communities with paleolimnological methods to develop the use of plant macrofossils as an effective tool to track hydroecological changes in ponds of the Slave River Delta (SRD), N.W.T. Several approaches were used to develop an understanding of the relationships between hydrolimnological conditions, living plant communities, and the composition of sedimentary macrofossil remains across spatial and temporal scales. A spatial survey approach was used to assess the relationships between the composition of plant macrofossil assemblages contained in the surface sediments and the hydrological and limnological conditions of 40 SRD basins that span a broad range of hydrological settings in the delta. Results show that there are strong relationships between the prevailing hydrolimnological conditions in the SRD and the composition of sedimentary macrofossil remains, and subsequently indicator macrofossil taxa were identified to distinguish between sites with high river influence (flood-dominated sites: ostracode shells, Daphnia ephippia, Chara oospores; exchange-dominated sites: Myriophyllum winter-bud scales, Daphnia ephippia) and sites with low river influence (evaporation-dominated: Ceratophyllum leaves, Lemna leaves, Drepanocladus leaves). In light of the strong connection between spring flood events and the hydrolimnological conditions of SRD ponds, and growing concerns that the frequency of spring floods have declined in recent decades, paleolimnological investigations were initiated at a pond (SD2) adjacent to the Slave River to construct a record of flood events in the SRD. Prior to analysis of macrofossil assemblages from sediment cores, a detailed study of the living plant community was conducted at SD2, and results were compared to the distributions of surficial sedimentary plant macrofossil assemblages to assess how representative surficial sediment assemblages are of the living plant community. This study indicates distinct patch-scale (or quadrat-scale)similarity between the living vegetation and sedimentary remains in the central basin, as well as distinct similarity between the living aquatic macrophytes and sedimentary remains at a pond-scale, suggesting there is excellent potential to track changes in the composition and percent cover of aquatic macrophytes in pond sediment cores using plant macrofossil assemblages. Additionally, this study indicates that influence of long-distance transport of macrofossils during the 2005 flood event was minor at this pond, and may not be an important factor affecting paleolimnological reconstructions of plant communities. With contemporary studies as a framework, an ~90-year record of ice-jam flood frequency was reconstructed from a sediment core collected from pond SD2. Multi-proxy analyses indicated decadal-scale oscillations in flood frequency at this site, with at least three multi-year periods of low river influence. Beginning in ~1943, an 18-year period of particularly low river influence and greatly reduced water levels was indicated by abundant macrofossils of Sagittaria cuneata and represents the driest period over the past ~90-years. Similarities between the flood history of SD2 and upstream sites in the Peace-Athabasca Delta suggest that spring discharge generated from headwaters and major contributing rivers plays a key role in the frequency and magnitude of spring flood events of both deltas.

The end–Triassic mass extinction event (ca. 201 Myr ago) has received particular attention over recent decades since Sepkoski (1981) classified it as one of the ‘‘big five’’ biotic crises in Earth's history. In the geological record of Greenland and Sweden, 80% of the species of terrestrial plants disappeared at this boundary. In the last two centuries, Triassic–Jurassic plant remains from Skåne, southern Sweden, have been collected, curated, and studied. However, the paleoflora from the lowermost part of the Helsingborg Member (Lower Jurassic: Hettangian) is poorly understood. Here, a taxonomic study is presented of two novel plant assemblages collected from the Boserup beds (basal Hettangian) in NorraAlbert Quarry, Skåne. The exposures in Skåne are among the few localities in the world that record the terrestrial ecosystem aftermath of the end–Triassic extinction event. Plant macrofossils were studied using macrophotography and fluorescence microscopy. The flora is composed of sphenophytes(Neocalamites), ferns (Cladophlebis, Eboracia), ginkgophytes (Czekanowskia, Pseudotorellia,Ginkgoites), and conifers (Pityophyllum, Brachyphyllum). These earliest Jurassic assemblages were deposited in floodplain environments and revealed a relatively low diversity of flora in the aftermath of the end-Triassic extinction but a fast recovery later. Additionally, the flora was compared with the relative lowermost Jurassic beds in East Greenland, Poland, and Germany, disclosing that ginkgophytes were widely distributed across the northern region of Pangea.

Two peat cores from two mires with different characteristics, but both containingpermafrost features and located in the eastern part of the Tavvavuoma mire complex innorthernmost Sweden, were analysed for macrofossils and geochemical properties. Local vegetationsequences and changes in geochemical properties of peat were used to reconstruct development ofthe studied mires during the Holocene. The study includes measurements of water/ice content, bulkdensity, loss-on-ignition and C/N ratio. Radiocarbon dates for peatland inception and permafrostaggradation are available. The main purpose of the study is to verify permafrost history in thepeatlands. The results of the macrofossil analysis and values of C/N ratio indicate nutrient poor tointermediate fen environments in both studied mires until recently. Signs of permafrost upheavalwhich caused formation of xerophilic peat can be proved only since late 1950’s. The study resultscorroborate with other studies from Northern Fennoscandia and infer peatland initiation soon afterthe deglaciation of the area and permafrost-free conditions throughout entire Holocene untilrecently.

High-resolution records of early Holocene deposits are rare, and as a consequence reconstruction of terrestrial environments very soon after the deglaciation has often been difficult. In this study the palaeoenvironmental conditions of early Holocene (c. 10600-7500 cal. yr BP) are reconstructed in the Värriötunturit area of northeastern Finland, using evidence from plant macrofossils and pollen preserved in a lake sediment sequence retrieved from the small lake Kuutsjärvi. Special emphasis is put on the environment immediately following the deglaciation as the base of the sediment sequence is rich in minerogenic material interpreted to have been deposited by meltwater pulses from the retreating ice sheet. The abundance and variety of fossil remains in these early meltwater deposits provide evidence for a very productive ice-marginal environment in the area between the lake and the ice sheet, and the presence of tree-type Betula macro remains as well as high percentage values of tree-type Betula pollen suggests that a subarctic birch forest established just a few years after the deglaciation. In the following centuries the birch forest around the lake became rich in an under growth of ferns, and at c. 9400 cal. yr BP a transition into a mixed pine and birch forest took place. Due to absence of indicator plant taxa in the sediment it was not possible to reconstruct temperature conditions for any parts of the sequence in this study. However, the rapid colonisation of birch forests suggests that the climate was warm already during deglaciation, which is also in accordance with climatic conditions reconstructed for the early Holocene in the nearby Sokli area just 10 km away, as well as in other parts of Fennoscandia and Russia.

This thesis is a case study using paleoethnobotanical analysis of Kilgii Gwaay, a 10,700-year-old wet site in southern Haida Gwaii to explore the use of plants by ancestral Haida. The research investigated questions of early Holocene wood artifact technologies and other plant use before the large-scale arrival of western redcedar (Thuja plicata), a cultural keystone species for Haida in more recent times. The project relied on small-scale excavations and sampling from two main areas of the site: a hearth complex and an activity area at the edge of a paleopond. The archaeobotanical assemblage from these two areas yielded 23 plant taxa representing 14 families in the form of wood, charcoal, seeds, and additional plant macrofossils. A salmonberry and elderberry processing area suggests a seasonal summer occupation. Hemlock wedges and split spruce wood and roots show evidence for wood-splitting technology. The assemblage demonstrates potential for site interpretation based on archaeobotanical remains for the Northwest Coast of North America and highlights the importance of these otherwise relatively unknown plant resources from this early time period. / Graduate / cohenjenny2@gmail.com