This study examined both the present and mid to late Holocene vegetation and eco-limnological characteristics across the latitudinal tree-line region. The study region comprises the tree-line environmental gradient in the central Northwest Territories, Canada north of the city of Yellowknife. The study region is defined in terms of three ecozones, these are the boreal, transitional and tundra ecozones. The modern eco-limnological parameters of the study region were retrieved through a transect of lake surface sediment taken from 57 lake sites. This included pollen and diatom analysis of the lake sediment samples as well as the collection of supplementary data on water chemistry, surrounding vegetation and climatological data. The study was concerned with improving our understanding of mid to late Holocene tree-line dynamics. Two tundra lakes were selected for freeze coring (Horseshoe Lake and Carleton Lake). A chronological framework for the cores was established trough radiocarbon dating and Bayesian age depth modelling, pollen and diatom analysis was then carried out. Through analysis of the pollen record an inferred vegetation history for the study region was developed, interpretation of the diatom record allowed more specific limnological changes to be reconstructed. An integration of the results from the modern surface transect allowed further development of interpretations of the fossil record.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:713453 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Trainor, Paul Girvin |
| Publisher | Queen's University Belfast |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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