CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Bunting, M.J.; Duthie, H.C.; Campbell, D.R.; Warner, B.G.; and Turner, L.J.
Date : 1997
Title : A palaeoecological record of recent environmental change at Big Creek Marsh, Long Point, Lake Erie.
Publication : Journal of Great Lakes Research
Issue : 23(3):
Page(s) : 349-368
Abstract
Two sediment cores from Big Creek Marsh, a marsh complex lying behind Long Point in Lake Erie, Ontario, are studied in order to reconstruct the development of the wetland and investigate the impact of European settlement activity on the ecosystem. A multi-proxy approach is used, with 210Pb age estimation, loss-on-ignition, pollen and spore counts, microscopic charcoal, diatom counts, and plant macrofossil analysis. These lines of evidence indicate that the marsh has been in existence for less than a millennium, which agrees with what is known of the evolution of the Long Point spit. The complex nature of marsh development is clearly demonstrated. Both cores appear to contain a predominantly local record of environmental change, and one core shows evidence for cyclic changes in water depths, such as are recorded over longer time periods in other Great Lakes marshes. European settlement activity, which had a marked and rapid effect on upland environments, does not seem to have been important in the development of the marsh ecosystem. However, more recent activity such as road building has had a locally marked effect on the system.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology