CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Campbell, I.D.
Date : 1992
Title : Climate, people and trees: the Little Ice Age in Southern Ontario, Canada
Publication : Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. University of Toronto, Toronto
Issue :
Page(s) : 223 p
Abstract
Most Southern Ontario pollen diagrams show a pronounced decline in beech, followed by a peak in oak and finally a rise in white pine, during the period AD 1450-1850. This sequence, recognized as pollen Zone 3d, has been variously ascribed to Indian disturbance and climate cooling. This thesis uses three approaches to distinguish the two explanations. Firstly, a geographic analysis of pollen trends shows that the forest dynamics of this time do not coincide spatially with Indian occupation; while they may have been a contributing factor in some areas, they are not a sufficient explanation. Secondly, a consideration of forest ecology suggests that a cooling known as the Little Ice Age may have been sufficient to cause the observed successions. Thirdly, forest succession simulation modelling is used to distinguish probable effects of Indian disturbance and climate cooling. The major conclusions are: (1) Indian populations were insufficient to cause significant regional forest succession; (2) the Little Ice Age was sufficient to cause significant regional forest succession; (3) small climate changes may have a pronounced effect on vegetation; (4) pollen-climate transfer functions are not applicable to this time-period in this area because the Little Ice Age caused a temporary non-equilibrium forest; (5) gap-phase simulation modelling of forest succession may help interpret non-equilibrium paleo-vegetation.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology