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Geology; May 2008; v. 36; no. 5; p. 407-410; DOI: 10.1130/G24600A.1
© 2008 Geological Society of America
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Rapid ecosystem response to abrupt climate changes during the last glacial period in western Europe, 40–16 ka

Barbara Wohlfarth1, Daniel Veres2, Linda Ampel3, Terri Lacourse4, Maarten Blaauw5, Frank Preusser6, Valérie Andrieu-Ponel7, Didier Kéravis8, Elisabeth Lallier-Vergès9, Svante Björck10, Siwan M. Davies11, Jacques-Louis de Beaulieu12, Jan Risberg13, Anne Hormes14, Haino Uwe Kasper15, Göran Possnert16, Maurice Reille17, Nicolas Thouveny18 and Anja Zander19

1 Department of Geology and Geochemistry, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
2 Emil Racovita Speleological Institute, 400006 Cluj, Romania
3 Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
4 Department of Geography, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia V8W 3R4, Canada
5 Department of Archaeology and Paleoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT9 6AX, UK
6 Institut für Geologie, Universität Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
7 Institut Méditerranéen d'Ecologie et de Paléoécologie, Université Aix-Marseille 3, 13545 Aix en Provence Cedex 04, France
8 Institut des Sciences de la Terre d'Orléans, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Université d'Orléans, 45071 Orléans Cedex, France
9 Institut des Sciences de la Terre d'Orléans, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Université d'Orléans, 45071 Orléans Cedex, France
10 Department of Geology, GeoBiosphere Centre, Lund University, 22362 Lund, Sweden
11 Department of Geography, University of Wales Swansea, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
12 Institut Méditerranéen d'Ecologie et de Paléoécologie, Université Aix-Marseille 3, 13545 Aix en Provence Cedex 04, France
13 Department of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
14 University Centre in Svalbard, PB 156, 9171 Longyearbyen, Norway
15 Geologisches Institut, Universität zu Köln, 50674 Köln, Germany
16 Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, 75121 Uppsala, Sweden
17 Institut Méditerranéen d'Ecologie et de Paléoécologie, Université Aix-Marseille 3, 13545 Aix en Provence Cedex 04, France
18 Centre Européen de Recherche et d'Enseignement des Géosciences de l'Environnement (CEREGE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique–Aix-Marseille Université, 13545 Aix en Provence Cedex 04, France
19 Fachbereich Geographie, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35037 Marburg, Germany

We present a high-resolution and independently dated multiproxy lake sediment record from the paleolake at Les Échets in southeastern France that displays synchronous changes in independent limnic and terrestrial ecosystem proxies, in concert with millennial-scale climate oscillations during the last glacial period. Distinct lake-level fluctuations, low lake organic productivity, and open, treeless vegetation indicate cold and dry conditions in response to Heinrich events. Alternating phases of higher and low lake organic productivity, stratified surface waters and long-lasting lake ice cover, decreased or increased catchment erosion, and tree-dominated or herb-dominated vegetation resemble Dansgaard-Oeschger interstadialstadial variability. Transitions between different ecological states occurred in as little as 40–230 yr and seem to have been controlled by the position of the Polar Front. Ecosystem response after 30 ka suggests that local climate conditions became more important. Our results demonstrate that all parts of the terrestrial system responded to the abrupt and dramatic climatic changes associated with Dansgaard-Oeschger and Heinrich events, and that regional factors modulated ecosystem response.

Key Words: lake sediments • paleoenvironmental reconstruction • multiproxy records • Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles • Heinrich events






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