A 10,000-Year-Old White Pine Forest Emerges at Stonewall Beach, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Abstract

Coastal erosion at Stonewall Beach on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, U.S.A., has exposed a thick layer of peaty sediments rich in botanical remains, including well-preserved tree trunks. We identified the species of the tree trunks based on wood anatomy, analyzed pollen and macrofossils in the sediments, and determined the ages of the tree trunks and peat with 14C dating. The tree trunks were identified as Pinus strobus (white pine), and pollen assemblages featured high percentages of P. strobus in sediments associated with the trunks. The tree trunks and peat dated to ∼10,700–9800 calibrated 14C years before present. These findings confirm that Martha's Vineyard, like other parts of southern New England, was dominated by P. strobus forest during the early Holocene. At that time, regional climate was drier than today and Martha's Vineyard was not yet isolated from the mainland by postglacial sea-level rise.