Late Holocene environmental change at treeline in the northern Coast Mountains, British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

An integrated stratigraphic, paleoecological, and geochronological study of lake and fen sediments just beyond the terminus of Berendon Glacier provides insights into late Holocene climate, vegetation, and glacier change in the northern Coast Mountains of British Columbia. Cores collected from two small lakes in the foreland of Berendon Glacier and pits dug in a nearby fen record Little Ice Age and older glacier advances. The first Little Ice Age advance in this area began more than 500 years ago and peaked in the early 17th century. An earlier Neoglacial advance began about 2800–3000 cal yr ago and may have lasted for hundreds of years. There is also evidence for an intervening advance of even smaller magnitude around 1200–1300 cal yr ago. The advances are broadly synchronous with those in other parts of western North America, indicating that they were caused by regional, possibly global, changes in climate. Plant communities within the study area did not change dramatically during the late Holocene. The ranges of some plants, however, likely retracted or extended near treeline in response to changes in mean temperatures of perhaps 1–2°C, as well as changes in summer snow cover. The greatest changes in vegetation occurred within and just beyond the forefields of Berendon, Frank Mackie, and other nearby glaciers. The largest climate shifts of the last 3000 years took place during the late Little Ice Age and the last century. Climate warmed about 1–2°C during the 20th century, accompanied by a rise in treeline, an increase in coniferous tree cover in the subalpine zone, and an increase in the temperature and biological productivity of ponds. These trends are likely to continue if climate, as expected, continues to warm.