Abstract
Five peat sections were excavated from muskegs on Langara, Graham, and Moresby Islands of the Queen Charlottes with the primary purpose of reconstructing the postglacial plant succession and associated climatic and physiographic alterations. A secondary purpose was to support or disprove the geological and zoological data favoring the existence of refugia in which biota survived from preglacial or interglacial time. The oldest pollen record tends to support this contention. The record is older than any derived from sections heretofore studied on the northwest coast. Twenty-three plant entities are represented in the bottom sediments below the lodgepole pine maximum which in these other sections marks the oldest peat. In addition, 27% of the coniferous pollen at the base of the section is constituted of climax forest trees, thus implying the presence of long-established forest when pollen sedimentation began. The number and kinds of pollen in the basal peat favor the interpretation that vegetation persisted in refugia through at least the last glaciation. The pollen profiles further corroborate earlier findings for changes in land–sea level relations and for the following postglacial climatic sequence: early cool-moist, warmer and drier (thermal maximum), and late cooler and wetter.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
