uid=HFR,o=lter,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org
all
public
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doi:10.6073/pasta/54e4531f862ebc90f1180061822249a8
Paleolimnology of Lakes in Central New England from 2000 BP to Present
Donna
Francis
David
Foster
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1171-3762
2023
English
Paleolimnological studies of three small watersheds in central New England were undertaken to determine the influence of deforestation and agriculture on lake systems, as well as the response of the lakes to agricultural abandonment and reforestation, or the cessation of disturbance. Sites were chosen to represent a range of past land-use activities, while keeping other site factors constant. The study was designed to complement the historical and paleoecological studies of the central Massachusetts area of Fuller et al. (1998) and Foster et al. (1998). Changes in terrestrial vegetation were documented using the pollen record from each lake, and changes in aquatic systems were documented through fossil chironomid assemblages (Chironomidae: Diptera) and sediment chemistry. Dated cores were analyzed for pollen, fossil chironomids, percent organic matter, carbon and nitrogen, and sedimentation changes. Increased sedimentation rates occurred in all lakes during the settlement period, and small increases in productivity changes resulted from the increased runoff. Productivity changes, as indicated by organic material, C:N ratios, and chironomid assemblages, are more pronounced in North Round and Wickett Ponds than in Pecker Pond, even though agricultural activity was most intense at Pecker Pond. North Round and Wickett Ponds are more shallow than Pecker, and were more affected by sediment and nutrient inputs from the watershed. North Round Pond was the least impacted site, with only minimal logging and no agriculture, but still significant changes occurred during the settlement period. The sedimentation rates and productivity continue to be higher than pre-settlement levels, indicating that the systems have not returned to pre-disturbance states. This is similar to the response of forest vegetation studied by Fuller et al. (1998) in the Central Massachusetts study. The low intensity agricultural practices of the 19th Century and small watershed sizes contributed to the fact that the response of these lakes was minimal.
forest disturbance
human disturbance
land use
paleolimnology
LTER controlled vocabulary
disturbance
human-environment
LTER core area
Harvard Forest
HFR
LTER
USA
HFR default
This dataset is released to the public under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (No Rights Reserved). Please keep the dataset creators informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset should include proper acknowledgement.
Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
https://spdx.org/licenses/CC0-1.0.html
CC0-1.0
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/exist/apps/datasets/showData.html?id=hf028
Central New England. Coordinates based on WGS84 datum.
-72.45
-71.97
+42.85
+42.55
0001
2000
family
Chironomidae
complete
Information Manager
Harvard Forest
324 North Main Street
Petersham
MA
01366
USA
(978) 724-3302
hf-im@lists.fas.harvard.edu
Harvard Forest
324 North Main Street
Petersham
MA
01366
USA
(978) 724-3302
(978) 724-3595
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu
Sediment analyses
% organic carbon was determined by standard loss-on-ignition at 550°C {Dean 1974 #1320}. Total carbon and nitrogen were determined for 5-6 mg dry subsamples wit a Fisons 1500 n/C CHN Analyzer. Average recovery of a known standard (atropine) was 99% for both nitrogen and carbon. Particle size was analyzed on 1 g subsamples previously treated with 30% h2O2 to remove organic material. Analysis was done with a Coulter LS 200 laser-diffraction particle-size analyzer employing fluid module software and a Fraunhofer optical model.
Pollen analysis
Sediment preparation for pollen analysis followed standard procedures . At least 500 arboreal pollen grains were counted for each level. Pollen percentages were based on a pollen sum of all terrestrial pollen grains and spores. The timing of European settlement in the cores was assessed from changes in pollen representing open vegetation, including a decline in tree pollen and an increase in herbaceous pollen, especially ragweed (Ambrosia), sorrel (Rumex) and grass (Poaceae).
210Pb dating
Activity of 210Pb in sediment samples was determined by the alpha activity of its daughter product 210Po after samples were prepared using the method D.R. Engstrom (personal communication). 210Pb inventory was counted on an Ortec Alpha Spectrometer 576A. Ages and sediment accumulation rates were calculated with a CRS (constant rate of supply) point transformation model {Binford 1990 #1350}{Binford, Kahl, et al. 1993 #1340}.
Radiocarbon dating
Bulk sediment samples (4-5 g) were analyzed at Beta Analytic, Miami, Florida, for 14C dates. The resulting determinations were converted to calendar years with the program Calib version 3.0 based on a combination of marine coral and bidecadal tree-ring data sets {Stuiver and Reimer 1993 #1410}. Age models were derived from radiocarbon dates of lake sediments along with 210Pb dates for each site. Linear interpolations were made between 14C dates. An age of 250 years was chosen for the settlement horizons based on historical information.
Charcoal analysis
Microscopic charcoal was tallied for each core by the point-intercept method. Eucalyptus pollen suspension of known volume and concentration was added to each sample during preparation, and eucalyptus pollen grains were counted simultaneously with charcoal to estimate charcoal-pollen ratios.
Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research
Harvard Forest
324 North Main Street
Petersham
MA
01366
USA
(978) 724-3302
(978) 724-3595
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu
https://ror.org/059cpzx98
pointOfContact
The Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program examines ecological dynamics in the New England region resulting from natural disturbances, environmental change, and human impacts.
National Science Foundation LTER grants: DEB-8811764, DEB-9411975, DEB-0080592, DEB-0620443, DEB-1237491, DEB-1832210.
hf028-01-sediment.csv
sediment chemistry
hf028-01-sediment.csv
8486
d3bcf841e8f3cc878e819367b64f7486
1
\r\n
column
,
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p02/hf028/hf028-01-sediment.csv
pond
pond name
Pecker
Pecker Pond
Wickett
Wickett Pond
depth
depth of sample in the sediment column
centimeter
1
natural
NA
missing value
psize
percent sand as determined by laser particle size analysis
dimensionless
0.01
real
NA
missing value
org.per
percent organic carbon as determined by loss-on-ignition method
dimensionless
0.01
real
NA
missing value
c.per
percent inorganic carbon as determined by loss-on-ignition method
dimensionless
0.01
real
NA
missing value
total.c.per
percent total carbon as determined on a Carbon –Nitrogen (CN) analyzer
dimensionless
0.01
real
NA
missing value
n.per
percent total carbon as determined on a CN analyzer
dimensionless
0.01
real
NA
missing value
c.n
ratio of percent total carbon to percent total nitrogen
number
0.01
real
NA
missing value
196
hf028-02-pollen.csv
pollen
hf028-02-pollen.csv
257656
d2fc79d2e5ecd9f8596b13aedfa036dc
1
\r\n
column
,
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p02/hf028/hf028-02-pollen.csv
pond
pond name
Pecker
Pecker Pond
Wickett
Wickett Pond
depth
depth of sample in the sediment column
centimeter
0.1
real
NA
missing value
taxa
individual taxa. Indet. Crumple: indeterminable crumpled pollen grains. Indet. Corroded: indeterminable corroded pollen grains. Indet. Obscured: indeterminable obscured pollen grains. Unknown: unknown or unidentified pollen grains. Exotic: exotic pollen grains.
taxa
count
number of pollen grains of individual taxa identified
number
1
whole
NA
missing value
9659
hf028-03-pb210.csv
Pb210 dates
hf028-03-pb210.csv
1986
0ec930a4c90313db0ff6f091e0ee44f6
1
\r\n
column
,
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p02/hf028/hf028-03-pb210.csv
pond
pond name
Pecker
Pecker Pond
Wickett
Wickett Pond
depth
depth of sample in the sediment column
number
0.1
real
NA
missing value
age
age in years before sediment core was taken
number
0.1
real
NA
missing value
analysis
analysis by which age was determined
Pb210
lead 210 analysis interpreted by constant rate of supply method
Pollen
rise in Ambrosia and agricultural weeds associated with European settlement
89
hf028-04-c14.csv
C14 dates
hf028-04-c14.csv
365
91e39498dcb7358f5df1ca45d2b96358
1
\r\n
column
,
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p02/hf028/hf028-04-c14.csv
pond
pond name
Pecker
Pecker Pond
Wickett
Wickett Pond
depth
depth of sample in centimeters in the sediment column
depth of sample in the sediment column
age
age in years before present (years before 1950)
number
1
natural
NA
missing value
analysis
analysis by which age was determined. AMS = Accelerated mass. Spectrometry radiocarbon analysis on lacustrine organic matter.
analysis by which age was determined
error
error in radiocarbon date reported by lab (± years)
number
1
natural
NA
missing value
cal.ybp
calibrated radiocarbon date, in years before 1950, determined by Calib 4
number
1
natural
NA
missing value
7
hf028-05-water.csv
water chemistry
hf028-05-water.csv
1346
4f72315867fc08993b4bebfee839417a
1
\r\n
column
,
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p02/hf028/hf028-05-water.csv
date
date measurement was taken
YYYY-MM-DD
month
month measurement was taken
month
day
day measurement was taken
day of month
year
year measurement was taken
YYYY
pond
pond measurement was taken from
Pecker
Pecker Pond
Wickett
Wickett Pond
depth
depth at which measurement was taken
meter
0.1
real
NA
missing value
temp
temperature °C
celsius
0.1
real
NA
missing value
conductivity
conductivity in micro mhos
number
0.01
real
NA
missing value
tss
total suspended solids in mg/L
milligramsPerLiter
0.01
real
NA
missing value
ph
pH
number
0.01
real
NA
missing value
chl.a
chlorophyll a concentration in µ g/L
microgramsPerLiter
0.001
real
NA
missing value
phaeo
Phaeopigment concentration in µ g/L
microgramsPerLiter
0.0001
real
NA
missing value
alkalinity
alkalinity in meq/L
number
0.01
real
NA
missing value
do
dissolved oxygen in mg/L
milligramsPerLiter
0.1
real
NA
missing value
18
hf028-06-chiron.csv
chironomids
hf028-06-chiron.csv
44642
8a57367e8e0c9c2e27c7f3d1b87ed052
1
\r\n
column
,
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p02/hf028/hf028-06-chiron.csv
pond
pond name
Pecker
Pecker Pond
Wickett
Wickett Pond
depth
depth of sample in centimeters in the sediment column
depth of sample in centimeters in the sediment column
taxa
chironomid taxa
taxa
count
chironomid taxa counts
number
0.1
real
NA
missing value
1368
hf028-07-grain.csv
grain size
hf028-07-grain.csv
42467
3f6ac55009d182b4d805c5e2da563deb
1
\r\n
column
,
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p02/hf028/hf028-07-grain.csv
pond
pond name
Wickett
Wickett Pond
class.name
class of sediment particle
class of sediment particle
phi.size
size of particle in Phi measurement
size
particle.diam
size of particle in µm
size of particle in µm
depth
depth of sample in cm
depth of sample
vol.per
percent of the sample, by volume, of each particle size class. Blanks= sample lost.
dimensionless
0.01
real
NA
missing value
900
historical
regional
paleological