New Harvard Forest Publication: Ragweed and Historical Climate Change

The environmental drivers behind abundant ragweed pollen in sediments of four southern New England lakes 10,000-8000 years ago were investigated. They found strong evidence that high levels of ragweed pollen were associated with warmer, drier conditions. This conclusion is corroborated by independent lake level and climate reconstructions. Together, these results have implications for future ragweed distribution and abundance, and suggest that more ragweed pollen could accompany rising temperature and CO2 levels in New England.

Faison, E.K., D.R. Foster, W.W. Oswald, C.S. Hansen, and E. Doughty. Early Holocene Openlands in Southern New England. Ecology, 87(10), 2006, pp. 2537–2547