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Late Pleistocene and Holocene Environmental Change on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington

  • Book
  • © 2015

Overview

Authors:
  1. Daniel G. Gavin

    1. Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Linda B. Brubaker

    1. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

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    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Offers reviews of past studies of the Olympic Peninsula as well as new data and analysis from the authors
  • Updated presentation and analysis of studies from the 1950s through 1980s offers a historical baseline and exposes readers to previously inaccessible data
  • The records presented show how climate change of the late Pleistocene and Holocene periods affected the biodiversity of the Olympic Peninsula
  • This data sheds light on the potential impacts of projected climate change
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies (ECOLSTUD, volume 222)

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Table of contents (6 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xii
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  2. The Natural Environment and Biogeography of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. The Modern Landscape of the Olympic Peninsula

      • Daniel G. Gavin, Linda B. Brubaker
      Pages 3-36

    3. Geology and Historical Biogeography of the Olympic Peninsula

      • Daniel G. Gavin, Linda B. Brubaker
      Pages 37-47

  3. Postglacial Paleoclimate and Environmental Change on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 49-49
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    2. Postglacial Climate on the Olympic Peninsula

      • Daniel G. Gavin, Linda B. Brubaker
      Pages 51-60

    3. Late Quaternary Vegetation and Fire History of the Olympic Peninsula

      • Daniel G. Gavin, Linda B. Brubaker
      Pages 61-106

    4. Brief Review of the Archeological Record in a Context of Environmental Change

      • Daniel G. Gavin, Linda B. Brubaker
      Pages 107-112

    5. Insights and Future Research Needs

      • Daniel G. Gavin, Linda B. Brubaker
      Pages 113-117

  4. Back Matter

    Pages 119-142
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Keywords

About this book

This study brings together decades of research on the modern natural environment of Washington's Olympic Peninsula, reviews past research on paleoenvironmental change since the Late Pleistocene, and finally presents paleoecological records of changing forest composition and fire over the last 14,000 years. The focus of this study is on the authors’ studies of five pollen records from the Olympic Peninsula. Maps and other data graphics are used extensively. Paleoecology can effectively address some of these challenges we face in understanding the biotic response to climate change and other agents of change in ecosystems.  First, species responses to climate change are mediated by changing disturbance regimes.  Second, biotic hotspots today suggest a long-term maintenance of diversity in an area, and researchers approach the maintenance of diversity from a wide range and angles (CITE).  Mountain regions may maintain biodiversity through significant climate change in ‘refugia’: locations where components of diversity retreat to and expand from during periods of unfavorable climate (Keppel et al., 2012).  Paleoecological studies can describe the context for which biodiversity persisted through time climate refugia.  Third, the paleoecological approach is especially suited for long-lived organisms.  For example, a tree species that may typically reach reproductive sizes only after 50 years and remain fertile for 300 years, will experience only 30 to 200 generations since colonizing a location after Holocene warming about 11,000 years ago.  Thus, by summarizing community change through multiple generations and natural disturbance events, paleoecological studies can examine the resilience of ecosystems to disturbances in the past, showing how many ecosystems recover quickly while others may not (Willis et al., 2010).

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA

    Daniel G. Gavin

  • School of Environmental Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

    Linda B. Brubaker

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Late Pleistocene and Holocene Environmental Change on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington

  • Authors: Daniel G. Gavin, Linda B. Brubaker

  • Series Title: Ecological Studies

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11014-1

  • Publisher: Springer Cham

  • eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life Sciences, Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-11013-4Published: 08 December 2014

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-35257-2Published: 10 September 2016

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-11014-1Published: 25 November 2014

  • Series ISSN: 0070-8356

  • Series E-ISSN: 2196-971X

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XII, 142

  • Number of Illustrations: 16 b/w illustrations, 36 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Plant Ecology, Climate Change, Environmental Geography, Landscape Ecology, Biogeosciences

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