A record of Holocene environmental and ecological changes from Wildwood Lake, Long Island, New York

Analyses of pollen, charcoal and organic content in a lake sediment core from Wild- wood Lake, Long Island, New York, provide insights into the ecological and environmental history of this region. The early Holocene interval of the record (ca. 9800-8800cal. a BP) indicates the presence of Pinus rigida-Quercus ilicifolia woodlands with high fire activity. A layer of sandy sediment dating to 9200cal. a BP may reflect a brief period of reduced water depth, consistent with widespread evidence for cold, dry conditions at that time. Two other sandy layers, bracketed by 14 C dates, represent a sedimentary hiatus from ca. 8800 to 4500cal. a BP. This discontinuity may reflect the removal of some sediment during brief periods of reduced water depth at 5300 and 4600cal. a BP. In the upper portion of the record (<4500cal. a BP), subtle changes at ca. 3000cal. a BP indicate declining prevalence of Quercus-Fagus-Carya forests and increasing abundance of Pinus rigida, perhaps due to reduced summer precipitation. Elevated percentages of herbaceous taxa in the uppermost sediments represent European agricultural activities. However, unlike charcoal records from southern New England, fire activity does not increase dramatically with European settlement. These findings indicate that present- day Pinus rigida-Quercus ilicifolia woodlands on eastern Long Island are not a legacy of recent, anthropogenic disturbances. Copyright # 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.