Mid- and late Holocene tree population density changes in northern Fennoscandia derived by a new method using megafossil pines and their tree-ring series

Changes in tree density are estimated for the northern forest‐limit region of Finnish Lapland over the past seven and a half millennia. This is done using dendrochronologically dated Scots pine megafossils and their tree‐ring series. Direct and indirect estimates of past tree density are derived fro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of quaternary science 2005-09, Vol.20 (6), p.567-575
Main Authors: Helama, S., Lindholm, M., Timonen, M., Eronen, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Finland
Holocene
megafossil
palaeoclimatology
Scots pine
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Summary:Changes in tree density are estimated for the northern forest‐limit region of Finnish Lapland over the past seven and a half millennia. This is done using dendrochronologically dated Scots pine megafossils and their tree‐ring series. Direct and indirect estimates of past tree density are derived from chronology sample size (CSS) and growth trend modelling (GTM) respectively. The latter is a new method, where the past levels of growth competition (the influence of nearby trees) are extracted from the behaviour of growth trends in cross‐dated tree‐ring series, trends that are expected to be driven by tree‐density control. Two records constructed from the same original data set but by different means (independently) correlate significantly. Both records show a tree‐density maximum around 3000–1750 BC, indicating relative warmth during that time. Another positive tree‐density anomaly occurred in accordance with the ‘Medieval Warm Period’, preceding the thinning at the forest‐limit due to the ‘Little Ice Age’. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:0267-8179
1099-1417
DOI:10.1002/jqs.929