Abstract: This paper offers a reconstruction of the vegetation of eastern Beringia during the last emergence of the Bering land bridge and traces the subsequent alterations in that vegetation. It is assumed that (1) the ancient vegetation was complex and variable over time and space, (2) it was not necessarily comparable to any modern boreal or arctic vegetation, and (3) data from a wide variety of sources are relevant. Evidence has been drawn from paleontological, phytogeographical, and ecological studies involving both plants and animals. The reconstruction proposed here emphasizes a mosaic of vegetation types. Among the more significant are those adapted to mesic and arid situations, including a variety of woodland, brushland and steppe associations. Many of these probably do not have fully analogous modern counterparts; some of the plant species involved may no longer even occur in the area. The reconstruction is compatible with the view that climate was colder than at present but also more continental, with comparatively warm summers over much of the area. It further suggests that the megafauna associated with Wisconsin Beringia could have inhabited the area continuously and in some numbers. In many areas the character of the vegetation was strongly affected by various types of natural disturbance. It is argued that the “birch rise” noted in many late Wisconsin pollen spectra is the result of catastrophic vegetation changes that were associated with the submergence of the land bridge and which destabilized the entire Beringian ecosystem.
Publication Year: 1982
Publication Date: 1982-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 26
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