Where did the trees go?

ISBN-13: 9783639132632 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 384 str.

Vasiliki Margari

Opis

This book presents an account of the vegetational and environmental changes, which occurred on Lesvos Island, Greece, during the last glacial period [Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 2-4]. Based on high-resolution pollen and sediment analyses it provides the most detailed record from Greece and western Turkey to date. Six tephra layers and multiple radiocarbon dates are used to develop its chronological framework. During the late MIS 4 cold and arid conditions prevailed and the landscape was characterised by increased erosion rates and the dominance of grassland/steppe. Arboreal populations (dominated by Pinus and to a lesser extent deciduous Quercus) expanded during the interstadials of MIS 3, suggesting increases in precipitation and temperature. During intervening stadials, steppe dominated the area indicating reversals to arid and cold conditions. Only a small portion of MIS 2 is represented in the sequence, showing a short-lived expansion of trees. The observed vegetational oscillations are in concert with North Atlantic millennial-scale climate variability and provide evidence towards the geographical extent of this variability in southern Europe and the response of ecosystems.

O autorze

Vasiliki Margari did her undergraduate studies at the University
of the Aegean and her M.Phil. and Ph.D. at the University of
Cambridge. Following the award of her Ph.D. in 2004, she
continues working on palynological records from marine cores off
Portugal and terrestrial sites in Italy, at the University of
Leeds and University College London.