Cárdenas, Macarena L.; Gosling, William D.; Sherlock, Sarah C. ; Poole, Imogen; Pennington, R. Toby and Mothes, Patricia
(2011).
| DOI (Digital Object Identifier) Link: | http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1126/science.1197947 |
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| Google Scholar: | Look up in Google Scholar |
Abstract
A reconstruction of past environmental change from Ecuador reveals the response of lower montane forest on the Andean flank in western Amazonia to glacial-interglacial global climate change. Radiometric dating of volcanic ash indicates that deposition occurred ~324,000 to 193,000 years ago during parts of Marine Isotope Stages 9, 7, and 6. Fossil pollen and wood preserved within organic sediments suggest that the composition of the forest altered radically in response to glacial-interglacial climate change. The presence of Podocarpus macrofossils ~1000 meters below the lower limit of their modern distribution indicates a relative cooling of at least 5°C during glacials and persistence of wet conditions. Interglacial deposits contain thermophilic palms suggesting warm and wet climates. Hence, global temperature change can radically alter vegetation communities and biodiversity in this region.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
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| Copyright Holders: | 2011 American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011 The Authors |
| ISSN: | 0036-8075 |
| Funders: | The Open University/Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh studentship , Santander Corporate responsibility fund, British Ecological Society small ecological projects grant (#1052-1947), University of Utrecht |
| Keywords: | Amazon; Andes; biodiversity; climate change; temperature; precipitation; pollen; Pleistocene; Ecuador |
| Academic Unit/Department: | Science > Environment, Earth and Ecosystems |
| Interdisciplinary Research Centre: | Centre for Earth, Planetary, Space and Astronomical Research (CEPSAR) OpenSpace Research Centre (OSRC) |
| Related URLs: |
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| Item ID: | 28265 |
| Depositing User: | William Gosling |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Feb 2011 09:51 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Oct 2012 14:24 |
| URI: | http://oro.open.ac.uk/id/eprint/28265 |
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