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Seasonal patterns of pollen sedimentation in Lake Montcortès (Central Pyrenees) and potential applications to high-resolution paleoecology: a 2-year pilot study

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Abstract

Lakes with varved sediments are especially well suited for paleoecological study, from annual to even seasonal resolution. The interpretative power of such high-resolution paleoenvironmental reconstructions relies on the availability of modern analogs with the same temporal resolution. We studied seasonal pollen sedimentation in varved Lake Montcortès, Central Pyrenees (Spain), as a modern analog for high-resolution reconstruction of Late Holocene vegetation and landscape dynamics. Seasonal samples were obtained from sediment traps that were submerged near the maximum water depth for a 2-year period (fall 2013 to fall 2015). Seasonal pollen sedimentation was compared with meteorological variables from a nearby weather station. Bulk pollen sedimentation, dominated by Pinus (pine) and Quercus (oak), followed a clear seasonal pattern that peaked during the spring/summer, coinciding with maximum temperature and precipitation, minimum relative humidity and moderate winds from the SSE. Pollen sedimentation lags (PSL) were observed for most pollen types, as substantial amounts of pollen were found in the traps outside of their respective flowering seasons. Two pollen assemblages were clearly differentiated by their taxonomic composition, corresponding to spring/summer and fall/winter. This pattern is consistent with existing interpretation of the sediment varves, specifically, that varves are formed by two-layer couplets that represent the same seasonality as pollen. We concluded that pollen sedimentation in Lake Montcortès exhibits a strong seasonal signal in the quantity of pollen, the taxonomic composition of the pollen assembalges, and relationships between the pollen and meteorological variables. Thus, varved sediments provide a potentially powerful tool for paleoecological reconstruction at seasonal resolution. This method could be used not only to identify paleoenvironmental trends, but also to identify annual layers and therefore date sediments, even in the absence of evident sediment laminations. A satisfactory explanation of PSL will require further studies that examine internal lake dynamics and pollen production/dispersal patterns.

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Modified from Ninot (2006) and Ferré and Carrillo (2007). (Color figure online)

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (project MONT-500; reference CGL2012-33665; PI: Teresa Vegas-Vilarrúbia). The authors are very grateful to the Council of Baix Pallars, the Cultural Association Lo Vent de Port and Busseing Pallars for their direct involvement in the project and their continuous support. Pere Anadón and Xavier Figuera shared their knowledge on the different social and natural aspects of the zone. Fieldwork was performed with the collaboration of Joan Gomà, Arantza Lara, Eric Puche, Pilar López and Miquel Sentmartí. Fieldwork permits were provided by the Territorial Service of the department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing and Natural Environment of Catalunya. The comments of three anonymous reviewers contributed to improvement of the original manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Paleoecology, Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera (ICTJA-CSIC), C. Sole i Sabarís s/n, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    V. Rull & N. Cañellas-Boltà

  2. Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    M. C. Trapote, E. Safont & T. Vegas-Vilarrúbia

  3. Center for Climate Change (C3), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Campus Terres de l’Ebre, Av. Remolins 13-15, 43500, Tarragona, Spain

    N. Pérez-Zanón & J. Sigró

  4. Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Accés a la Cala St. Francesc 14, 17300, Blanes, Spain

    T. Buchaca

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  1. V. Rull
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Rull, V., Trapote, M.C., Safont, E. et al. Seasonal patterns of pollen sedimentation in Lake Montcortès (Central Pyrenees) and potential applications to high-resolution paleoecology: a 2-year pilot study. J Paleolimnol 57, 95–108 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-016-9933-z

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