Late- and postglacial vegetational history in Wisconsin, particularly changes associated with the Valders readvance

Abstract

Late-glacial and postglacial sediments at 3 sites in central and eastern Wisconsin illustrate the effects of the Valders readvance on the vegetation outside the Valders maximum. A Picea forest occupied the region on the retreat of the Cary ice during the Two Creeks Interval. During the Valders readvance a Picea woodland with openings grew beyond the edge of the ice sheet. On the retreat of the Valders ice, Picea forest reoccupied the region outside the Valders maximum, and the Picea woodland with openings invaded the area vacated by the ice. The forest succession in both areas is then through a Pinus-dominant phase to zones with hardwoods. The climate of the late-glacial and its vegetation were more continental in the midwest than in eastern North America and NW. Europe.