Late Pleistocene Climate, Vegetation, and Fire History from a Southern Appalachian Bog, Whiteoak Bottoms, Nantahala National Forest, North Carolina, U.S.A.

I examined loss-on-ignition, pollen, and charcoal evidence of climate, vegetation, and fire history at Whiteoak Bottoms (35º04’44”N, 83º31’50”W; 1032 m elevation), a peat-forming wetland located along the Nantahala River in western North Carolina. Previous research by J. McDonald and D. Leigh revealed that this wetland formed in a paleochannel of the Nantahala River between 15,000 and 14,000 cal yr BP. I obtained additional AMS radiocarbon dates, carried out high-resolution loss-on-ignition analysis, and examined pollen and microscopic charcoal assemblages in a 157-cm sediment core from the previous study. Radiocarbon dates and stratigraphic analyses indicate that much of the Holocene is missing from the Whiteoak Bottoms record; however, the site does contain an intact record of environmental conditions during the latest Pleistocene. Variations in organic matter content suggest variations in peat accumulation through the history of this wetland, likely driven in part by variations in effective moisture. Based on a comparison with GISP δ [delta] ¹⁸O and Cariaco Basin sea surface temperature data, organic matter accumulation appears to trend with climate, generally increasing as temperatures decreased. Vegetation changes evident in the pollen record agree with the timing and trajectory of other pollen records for the region. These shifts in vegetation appear to correspond with changes in climate, potentially representing a response to shifts in the position of the Bermuda High. Fire indices reveal low incidence of fire during the late Pleistocene. In the early portion of the record, fire activity appears related to increasing temperature, and changes in fire activity seem to correspond with changes in vegetation.