Vegetation and environmental history of Lake Diamond, South Georgia – Antarctica compared to Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

This study attempts to reconstruct the environment and vegetation evolution of South Georgia, a sub-Antarctic island, during the last 6000 years of the Holocene. The research is based on water content, loss-on-ignition and pollen analysis of a sediment core from Lake Diamond, Northeastern of the island. Native, naturalized and exotic species are considered on the counting, and pollen diagrams are presented based on percentages of the pollen assemblages. The genus Acaena and native grasses seem to be present throughout the period analysed and present the higher percentages. Exotic species are also observed and their transport relates either to oceanic and atmospheric forces. A reconstruction of climatic events during the Holocene is presented based on the changes on the pollen assemblages. The results are compared to Northeastern Brazil, and the importance of oceanographic and atmospheric forces are suggested as possible teleconnections between the two study areas.