TY - JOUR

T1 - Ice age plant refugia in East Greenland

AU - Funder, Svend Visby

PY - 1979

Y1 - 1979

N2 - From the distribution of plants it has been inferred by some botanists that ice-free areas existed in East Greenland accommodating a flora which survived one or several ice ages in the area. Comparing this evidence with recent information on the chronology of glaciations and post-glacial vegetation development, there is both significant agreement and disagreement. The early hypothesis of survival of organisms since Tertiary times is refuted by the ubiquitous occurrence of glacigene deposits. However, some of the areas pointed out as sites for survival have remained ice-free longer than adjacent parts of Greenland. 14 C dating and amino-acid age estimates of marine sediments show that lowland areas near the outer coast have been ice-free for at least 40,000 years. The vegetation history, as reflected in pollen diagrams extending back to ca. 10,000 yr. B.P., has shown that many of the extant species immigrated from northern Europe and North America in post-glacial times. This contingency includes both some thermophilous species that were suggested as survivors by one group of botanists, and some extremely "hardy" species that were thought to have survived by another group. From the palynological evidence it is inferred that the flora in the refugia comprised mainly species which today occur over a wide geographical and ecological range. The "odd" occurrences that initiated the discussion may represent random.seed dispersal accumulated in the ice-free areas through long periods of time

AB - From the distribution of plants it has been inferred by some botanists that ice-free areas existed in East Greenland accommodating a flora which survived one or several ice ages in the area. Comparing this evidence with recent information on the chronology of glaciations and post-glacial vegetation development, there is both significant agreement and disagreement. The early hypothesis of survival of organisms since Tertiary times is refuted by the ubiquitous occurrence of glacigene deposits. However, some of the areas pointed out as sites for survival have remained ice-free longer than adjacent parts of Greenland. 14 C dating and amino-acid age estimates of marine sediments show that lowland areas near the outer coast have been ice-free for at least 40,000 years. The vegetation history, as reflected in pollen diagrams extending back to ca. 10,000 yr. B.P., has shown that many of the extant species immigrated from northern Europe and North America in post-glacial times. This contingency includes both some thermophilous species that were suggested as survivors by one group of botanists, and some extremely "hardy" species that were thought to have survived by another group. From the palynological evidence it is inferred that the flora in the refugia comprised mainly species which today occur over a wide geographical and ecological range. The "odd" occurrences that initiated the discussion may represent random.seed dispersal accumulated in the ice-free areas through long periods of time

M3 - Journal article

VL - 28

SP - 279

EP - 295

JO - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology - An International Journal for the Geo-Sciences

JF - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology - An International Journal for the Geo-Sciences

SN - 0031-0182

ER -