Fire History of Gum Swamp and Black Pond in Eastern Tennessee, U.S.A., from Macroscopic Sedimentary Charcoal
Title | Fire History of Gum Swamp and Black Pond in Eastern Tennessee, U.S.A., from Macroscopic Sedimentary Charcoal |
Publication Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
Year of Publication | 2008 |
Authors | Haas, Alisa Lynn |
University | University of Tennessee |
Place Published | Knoxville, Tennessee |
Thesis Type | Masters of Science |
Subjects | Bodies of water, Cades Cove, Forest fires -- Environmental aspects, History, Sediments -- Coarse woody debris |
Description | Eastern Tennessee and Great Smoky Mountains National Park are biological hotspots in which settlement by Native Americans and Euro-Americans dramatically changed the landscape through land clearance and changes in fire occurrence. I present two local fire histories using macroscopic sedimentary charcoal, one from a highly managed area and one from private agricultural land. Gum Swamp (35°35' N 83°50' W) is a pond located in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park that experiences seasonal drying. The 0.94 m sediment profile extends to about 425 cal yr BP, based on an AMS radiocarbon date on charcoal fragments at mid-depth in the profile. Black Pond (35°37' N 84°11' W) is a spring-fed sinkhole surrounded by agricultural fields. The 2.88 m sediment profile is expected to extend to about 3000 yr BP based on comparison with a sediment core previously recovered and analyzed for pollen and microscopic charcoal by Patricia Cridlebaugh in her Ph.D. dissertation research at the University of Tennessee. AMS radiocarbon dates for the new profile are pending. |
URL | http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/387 |