Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The developmental history of Adirondack (N.Y.) lakes

  • Published:
Journal of Paleolimnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We utilized paleoecological techniques to reconstruct long-term changes in lake-water chemistry, lake trophic state, and watershed vegetation and soils for three lakes located on an elevational gradient (661–1150 m) in the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains of New York State (U.S.A.). Diatoms were used to reconstruct pH and trophic state. Sedimentary chrysophytes, chlorophylls and carotenoids supplied corroborating evidence. Pollen, plant macrofossils, and metals provided information on watershed vegetation, soils, and biogeochemical processes. All three lakes were slightly alkaline pH 7–8 and more productive in the late-glacial. They acidified and became less productive at the end of the late-glacial and in the early Holocene. pH stabilized 8000–9000 yr B.P. at the two higher sites and by 6000 yr B.P. at the lowest. An elevational gradient in pH existed throughout the Holocene. The highest site had a mean Holocene pH close to or below 5; the lowest site fluctuated around a mean of 6. The higher pH and trophic state of the late-glacial was controlled by leaching of base cations from fresh unweathered till, a process accelerated by the development of histosols in the watersheds as spruce-dominated woodlands replaced tundra. An apparent pulse of lake productivity at the late-glacial-Holocene boundary is correlated with a transient, but significant, expansion of alder (Alnus crispa) populations. The alder phase had a significant impact on watershed (and hence lake) biogeochemistry. The limnological changes of the Holocene and the differences between lakes were a function of an elevational gradient in temperature, hydrology (higher precipitation and lower evapotranspiration at higher elevation), soil thickness (thinner tills at higher elevation), soil type (histosols at higher elevation), vegetation (northern hardwoods at lower elevation, spruce-fir at higher), and different Holocene vegetational sequences in the three watersheds.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allison, T. D., R. E. Moeller & M. B. Davis, 1986. Pollen in laminated sediments provides evidence for a mid-Holocene forest pathogen outbreak. Ecology 67: 1101–1105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Binkley, D., 1982. Nitrogen fixation and net primary production in a young Sitka alder stand. Can. J. Bot. 60: 281–284.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bormann, F. H. & G. E. Likens, 1979. Pattern and Process in a Forested Ecosystem. Springer-Verlag, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boucherle, M. M., J. P. Smol, T. C. Oliver, S. R. Brown & R. McNeely, 1986. Limnological consequences of the decline in hemlock 4800 years ago in three southern Ontario lakes. Hydrobiologia 143: 17–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brady, N. C., 1974. The Nature and Properties of Soils. 8th Ed. McMillan, N.Y., 639 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Braun, E. L., 1950. Deciduous Forests of Eastern North America. MacMillan, New York, N.Y., 596 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Breemen, N., C. T. Driscoll & J. Mulder, 1984. Acidic deposition and internal proton sources in acidification of soils and waters. Nature 307: 599–604.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brugam, R. B., 1983. The relationship between fossil diatom assemblages and limnological conditions. Hydrobiologia 98: 223–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brugam, R. B., 1984. Holocene paleolimnology. In H. E. Wright Jr. (ed.). Late Quaternary Environments of the United States, 2. The Holocene. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 208–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buddington, A. F., 1953. Geology of the Saranac Quadrangle, New York. N.Y. State Museum Bull. Number 346. The University of the State of New York, Albany, N.Y., 100 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Camburn, K. E. & J. C. Kingston, 1986. The genus Melosira from soft-water lakes with special reference to northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. In J. P. Smol, R. W. Battarbee, R. B. Davis & J. Mariläinen (eds). Diatoms and Lake Acidity. W. Junk, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 17–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carney, H. J., 1982. Algal dynamics and trophic interactions in the recent history of Frains Lake, Michigan. Ecology 63: 814–1826.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandler Jr., R. F., 1939. Cation exchange properties of certain forest soils in the Adirondack section. J. Agric. Res. 59: 491–505.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charles, D. F., 1982. Studies of Adirondack Mountain (N.Y.) lakes: limnological characteristics and sediment diatomwater chemistry relationships. Doctoral dissertation, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.

  • Charles, D. F., 1985. Relationships between surface sediment diatom assemblages and lakewater characteristics in Adirondack lakes. Ecology 66: 994–1011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charles, D. F., 1986. A new diatom species, Fragilaria acidobiontica, from acidic lakes in northeastern North America. In J. P. Smol, R. W. Battarbee, R. B. Davis & J. Meriläinen (eds.). Diatoms and Lake Aciditiy. W. Junk, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 35–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charles, D. F., D. R. Whitehead, D. R. Engstrom, B. D. Fry, R. A. Hites, S. A. Norton, J. S. Owen, L. A. Roll, S. C. Schindler, J. P. Smol, A. J. Uutala, J. R. White & R. J. Wise, 1987. Paleolimnological evidence for recent acidification of Big Moose Lake, Adirondack Mountains, N.Y. (USA). Biogeochemistry 3: 267–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cholnoky, B. J., 1968. Die Okologie der Diatomeen in Binnengewasser. J. Cramer, Lehre, Germany.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christie, C. E. & J. P. Smol, 1986. Recent and long-term acidification of Upper Wallface Pond (N.Y.) as indicated by mallomonadacean microfossils. Hydrobiologia 143: 355–360.

    Google Scholar 

  • van Cleve, K., L. A. Viereck & R. L. Schlentner, 1971. Accumulation of nitrogen in alder (Alnus) ecosystems near Fairbanks, Alaska. Arct. Alp. Res. 3: 101–114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connally, G. G. & L. A. Sirkin, 1971. Luzerne readvance near Glens Falls, New York. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 82: 89–1008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connally, G. G. & L. A. Sirkin, 1973. Wisconsinan history of the Hudson-Champlain lobe. Geol. Soc. Am. Memoir 136: 47–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craft, J. L., 1979. Evidence of local glaciation, Adirondack Mountains, N.Y. 42nd Annual Reunion, Eastern Friends of the Pleistocene, 75 pp.

  • Crisman, T. L. & D. R. Whitehead, 1978. Paleolimnological studies of small New England (USA) ponds II: Cladoceran community responses to trophic oscillations. Pol. Arch. Hydrobiol. 25: 75–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crocker, R. L. & J. Major, 1955. Soil development in relation to vegetation and surface age at Glacier Bay, Alaska. J. Ecol. 43: 427–448.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronan, C. S., 1980. Solution Chemistry of a New Hampshire subalpine ecosystem: a biogeochemical analysis. Oikos 34: 272–281.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronan, C. S., 1984. Biogeochemical responses of forest canopies to acid precipitation. In R. A. Linthurst (ed.). Direct and Indirect Effects of Acidic Deposition on Vegetation. Butterworth Publishers, 65–79.

  • Cronan, C. S. & G. R. Aiken, 1985. Chemistry and transport of soluble humic substances in forested watersheds of the Adirondack Park, New York. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 49: 697–1705.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cronan, C. S., W. A. Reiners, R. C. Reynolds Jr. & G. E. Lang, 1978. Forest floor leaching: contributions from mineral, organic, and carbonic acids in New Hampshire subalpine forests. Science 200: 309–311.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cushing, E. J. & H. E. Wright Jr., 1965. Hand-operated piston corers for lake sediments. Ecology 46: 380–384.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. B., 1981a. Outbreaks of forest pathogens in Quaternary history. Proc. IV. Int. Paynol. Conf. Lucknow (1976–77) 3: 216–227.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. B., 1981b. Quaternary history and the stability of forest communities. In D. C. West, H. H. Shugart & D. B. Botkin (eds). Forest Succession: Concepts and Applications. Springer-Verlag, New York, N.Y., 132–153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. B., 1983. Holocene vegetational history of eastern United States. In H. E. Wright Jr. (ed.). Late Quaternary Environments of the United States. Volume 2. The Holocene. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 166–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. B., R. W. Spear & L. C. K. Shane, 1980. Holocene climate of New England. Quat. Res. 14: 240–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, R. B. & D. S. Anderson, 1985. Methods of pH calibration of sedimentary diatom remains for reconstructing history of pH in lakes. Hydrobiologia 120: 69–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, R. B., D. S. Anderson & F. Berge, 1985. Paleolimnological evidence that lake acidification is accompanied by loss of organic matter. Nature 316: 436–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, R. B. & G. L. Jacobson, 1985. Late-glacial and early Holocene landscapes in northern New England and adjacent areas of Canada. Quaternary Research 23: 341–368.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denny, C. S., 1974. Pleistocene geology of the northeast Adirondack region, New York. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 786, 50 pp.

  • Dethier, B. E., 1966. Precipitation in New York State. Cornell Univ. Agric. Exp. Station Bull. 1009, 78 pp.

  • DiNunzio, M. G., 1972. A vegetational survey of the alpine zone of the Adirondack Mountains, New York. Master's thesis. State Univ. Coll. Forest. at Syracuse Univ., Syracuse, N.Y., 109 pp.

  • Eaton, J. S., G. E. Likens & F. H. Bormann, 1973. Throughfall and stemflow chemistry in a northern hardwood forest. J. Ecol. 61: 495–508.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engstrom, D. R., 1987. The influence of vegetation and hydrology on the humus budgets of Labrador Lakes. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. (in press).

  • Engstrom, D. R. & B. C. S. Hansen, 1985. Postglacial vegetational change and soil development in southeastern Labrador as inferred from pollen and chemical stratigraphy. Can. J. Bot. 63: 543–561.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engstrom, D. R. & H. E. Wright Jr., 1984. Chemical stratigraphy of lake sediments as a record of environmental change. In E. Y. Haworth & J. W. G. Lund (eds.). Lake Sediments and Environmental History. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minn., 11–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engstrom, D. R., E. B. Swain & J. C. Kingston, 1985. A paleolimnological record of human disturbance from Harvey's Lake, Vermont: geochemistry, pigments and diatoms. Freshwat. Biol. 15: 61–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, M. S. (J.), 1984. The influence of lithology on ecosystem development in New England: a comparative ecological study. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

  • Gaudreau, D. C. & T. Webb III, 1985. Late-Quaternary pollen stratigraphy and isochronic maps for the north-eastern United States. In V. M. Bryant Jr. & P. G. Holloway (eds.). Pollen records of late Quaternary North American sediments. American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists Foundation, Dallas, 247–280.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heimberger, C. C., 1934. Forest-type studies in the Adirondack region. Cornell Univ. Agric. Exp. Station Memoir 165, 122 pp.

  • Holroyd III, E. W., 1970. Prevailing winds on Whiteface Mountain as indicated by flag trees. Forest Sci. 16: 222–229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holway, J. G., J. T. Scott & S. A. Nicholson, 1969. Vegetation of the Whiteface Mountain region of the Adirondacks. In Atmospheric Sciences Research Center Report 92. State Univ. of New York, Albany, N.Y., 1–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hustedt, F., 1939. Systematische und Ökologische Untersuchungen über die Diatomeen-Flora von Java, Bali, und sumatra nach dem Material der Deutschen Limnologischen Sunda-Expedition III. Die ökologischen Factorin und ihr Einfluss auf die Diatomeenflora. Arch. Hydrobiol. supplement 16: 274–394.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, S. T., 1983. Late-glacial and Holocene vegetational changes in the Adirondack Mountains (New York): a macrofossil study. Doctoral dissertation. Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 182 pp.

  • Jackson, S. T., 1988. Postglacial changes along an elevational gradient in the Adirondack Mountains (New York). New York State Museum and Science Service Bulletin (in press).

  • Jacobson Jr., G. L. & H. J. B. Birks, 1980. Soil development on recent end moraines of the Klutlan Glacier, Yukon Territory, Canada. Quat. Res. 14: 87–100.

    Google Scholar 

  • Likens, G. E., F. H. Bormann, R. S. Pierce, J. S. Eaton & N. M. Johnson, 1977. Biogeochemistry of a Forested Ecosystem. Springer-Verlag, New York, N.Y., 146 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovett, G. M., W. A. Reiners & R. K. Olson, 1982. Cloud droplet deposition in subalpine balsam fir forests: hydrological and chemical inputs. Science 218: 1303–1304.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lowe, R. L., 1974. Environmental requirements of pollution tolerance of freshwater diatoms. EPA-670/4–74–005. U.S. Envir. Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mackereth, F. J. H., 1966. Some chemical observations on post-glacial lake sediments. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. B, 250: 165–213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meriläinen, J., 1967. The diatom flora and the hydrogen-ion concentration of the water. Ann. bot. fenn. 4: 1–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mordoff, R. A., 1949. The climate of New York State. N.Y. State Coll. Agric. Bull. 704, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y., 72 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nihlgård, B., 1979. Precipitation, its chemical composition and effect on soil water in beech and a spruce forest in south Sweden. Oikos 21: 208–217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nilsson, S. E., H. G. Miller & J. D. Miller, 1982. Forest growth as a possible cause of soil and water acidification: an examination of the concepts. Oikos 39: 40–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nygaard, G., 1956. Ancient and recent flora of diatoms and Chrysophyceae in Lake Gribsø. In K. Berg & I. C. Peterson (eds.). Studies in Humic, Acid Lake Gribsø. Folia limnol. scand. 8: 32–94.

  • Olson, R. K., W. A. Reiners, C. S. Cronan & G. E. Lang, 1981. The chemistry and flux of throughfall and stemflow in subalpine balsam fir forests. Holarct. Ecol. 4: 291–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Overpeck, J. T., 1985. A pollen study of a late Quaternary peat bog, south-central Adirondack Mountains, New York. Geological Society of America Bulletin 96: 145–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pennington, W., E. Y. Haworth, A. P. Bonny & J. P. Lishman, 1972. Lake sediments in northern Scotland. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. B, 264: 191–294.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quennerstedt, N., 1955. Diatomeerna i Langans sjovegetation [Diatoms in the lake vegetation of the Langan drainage area, Jamtland, Sweden]. Acta Phytogeographica Suecica 36: 1–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapp, G. Jr., J. D. Allert, B. W. Liukkonen, J. A. Ilse, O. L. Loucks & G. E. Glass, 1985. Acid deposition and watershed characteristics in relation to lake chemistry in north-eastern Minnesota. Environ. Int. 11: 425–440.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raynal, D. J., F. S. Raleigh & A. V. Mollitor, 1983. Characterization of atmospheric deposition and ionic input at Huntington Forest, Adirondack Mountains, N.Y. State Univ. N.Y. College of Envir. Sci. and Forest. (ESF-83–003), Syracuse, N.Y., 85 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reed, S., 1982. The late-glacial and postglacial diatoms of Heart Lake and Upper Wallface Pond in the Adirondack Mountains, New York. Masters thesis, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, Calif.

  • Reiners, W. A. & G. E. Lang, 1979. Vegetational patterns and processes in the balsam fir zone, White Mountains, New Hampshire. Ecology 60: 403–417.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renberg, I., 1976. Paleolimnological investigations in Lake Prastsjon. Early Norrland 9: 113–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renberg, I. & T. Hellberg, 1982. The pH history of lakes in southwestern Sweden, as calculated from the subfossil diatom flora of the sediments. Ambio 11: 30–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sanger, J. E. & E. Gorham, 1972. Stratigraphy of fossil pigments as a guide to the post-glacial history of Kirchner Marsh, Minnesota. Limnol. Oceanogr. 17: 840–854.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schindler, D. W. & T. A. Jackson, 1975. The biogeochemistry of phosphorus in an experimental lake environment: evidence for the formation of humic-metal phosphate complexes. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 19: 11–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schlesinger, W. H. & W. A. Reiners, 1974. Deposition of water and cations on artificial foliar collectors in fir Krummholz of New England Mountains. Ecology 55: 378–386.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, J. T. & J. G. Holway, 1969. Comparison of topographic and vegetation gradients in forest of Whiteface Mountain, New York. In Atmospheric Sciences Research Center Report 92. State Univ. of N.Y., Albany, N.Y., 44–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smol, J. P., 1982. Postglacial changes in fossil algal assemblages from three Canadian lakes. Doctoral dissertation. Queen's Univ., Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

  • Smol, J. P., 1986. Chrysophycean microfossils as indicators of lakewater pH. In J. P. Smol, R. W. Battarbee, R. B. Davis & J. Meriläinen (eds.). Diatoms and Lake Acidity. W. Junk, Dordrecht.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smol, J. P. & M. M. Boucherle, 1985. Postglacial changes in algal and cladoceran assemblages in Little Round Lake, Ontario. Arch. Hydrobiol. 13: 25–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spear, R. W., 1981. History of alpine and subalpine vegetation in the White Mountains, New Hampshire. Doctoral dissertation. Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.

  • Sprugel, D. G., 1976. Dynamic structure of wave-generated Abies balsamea forests in the northeastern United States. J. Ecol. 64: 889–911.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swain, E. B., 1985. Measurement and interpretation of sedimentary pigments. Freshwat. Biol. 15: 53–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tipping, E. & M. Ohnstad, 1984. Aggregation of aquatic humic substances, Chemical Geology 44: 349–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek, P. M., 1977. The regulation of element concentrations in mountain streams in northeastern United States. Ecol. Monogr. 47: 65–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • WebbIII, T., 1981. The past 11 000 years of vegetational change in eastern North America. BioScience 31: 501–506.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webb, III, T., 1988. Eastern North America. In B. Huntley & T. Webb, III (eds.). Vegetation History. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

  • Webb III, T., E. J. Cushing & H. E. Wright Jr., 1983. Holocene changes in the vegetation of the Midwest. In H. E. Wright Jr. (ed.). Late-Quaternary Environments of the United States, Volume 2. The Holocene. Univ. of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minn., 42–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead, D. R. & T. L. Crisman, 1978. Paleolimnological studies of small New England (USA) ponds I: late glacial and postglacial trophic oscillations. Pol. Arch. Hydrobiol. 25: 471–481.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead, D. R. & S. T. Jackson, 1988. The vegetational history of the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains, N.Y.: inferences from palynology. New York State Museum and Science Service Bulletin submitted.

  • Whitehead, D. R., D. F. Charles, S. T. Jackson, S. E. Reed & M. C. Sheehan, 1986. Late-glacial and Holocene acidity changes in Adirondack (N.Y.) lakes. In J. P. Smol, R. W. Battarbee, R. B. Davis & J. Mariläinen (eds.). Diatoms and Lake Acidity, W. Junk, Dordrecht, 251–274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead, D. R., H. Rochester, Jr., S. W. Rissing, D. B. Douglass & M. C. Sheenan, 1973. Late glacial and postglacial productivity changes in a New England pond. Science 181: 744–747.

    Google Scholar 

  • Witty, J. E., 1968. Classification and distribution of soils on Whiteface Mountain, Essex County, New York. Doctoral dissertation. Cornell Univ., Ithaca, N.Y., 291 pp.

  • Young, V. A., 1934. Plant distribution as influenced by soil heterogeneity in Cranberry Lake region of the Adirondack Mountains. Ecology 15: 154–196.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Indiana University, 47405, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Donald R. Whitehead & Donald F. Charles

  2. Environmental Research Laboratory, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 97333, Corvallis, OR, USA

    Donald F. Charles

  3. Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, 02912, Providence, RI, USA

    Stephen T. Jackson

  4. Department of Biology, Queen's University, K7L 3N6, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

    John P. Smol

  5. Limnological Research Center, University of Minnesota, 55455, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Daniel R. Engstrom

Authors
  1. Donald R. Whitehead
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Donald F. Charles
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Stephen T. Jackson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. John P. Smol
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Daniel R. Engstrom
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

This is the thirteenth of a series of papers to be published by this journal that was presented in the paleolimnology sessions organized by R. B. Davis and H. Löffler for the XIIth Congress of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA), which took place in Ottawa, Canada in August 1987. Dr. Davis is serving as guest editor of this series.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Whitehead, D.R., Charles, D.F., Jackson, S.T. et al. The developmental history of Adirondack (N.Y.) lakes. J Paleolimnol 2, 185–206 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00202046

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00202046

Key words

Search

Navigation