Wisconsin Glaciation - Flora and Fauna

Flora and Fauna

North American flora and fauna species were distributed quite differently during the Wisconsin era, due to altered temperatures, surface water distribution and, in some cases, coverage of earth surface by glaciers. A number of scientific studies have been conducted to determine species distribution, particularly during the Late Wisconsin and early to mid-Holocene. An example of findings is from the investigation of flora species using pollen-core samples in present day northern Arizona. Here in the Waterman Hills researchers found that Juniperus osteosperma and Pinus monophylla were early to mid-Holocene dominant trees, while Monardella arizonica has been a continuously present understory plant. Celtis reticulata is an example of a plant present in the early Holocene following Wisconsin glacial retreat, which species is no longer present at the Waterman Mountains site.

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