North American and Greenland modern pollen data for multi-scale paleoecological and paleoclimatic applications

Abstract

The status of the modern pollen network in North America and Greenland is presented by assembling a database for use in quantitative calibration studies and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. The geo-referenced database includes 4569 samples from all regions of the continent. The database includes 934 pollen taxa that range from common taxa to those that may be used for regional-scale reconstructions. Climate data and vegetation characteristics are assigned to every site. A series of procedures, both automated and manual, were used to check the qualify of the pollen data. Data are currently available for almost all of North America, with variable density. The squared-chord distance computed between samples shows that most modern pollen samples find analogues in the same vegetation zone and the temperature and precipitation computed from the best analogue are highly correlated with actual value at the site. Analysis of the contemporary distribution of pollen taxa in relation to their vegetation range illustrates factors that must be considered when using these data as well as the potential for more detailed analysis of understudied taxa.