Testing the Little Valley site with a split-rod sampler
LITTLE VALLEY, WEST-CENTRAL NEVADA, U.S.A.
A 6,300-year core from Little Valley, Nevada on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains east of Lake Tahoe provides evidence of the
relationship of climate change, vegetation dynamics and fire history near the lower forest boundary. The record reveals that forests more characteristic
of moister climates began moving down the east slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains into the Little Valley area around 5,500 years ago. Fir - most
likely White Fir, though Red Fir also grows in the area today - characterized this more mesic mixed conifer forest. Increased abundance of willow,
birch and alder around Little Valley itself also occurred. These trends reached a climax between 2,000 and 4,000 years ago during the "Neoglacial"
Period. Since then, with the exception of the "Little Ice Age" event, conditions have generally been drier in the Little Valley area. Little Valley provide
a fire history that is in concert with regional climate. Increased fire frequency reflects both more abundant fuels generated by wetter climates and the
droughts the punctuate these periods. About 6,000 years ago as Middle Holocene drought conditions were being alleviated, local forest fire severity
seems to have increased significantly, perhaps reflecting greater fuel availability. It decreased slightly about 5,500 years ago during a Great Basin-wide
episode of significantly wetter climate. During the major part of the "Neoglacial", after about 3,000 years ago it become relatively insignificant. During
the last 600 years it began increasing again.
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