Modern pollen rain and lake mud - Water interface geochemistry along environmental gradients in southern Chile

This paper describes the vegetation-environment relationships deduced from descriptive and numerical analysis of pollen and spore percentages and mineral concentrations in mud-water interface samples from 47 small lakes in both forested and non-forested landscapes of the remote island region of southern Chile. The study shows (1) the spatial variation in pollen and geochemistry data derived from lake mud-water interface sediments in the Chonos Archipelago in southern Chile, and (2) the relative influence of a range of environmental variables (altitude, latitude, vegetation cover, fire, edaphic conditions) on lake sediment geochemistry concentration and pollen and spore percentage data. Multivariate analysis (Principle Components Analysis, Redundancy Analysis and Canonical Correspondence Analysis) of lake geochemistry and pollen and spore data show that there is a significant influence from both altitudinal and latitudinal gradients in the region. This is most likely reflecting plant and sedimentation response to temperature gradients.