POLLEN AND MACROFOSSILS FROM WISCONSINAN INTERSTADIAL SEDIMENTS IN NORTHEASTERN GEORGIA

Pollen and plant macrofossil analyses and dating (both TAMS and conventional 14 C) of wetland sediments from the Nodoroc Site in the Piedmont region of northeastern Georgia identified two depositional episodes of interstadial (ca. 26,000-22,000 yr B.P.) and mid- to late Holocene (<3600 yr B.P.) age. Interstadial pollen assemblages were dominated by Pinus and Quercus, with Carya, Picea, and Abies also present in significant amounts. The interstadial assemblages had lower Pinus and higher Quercus pollen percentages than apparently contemporaneous assemblages from sites in the southern Appalachians and Coastal Plain. Interstadial macrofossils included two needle morphotypes of Pinus subgenus Pinus, possibly indicating local occurrence of two Pinus species. One of the needle morphotypes is consistent with Pinus banksiana, but other species cannot be ruled out. Comparison of conventional and TAMS 14C dates illustrates problems in obtaining accurate age models from wetlands and ponds characterized by shallow or fluctuating water levels, low sedimentation rates, and vegetation growing on the depositional surface. © 1993 University of Washington.