Holocene Vegetation History and Palaeoenvironmental Conditions on the Temperate Atlantic Coast of Argentina, as Inferred from Multi-Proxy Lacustrine Records

Holocene vegetation history and palaeoenvironmental conditions are investigated at the south coast of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. La Olla 1 and Laguna del Sauce Grande sediment sequences are analysed for pollen, calcareous microfossil (ostracods and foraminifers) and plant macrofossil remains (mainly seeds and charophyte oospores). Supplementary information is provided by sedimentological analysis. Modern surface sample data are used to assist in the interpretation of the fossil records. La Olla 1 sequence covers the period 7890 to 7630 cal. BP. The microfauna recovered is characteristic of a shallow marginal-marine environment such as a coastal lagoon. The microfossils indicate a marine connection between 7850 and 7800 cal. BP. Plant macrofossil remains and pollen analyses indicate an extension of the water body after 7780 cal. BP. The pollen record reveals the development of a halophytic plant community in a coastal environment. The sediment record from Laguna del Sauce Grande comprises the last 3000 years. Microfossils and macrofossil remains indicate that the lake history begins with a temporary brackish-water phase. More stable conditions and higher salinity values occur between 1940 and 900 cal. BP. Periods of water level fluctuations occur after 900 cal. BP, with high water levels between 660 and 270 cal. BP. The uppermost samples of the sequence show similar conditions to present day. Pollen spectra indicate a relatively stable vegetation composition throughout the last 3000 years. Pollen assemblages reflect the present regional grassland vegetation with taxa characteristic of the surrounding dune communities.