Spring onset and seasonality patterns during the Late Glacial period in the eastern Baltic region

Abstract

Spring onset is an important phenological observation that is sensitive to modern climate change and can be traced back in geological time. The Late Glacial (∼ 14 500–11 700 cal yr BP) spring onset and growing season (growing degree days) dynamics in the eastern Baltic region were reconstructed using the micro-phenological approach based on the dwarf birch (Betula nana) subfossil leaf cuticles. The presented study sites, Lake Lielais Svetinu (eastern Latvia) and Lake Kosilase (central Estonia), are located ∼ 200 km apart in the region affected by the south-eastern sector of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. During the Late Glacial period the region and its biota were influenced by the retreating glacier and the different stages of the Baltic Ice Lake. The plant macrofossil data confirm that the study sites were in different vegetation zones (arctic-to-boreal) during the Late Glacial period. The dynamics of the estimated length of the growing season and spring onset, combined with the regional collection of plant macrofossil records, suggest the importance of local settings to species migration. During the Late Glacial warming period (Bølling–Allerød), a notable spring warming and longer growing season was calculated based on micro-phenology, but the treeline did not extend beyond central Estonia. The comparison of pollen- and chironomid-inferred past temperature estimations with spring onset, growing degree days, and plant macrofossil data shows coherent patterns during the cooler Older Dryas and warmer Bølling–Allerød periods, while suggesting more complicated climate dynamics and possible warmer episodes during the Younger Dryas cold reversal.