Tables 1 & 3: Battle Ground Lake, Washington Data

TABLE 1 FOR TEACHERS

Paper dots or confetti shapes coded to the Pollen Key found in Table 3
and the amounts to be used to make up each sediment sample

You will have to create your own key based on your choice of dot colors or confetti shapes. In the sediment age designations, ybp = years before present. This table is intended for teacher use only. Distributing it to students would give them the answers to the activity.

Sediment Layer
Plant Species
Color or Shape Code
Number of dots or confetti needed
1
(4,500 ybp to present)
  • western cedar
  • western hemlock
  • Douglas fir
  • alder
  • G
  • A
  • B
  • D
  • 6
  • 5
  • 10
  • 4
2
(4,500 ybp to 9,500 ybp)
  • Douglas fir
  • oak
  • mixed meadow species
  • B
  • J
  • I
  • 3
  • 3
  • 19
3
(9,500 to 11,200 ybp)
  • Douglas fir
  • grand fir
  • alder
  • B
  • E
  • D
  • 7
  • 5
  • 13
4
(11,200 ybp to 15,000 ybp)
  • lodgepole pine
  • Engelmann spruce
  • grand fir
  • grasses & sedges
  • alpine sagebrush
  • H
  • F
  • E
  • C
  • K
  • 7
  • 3
  • 3
  • 9
  • 3
5
(15,000 ypb to 20,000 ybp)
  • grasses & sedges
  • alpine sagebrush
  • lodgepole pine
  • Engelmann spruce
  • C
  • K
  • H
  • F
  • 15
  • 4
  • 4
  • 2

TABLE 3 FOR STUDENTS

Pollen Key and Climatic Characteristics of the Vegetation

Color or Shape Code
Plant Species
Climatic Characteristics
A
western hemlock

Principal dominant tree of many lowland, temperate sites. Requires very moist, temperate conditions for growth.
B
Douglas fir

Broadly distributed throughout the Pacific Northwest from moderately cool to warm sites. Grows best under temperate, somewhat moist conditions.
C
grasses & sedges
These grasses and sedges are typically found in very cool alpine/subalpine meadow sites characterized by very cool summers, harsh winters, and short growing seasons.
D
alder
Widespread throughout the Pacific Northwest, often colonizing gravel bars or other poor soils, prefers abundant water and can grow in cool climates.
E
grand fir

Found at mid-elevations in the Cascade mountains. Grows in cool climates, but not as cold tolerant as trees found at higher altitudes.
F
Engelmann spruce

Found in cold, usually sub-alpine sites.

G
western cedar

Found only in temperate, very moist climates.
H
lodgepole pine

Found in areas of very cool climates typically growing on poor soils, often at high altitudes (above 3,500 feet) under the present climate.
I
mixed meadow species

This pollen is typical of a mixture of herbaceous plants common to warm - temperate meadowlands, such as may be found in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Typically, these species grow in areas of warm summer temperatures and summer drought.
J
oak

Found in warm - temperate sites characterized by dry, warm summers such as can be found from Oregon's Willamette Valley south into California.
K
alpine sagebrush

Woody, low-growing shrub related to the sagebrush of eastern Washington and Oregon. Found only at high-altitude, cold sites.

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