A Pollen Diagram from Mud Lake, Marion County, North-Central Florida

Six pollen zones are described from a 1360-cm profile of sediments from a lake in north-central Florida. Zone Ml, at the top, has pollen predominantly of Pinus (pine) with some Quercus (oak) and other broad-leaved trees. It extends from the present back to 5070 ± 150B.P., and it represents a vegetation of sand-pine scrub, as today. Zone M2 has high Quercus percentages with much pollen of herbs, shrubs, and aquatics. It represents a sclerophyllous oak scrub or dry forest; it is dated at 8260 ± 200 B.P. at its base. Beneath zone M2 is a sand layer that marks a major hiatus, for the sediment immediately beneath it is over 35,000 years old. At this time the lake was dry, probably because the water table was lowered as a result of eustatic depression ofsea level during Wisconsin glaciation.

Zone M3 below the sand layer resembles zone M2, so it must also reflect a warm-temperate climate, presumably of Sangamon age. Zone M4, with dominantly pine pollen, is also assigned t o the Sangamon.

Zone M5 has abundant Quercus, Carya (hickory), and Liquidambar (sweet gum), and zone M6 has predominant Pinus with a trace of Picea (spruce). Both zones include Acer saccharum type (sugar maple), Fagus (beech), Tilia (basswood), and Carpinus type (hornbeam); they represent mesic hardwood forest, tentatively assigned to the time of the Illinoian glaciation.