A paleoecological fire and vegetation history in Southeastern Wyoming

The Medicine Bow Range of southeastern Wyoming acts as a conduit for vegetation migration from Colorado into southeastern Wyoming. Macroscopic charcoal and pollen from Long Lake, Wyoming were used to reconstruct past fire and vegetation changes in conjunction with local, regional and broad-scale climatic changes. Distinct changes in pollen influx, along with high peak magnitudes (calculated using from CharAnalysis), were used to identify high fire severity fire episodes. The late Glacial period experienced cold and dry conditions, with low fire occurrence because there was low connectivity among the vegetation. As the climate shifted to warmer conditions in the early Holocene, conifers began to migrate into the region, creating a greater fuel source.