Pollen analysis and chronology of a Central Texas peat bog

Results from two cores (5.4 and 5.0 m) taken from the Hershop Bog, a Central Texas peat deposit analyzed for fossil pollen and radiocarbon data, indicate that a sharp decline in the arboreal components of the vegetation occurred at the end of the late-glacial pluvial period. Fossil pollen records of other bog sites and a tri-county (50 mile) modern pollen transect are compared with Hershop Bog pollen profiles established from dual correlatable cores. The pollen record suggest the occurrence of arid conditions between 10,000 and 7,000 years B.P. followed by a 4,000 year span of mesic conditions. This apparent mesic period was interrupted about 3,000 years ago by a brief slight-arid period and a return to mesic conditions occurring about 1,000 years B.P.