Sw. Blecker et al., PALEOPEDOLOGIC AND GEOMORPHIC EVIDENCE FOR HOLOCENE CLIMATE VARIATION, SHORTGRASS STEPPE, COLORADO, USA, Geoderma, 76(1-2), 1997, pp. 113-130
Radiocarbon dates of paleosols in northeastern Colorado indicate disti
nct periods of stability and soil formation with intervening periods o
f instability resulting in soil truncation or burial, A combination of
pedologic and geomorphic indicators were used to resolve the duration
of, and prevailing climate during, these periods, Five sites, each ha
ving a paleosol, were examined using both traditional soil analyses an
d grain-size statistics, the latter to decipher the mode of parent mat
erial deposition. Twenty local stream, dune and bedrock deposits were
analyzed using grain-size statistics to establish benchmarks for compa
rison with soils, Field investigation supported by grain-size frequenc
y statistics indicate early Holocene, middle Holocene and contemporary
soils all formed in alluvium. Organic C and phytolith data suggest th
e early and middle Holocene climatic conditions were more favorable fo
r plant productivity than the present climate. Soil development in ear
ly and middle Holocene paleosols suggests wetter soil moisture regimes
than present. Low parent material carbonate contents suggest an eolia
n source for the carbonate in the Bk and Btk horizons. The presence of
paleosol Btk horizons suggests a decrease in precipitation at the end
of soil-forming intervals followed by drought and subsequent soil bur
ial.