RADIOCARBON AGES OF SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN WETLAND DEPOSITS SHOW LOW ACCUMULATION DURING THE MIDDLE HOLOCENE

AMS radiocarbon dating of macrofossils in sediment cores from Panthertown Bog, located in the Southern Appalachians near Cashiers, North Carolina, indicate that this peat-accumulating wetland began forming at least 8,000 years ago. Proxy data from the site indicate that conditions during the middle Holocene were relatively warm and dry, but that organic sediment or peat continued to accumulate. In contrast, most other wetland sites investigated in the Southern Appalachians show low or no mid-Holocene accumulation of peat or organic sediment. We summarize the proxy results from Panthertown and review radiocarbon dates from other peat-accumulating wetlands that we or others have examined.  Although there is variability in the timing of wetland initiation and in inferred hiatuses in organic sediment deposition, the middle Holocene is missing or poorly represented in most profiles. We hypothesize that warm, dry conditions in the Southern Appalachian region during the middle Holocene led to either oxidation of organics or lack of organic deposition within wetlands and that in many places conditions were likely not favorable for wetland establishment until the later part of the Holocene.