Over de Mammoet steppe is de laatste tijd heel veel informatie. Het gaat daarbij niet om Taimyr 20,000 jaar geleden maar Europa, Siberie Alaska en de VS een aaneenschakeling van steppes gedurende het merendeel van de de periode tussen de twee interglacialen.

DePurpereWolf schreef:Wat natuurlijk opvalt is dat hoe meer landinwaarts, hoe hoger de ijskap. In de ijstijd waren de oceanen verder weg dan nu, en was er dus meer een landklimaat waar de mammoet is gevonden. Waarom zijn de gebieden dichter bij de oceaan gunstiger voor de ijskap?

Wat is trouwens de tijd van die kaart Hans Erren?

Het punt is dat we niet weten waar de 'icecap' lag 40.000 jaar geleden, het enige beeld wat ik had van mijn vroegere schooljaren is de grote ijskap over canada en noord amerika, maar ook zijn er bewijzen van het ijs tot in nederland.

Paleoecological results

Microfossils (pollen, algae, fungal spores) were studied in sediment samples taken from between the hairs of the Jarkov Mammoth. The analysis of microfossils was combined with the identification of fruits, seeds and vegetative plant remains. The pollen spectra are dominated by Poaceae, Artemisia and Papaver. Macrofossils of these taxa were also present. Mosses such as Racomitrium lanuginosum, Pogonatum cf. P. urnigerum and cf. Polytrichum piliferum indicate dry, sandy or stony environments, with cryogenic phenomena as well as disturbance as a consequence of trampling or grazing. The vegetation reconstruction based on the recorded microfossils and macroremains indicates a steppe (cool and dry climatic conditions), and this fits well with the reconstructions based on palynological studies of lake sediments in Taimyr (Andreev et al. 2002; Hahne and Melles 1999). But some mosses (Calliergon giganteum, Drepanocladus aduncus, Rhizomnium pseudopunctatum) and the alga Pediastrum indicate that some wet sites were also present in the predominantly dry landscape of Taimyr. The abundance of ascospores of the dung-inhabiting fungus Sporormiella (Davis 1987) and Sordaria type (Van Geel 2001, Van Geel et al. 2003) is a clear indication of a high population density of herbivores

The pollen spectrum of the sampled stomach content of the Fishhook Mammoth was completely dominated by grasses (97.8 % Poaceae). Some clusters of unripe grass pollen were found in the pollen slides. This may indicate that the animal died in the flowering season of the grasses. The pollen spectrum from the stomach may be strongly biased by the food preference of the mammoth and therefore cannot be considered as indicative for the regional vegetation pattern. Nevertheless, the conclusion can be made that the landscape was very poor in trees. Apart from grass pollen low amounts of other herbaceous plants were also recorded: Artemisia (0.2 %), Asteraceae liguliflorae (+), Caryophyllaceae (1.0 %), Ranunculaceae (0.5 %), Rumex acetosa type (0.2 %), Liliaceae (0.2 %) and Polemonium (+). Some ascospores of the dung-inhabiting fungus Sporormiella (illustrated by Van Geel, 2001) were found. The matrix of the stomach sample from the Fishhook Mammoth consisted of a mass of unidentifiable grassy material. Among the identifiable remains were leaves of Dryas octopetala (dryad), Salix sp. (willow), Betula nana (dwarf birch), Vaccinium species, a catkin of Alnus fruticosa (alder), and needles of Larix (larch). The sample also contained a large number of mosses, as well as some inflorescences of Polygonum viviparum and seeds/fruits of about 15 taxa of other herbs. Among these are at least four species of grasses, two Cyperaceae (sedges), two Juncaceae (rushes) and Papaver radicatum (arctic poppy). Furthermore, droppings of lemmings were found as well as several remains of Coleoptera (beetles).

The conclusion from the palynological analysis may be supplemented as follows: the Fishhook Mammoth had been grazing a moist, open vegetation dominated by grasses, with a lot of mosses in the ground cover. However, the presence of vegetation types of dry ground, as well as border scrub of forest tundra is also reflected by the plant remains. The find of Larix is especially interesting, because the site where the Fishhook Mammoth was found is situated at about 200 kilometres north of the present timber line.

Samenvatting van de voordracht van André Bijkerk en Dick Mol op dinsdag 12 september 2006:

Het uitsterven van de mammoet en het clathraatkanon...etc