Gavin, DanielKozlowski, Natalie2021-09-132021-09-132021-09-13https://hdl.handle.net/1794/26673The Puget Lowland of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) has a dynamic post-glacial vegetation and climate history. Vegetation structure and fire frequency may be affected by a variety of factors such as large-scale climatic change, as well as more local factors like changing natural and human ignition sources. This study examines forest dynamics and fire disturbance events in the Puget Lowland throughout the Holocene through the use of a new lake sediment record. It was found that vegetation structure in the early and late Holocene did not react to fire disturbance events in the same way. Even further, increasing human presence and modification of land during the late Holocene lead to marked changes within the pollen and charcoal records and lake productivity. It is important to recognize that the relationship among vegetation, fire frequency, climate, and human influence is constantly changing and may not reflect patterns that have been observed in the past.en-USAll Rights Reserved.fire frequencyHolocenepollenPuget Lowlandsediment corevegetationElectronic Thesis or Dissertation