Development of vegetation in the Central Mojave Desert of California during the late Quaternary

At elevations <1000 m desert scrub species of Lycium cooperi (wolfberry), Salvia mojavensis (Mojave sage) and the mesophytic Prosopis juliflora (mesquite) occurred near the shore of pluvial Lake Mojave from ca. 8810 to 8430 years BP. Larrea is not recorded on the xeric carbonate substrates (605 m) until ca. 6990 years BP, then took over 2000 years to dominate the regional landscape. Modern vegetation associates such as Thamnosma montana (desert rue) and Atriplex confertifolia (shadscale) were established by ca. 4500 years BP. Late Holocene vegetation changes document Neoglacial cooling and wetter conditions than today between ca. 3490 and 2640 years BP, paralleling the regional pluvial lake highstands and marsh deposit records. Decreases of mesophytic Mojave Desert associates in the Granite Mountains suggest climates similar to today's aridity between ca. 1970 and 1440 years BP. Mesophytic species increase in middens dating between ca. 1390 and 700 years BP at higher elevation sites; during the same time Prosopis occurs at lower elevation sites.