A biogeographical study of plant communities and environmental gradients on South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Kenti, Martin; Brayshay, Barbara; Gilbertson, D. D.; Wathern, Peter; Weaver, Ruth

doi:10.1080/00369229418736913

Cited by 9 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Recognised as a 'damper element occurring in depressions in machair and on the margins of dune slacks' by Gilbertson et al (1994), Group 8 also appears to be directly comparable to the 'inland machair grassland community' (Group I) recorded by Kent et al (1994), and to the NVC MG11 Festuca rubra -Agrostis stolonifera -Potentilla anserina inundation grassland (Dargie, 1997).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

The vegetation of Kildonan machair. Isle of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Owen

Kent

Dale

et al. 1998

Scottish Geographical Magazine

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 87%

The vegetation of Kildonan machair. Isle of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Owen

Kent

Dale

et al. 1998

Scottish Geographical Magazine

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“…Figures 4 and 5 show the distinct rise in tree and shrub pollen associated with these (sample numbers 37–40) and examination of Fig. 4 reveals a corresponding rise in the quantities of pollen of Betula , Salix, Sorbus ‐type and Corylus avellana ‐type, all of which are found in the wood ( Spence, 1960; Bennett & Fossitt, 1989; Kent et al. , 1994 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…This analysis sought to retrieve the same primary environmental gradients from the subset of the vegetation data, as were determined in the earlier analysis of the whole dataset reported in Kent et al . (1994) , in order to show how representative the subset of sixty‐three samples was of the whole dataset of 212 samples.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The corrected version of the programme available in the canoco 4 package ( ter Braak & Šmilauer, 1998) was used. The aim was to retrieve the same primary environmental gradients as were determined in the earlier analysis of the whole dataset reported in Kent et al . (1994) and to show how representative the subset was of the whole dataset.…”

Section: Field Laboratory and Numerical Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The vegetation of the Outer Hebridean island of South Uist, on the east Atlantic seaboard of north‐west Scotland, is characterized by grassland, heath, bog and lake margin communities. These are strongly differentiated by the acid/alkaline environmental gradients that occur between the west coast sand dune machair and the blacklands/peatlands of the island interior and east coast ( Kent et al. , 1994 ; Gilbertson et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Surface pollen‐vegetation relationships on the Atlantic seaboard: South Uist, Scotland

Brayshay

Gilbertson

Kent

et al. 2000

Journal of Biogeography

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Studies of modern pollen rain from remote islands have raised a number of interesting issues concerning the spatial precision of present‐day pollen spectra in relation to their parent plant community types. This paper examines the relationships and degree of correlation between a sequence of contemporary vegetation types, environments and their associated surface pollen spectra from a transect across the island of South Uist in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Paired data on both contemporary vegetation and associated surface pollen assemblages have been collected and analysed using methods of numerical classification and ordination. In general terms, the modern pollen rain on South Uist reflects the major changes in vegetation pattern and the major community types fairly closely. The major boundary between the alkaline machair sand dune communities and the various acidic upland vegetation types is particularly clear. However, both variability in the vegetation and the effects of the strong prevailing westerly and south‐westerly winds tend to blur the boundaries of the various communities within each of these larger categories. On average 86.6% of the palynomorphs come from in‐community quadrat sources, while only 1.3% are from off‐island sources. The limited present‐day tree distribution on the transect is discussed in the context of the more widespread distribution of arboreal pollen. Overall, there is a strong numerical correspondence between vegetation, pollen and environmental variables. The various problems inherent in examining surface pollen spectra are reviewed.

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Spatial and temporal variability in seed dynamics of machair sand dune plant communities, the Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Owen

Kent

Dale

2001

Journal of Biogeography

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Aim The subjects of seed banks and seed rain represent comparatively neglected areas of biogeography, yet at the community scale, exhibit interesting patterns in both space and time. This paper describes the seed bank and seed rain characteristics of the machair sand dune communities of the Outer Hebrides. As well as looking at individual species distributions and variability, the seed banks and seed rain are examined in terms of their detailed subcommunity composition and its local spatial and temporal variation. The machair plant (sub)communities show extensive degrees of anthropogenic modification because of past and present agricultural management, including cultivation for cereals over wide areas and for potatoes in large numbers of ‘lazy beds’ or small patches. Thus over the historical period, large areas of machair have undergone regular ploughing and cultivation, which have provided the opportunity for a patchwork of secondary succession to occur. This pattern continues to the present day. Furthermore, most other non‐cultivated plant (sub)communities are intensively grazed, primarily by cattle and also by sheep and rabbits. Location South Uist, the Outer Hebrides, north‐west Scotland. Methods At two carefully selected locations, a range of these various successional subcommunities have been sampled for their seed banks, by taking cores and for their seed rain, by using specially designed traps located where each seed bank sample was removed. This paired sampling strategy allowed direct comparison of the seed bank and the seed rain. Both individual species distributions and the community assemblages of seed bank/seed rain species are examined in space and time using techniques of numerical classification [two‐way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN)] and ordination [detrended correspondence analysis (DCA)]. Results and conclusions There is considerable heterogeneity within and between machair subcommunities in terms of seed bank and seed rain characteristics. The soil seed banks and seed rain of the agriculturally disturbed machair subcommunities are consistently more dense and more species rich than non‐cultivated areas of the machair. Overall, machair seed banks are small and stable with no discernible seasonal trends in either size or species composition. In contrast, seed rain on the machair is characterized by a distinct temporal trend. Both seed banks and seed rain are potentially very poor sources of propagules for recolonization following disturbance, indicating that the majority of revegetation following anthropogenic and/or environmental interference is through vegetative reproduction.

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A biogeographical study of plant communities and environmental gradients on South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Cited by 9 publications

References 18 publications

The vegetation of Kildonan machair. Isle of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

The vegetation of Kildonan machair. Isle of South Uist, Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Surface pollen‐vegetation relationships on the Atlantic seaboard: South Uist, Scotland

Spatial and temporal variability in seed dynamics of machair sand dune plant communities, the Outer Hebrides, Scotland

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