Pollen Analysis of Mor Humus Layers from a Native Scots Pine Ecosystem, Interpreted with Surface Samples

O'Sullivan, P. E.

doi:10.2307/3543882

Cited by 24 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The earliest pollen work also examined peat deposits in Scotland (Erdtman, 1923;1924). None of these pioneeering studies, however, examined deposits from the Cairngorm area, and the first investigations into the vegetation history of the region appear to have been macrofossil work on former tree-lines by Pears (1968a; and Birks (1975), and the use of pollen analyses to investigate woodland history by Birks (1970), Mathewes (1978), andO'Sullivan (1973;1974a;1976). The late-glacial and Holocene vegetation history of the Cairngorms is reviewed by Gordon (1993), and the region is also covered by reviews of Holocene vegetation history of Scotland (Birks, 1977;Walker, 1984;Dickson, 1992), of north-east Scotland (Gunson, 1975), of pine (O'Sullivan, 1977;Bennett, 1984;1995), and of British upland vegetation (Birks, 1988).…”

Section: History Of Investigation In the Cairngormsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Late-Quaternary Vegetation Dynamics of the Cairngorms

Bennett

1996

Botanical Journal of Scotland

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Until about 15,000 years ago, the whole of the Cairngorms region was covered by part of an ice-sheet that extended across all of the northern British Isles. Our understanding of the development of vegetation following retreat of that ice comes from studies of fossil pollen preserved in peat and lake sediments, and from mapping and radiocarbon-dating of wood remains in peat. Initial plant communities were open, but woodland of birch (Betula spp.) spread rapidly across the landscape in the early Holocene, followed by pine (Pinus sylvestris). The origin of the pines that established woodland in the Cairngorms is currently unknown: a continental origin (via a spread through England and southern Scotland) or a west Scottish/Irish refugial origin are both possible. Woodland became established, with pine as the dominant, by about 8000 years ago, probably at all altitudes up to about 800 m. Birch, and hazel (Corylus avellana) on less acidic soils, would also have been present. At higher altitudes, plant communities are likely to have been always open, but there is no direct evidence for the Holocene development of vegetation at these altitudes. After about 3000 years ago forest declined regionally as a result of increasing anthropogenic pressures, and peatland ecosystems increased in areal extent.

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Section: History Of Investigation In the Cairngormsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Late-Quaternary Vegetation Dynamics of the Cairngorms

Bennett

1996

Botanical Journal of Scotland

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“…The heathland areas, dominated by the shade-intolerant shrub, heather Calluna vulgaris, developed after about 3,000 BP, replacing formerly more extensive forest (O'Sullivan 1973;Pratt 2006). This change is interpreted as mainly the result of increasing impacts of people and their livestock.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using cattle for conservation objectives in a Scots pine Pinus sylvestris forest: results of two trials

et al. 2009

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It has been argued that large ungulates play a key role in natural forest dynamics, but in Britain, the largest native ungulates (aurochs and elk) are extinct. Cattle could have some similar effects, and are widely used, but rarely tested, for nature conservation management. Here, we test conservation management with cattle at a native Scots pine Pinus sylvestris forest in Scotland. Our hypotheses were that cattle impacts would (a) increase the abundance of an understorey shrub of conservation importance, bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus; and (b) increase Scots pine seedling establishment. Two cattle trials were established, one for each objective, based on a 14-ha plot within the forest, and a 6.1-ha plot at the forest edge. Cattle were introduced for 2 months to both plots, giving an approximately 100-to 150-fold increase in ungulate biomass per hectare when compared to background deer abundance. The ground layer vegetation in both treatment and matched control plots was monitored before and after treatment, and subsequently over a 4-year period. At the within-forest trial, bilberry percent-cover, 4 years after treatment, was 1.9 times higher in the cattle area than in the control (95% confidence limits 1.6-2.3). Bilberry percentcover increases were directly related to the degree of trampling impact on heather Calluna vulgaris, as recorded immediately after the trial. At the forest-edge trial, there were vegetation changes in the cattle plot that were considered favourable to pine seedling establishment: reduced moss/litter depth and vegetation percent-cover, and increased ground-level light incidence. However, too few new pine seedlings were found for formal analysis, partly due to unexpectedly low seed-fall. Nevertheless, the potential for cattle to create conditions that would subsequently promote pine regeneration was illustrated by the observation of large numbers of new, young pine seedlings at the within-forest cattle plot. We recommend that managers and researchers collaborate to develop further trials like the ones reported here, to give an improved understanding of the conditions under which cattle can yield nature conservation benefits in woodlands.

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“…Similar variability is evident in palynological data from small basins in Inverpolly, Wester Ross and Lairg, and mor humus proles from Abernethy, which indicate a varied later-Holocene landscape of fragmentary and diverse woodlands and open communities (O'Sullivan, 1973;Kerslake, 1982;Smith, 1996;. Sites with a regional pollen recruitment area thus underestimate the diversity of upland plant communities due to the 'swamping' effect of pollen from a few dominant taxa and the amalgamation of pollen from different vegetation communities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Sensing small-scale human activity in the palaeoecological record: fine spatial resolution pollen analyses from Glen Affric, northern Scotland

Davies¹,

Tipping

2004

The Holocene

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This paper examines the importance of palynological site selection criteria, speci cally basin size, for the detection of vegetation mosaics and small-or local-scale human activity within a spatially diverse, mosaic landscape. Using a site selection strategy which recognizes landscape patchiness, pollen analyses from three small peat basins (10-56 m diameter) in an open, exposed upland valley (.250 m OD) provide records which are sensitive to local vegetation mosaics and small-scale, localized agriculture. The results indicate c. 4000 14 C years (4400 cal. years) of land use, with spatial and temporal variations in the valley. Contrasts between the sequences suggest that local pollen production remains an important component of the pollen rain deposited in small peat basins, even in open environments; this is especially true of palynological 'agricultural indicators'. By comparison, sites with regional pollen source areas underestimate the spatial diversity of the upland landscape, and are insensitive to small-scale human activity in an environment where the fragmentary distribution of soils suitable for agriculture favoured a small-scale, dispersed pattern of farming. It is therefore essential to match the spatial resolution of pollen records with the grain size or scale of variations in the environment under investigation in order to sense the scale of mosaics in vegetation and agriculture within patchy landscapes.

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Pollen Analysis of Mor Humus Layers from a Native Scots Pine Ecosystem, Interpreted with Surface Samples

Cited by 24 publications

References 6 publications

Late-Quaternary Vegetation Dynamics of the Cairngorms

Late-Quaternary Vegetation Dynamics of the Cairngorms

Using cattle for conservation objectives in a Scots pine Pinus sylvestris forest: results of two trials

Sensing small-scale human activity in the palaeoecological record: fine spatial resolution pollen analyses from Glen Affric, northern Scotland

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