Tree-ring analysis of subfossil Pinus sylvestris L., from nine new peatland sites located beyond the species’ current northern limit in Scotland, established a regional chronology called WRATH-9. The chronology has been provisionally dated against Irish pine chronologies and provides the first annual resolution picture of Scots pine expansion from c. 3200 BC and subsequent demise from c. 3000 BC. Pine germination and growth is suggested to be associated with a widespread fall in bog water-tables that indicates a regional climatic control. Bog pines progressively declined in number, rather than died out in a single event, reflecting their growth in a marginal habitat, close to a critical ecological threshold. The use of tree-ring sequences from in situ bog pine macrofossils provides a higher resolution insight into past conditions than possible with existing radiocarbon and pollen-based chronologies.
Modern yew (Taxus baccata) is demonstrated to have considerable potential for dendrochronological use. A replicated 303 yr chronology has been formed from Hampton Court Palace yew and cross-matches well with a number of different tree species, including oak. Growth is positively correlated with rainfall but inversely related to late summer temperature. Range limits and present and prehistoric sources of yew are also briefly discussed, highlighting the future potential of yew to become the third major tree species for British dendrochronological study.
Sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) in Britain: its dendrochronological potentialIn Britain, where sweet chestnut is classified as an archaeophyte of Roman introduction, there are many ancient sweet chestnut trees and woodlands significant for conservation, yet no dendrochronological assessment has been made of them. This paper describes an attempt to assess the dendrochronological potential of sweet chestnut wood. Eight sweet chestnut trees (veteran trees in parkland and mature trees and coppice-grown stems in woodland) from five sites in western England were sampled by coring living wood and by cutting sections in fallen dead wood, to enable microscopic analysis of growth ring parameters. Four trees from three sites were crossmatched to form a 295-year chronology from AD 1716 to AD 2011. The annual resolution of the chronology was confirmed by regional cross-dating with oak reference chronologies. The ages for these chestnut trees range from circa AD 1668 to AD 1940. It is concluded that oak reference chronologies can be used to date sweet chestnut wood, with benefits for archaeological, historic building and palaeoenvironmental assessments. The extraction of sawn sections from dead veteran trees and their dendrochronological analysis indicates a more reliable and benign approach to dating ancient trees in historic landscapes compared with coring.
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