Blanket mire formation at Haramsøy, Møre og Romsdal, Western Norway

Abstract

Stratigraphical studies, pollen analyses and radiocarbon dating of peat cores from two blanket mire areas, Mannen and Hestevollane, on the central mountain plateau of the hat‐shaped island of Haramsøy in the Nordøyane archipelago indicate that blanket mire formation here dates back about 3,000 years and was primarily caused by human activity, namely regular burning to provide or improve grazing areas. Corresponding investigations of peat cores from two strandfiat sites on either side of the island demonstrate that a population existed on the strandfiat at least 6,800 years ago and gradually converted the original vegetation of the strandfiat into pastures and fields. The human influence increased further about 3,000 years ago when the activity was extended to the mountain plateau where grazing and regular burning, in addition to deteriorating climatic conditions, resulted in blanket mire formation.

Peat initiation in the Faroe Islands: climate change, pedogenesis or human impact?

“…The conclusion supports those who would suggest that natural processes may account for mire initiation and development in at least some instances (e.g. Clymo 1984;Solem 1989;Foster & Wright 1990;Ma ¨kila ¨1997;Ellis & Tallis 2000;Anderson et al 2003), particularly where the pre-peat environment was never substantially wooded; the question of whether natural peat formation can occur in wooded environments remains open. Analysis of the limited data set of peat initiation dates for the Faroes suggests that there is no reason to claim that peat initiation is strongly determined by climatic changes; the spread of peat has been fairly steady throughout the course of the Holocene, and local topographic, hydrological and pedological variations appear to have been more important controls on the timing of peat spread than climatic change.…”

Postglacial spatiotemporal peatland initiation and lateral expansion dynamics in North America and northern Europe

“…Thus, in conclusion, it seems that throughout the early and mid-Holocene, the relative moisture conditions remained favourable enough for paludification at least at a regional scale. Alternatively, natural (forest) fire intensity may have increased due to a dry climate (Whitlock and Bartlein, 2003), which may have promoted paludification (Solem, 1989; Tuittila et al, 2007). It has been estimated that in Finland, up to 67% of peatlands may actually have formed through paludification initiated after a forest fire (Tolonen, 1983).…”