Differences in time and space in vegetation patterning: analysis of pollen data from Dartmoor, UK

Fyfe, Ralph; Woodbridge, Jessie

doi:10.1007/s10980-012-9726-3

Cited by 37 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…This creates uncertainty about the extent of moorland turnover (Dallimer et al 2009) and the role of burning in sustainable management (Lee et al 2013). Extrapolating across heterogeneous upland terrain may underestimate the extent of past spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability (Davies and Tipping 2004;Fyfe and Woodbridge 2012), so high spatial-resolution pollen analyses from different peatland habitats can usefully be employed to address these issues. This is also the scale at which palaeoecology can contribute to management (Davies and Bunting 2010).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Holocene regime shifts in moorland ecosystems: high resolution data from the Pennines, UK

Davies

2015

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Abstract:Identifying critical shifts in ecosystems caused by human impacts has become a priority for understanding resilience to change and setting realistic management goals. Previous work suggests that many British blanket peats have suffered a loss of functional integrity over recent centuries, but it is unclear whether all moorland habitats are equally vulnerable. This study examines the relative sensitivity of four contrasting moorland communities to historic land-use changes and assesses whether these management pressures are pushing some moorlands beyond their Holocene range of variability. Late Holocene dynamics in the Peak District, northern England, were investigated using high-resolution pollen, fungal spore and charcoal data, and multivariate analyses. All sites show high Calluna values during the nineteenth century and converge on local Poaceae-dominance during the twentieth century. This involved a shift from gradual or cyclical variability and moderate changes in pollen abundance during preceding centuries, to rapid transitions between mono-dominant pollen assemblages and a functional shift to taxa with competitive traits; these are interpreted as a regime shift. Evidence for the recent recovery of dwarf-shrubs and Sphagnum is strong at one site, with slight evidence from two others, but disturbance could push the system back to grass-dominance. The deep blanket peat site may have crossed a threshold, leading to a persistent grass-dominated state. Studying regime shifts on decadal to centennial scales can help bridge the gap between ecology and palaeoecology by providing a robust basis for assessing vulnerability, setting restoration priorities and managing novel peatland states.Response to Reviewers: Revisions made to this submission:Updated Bennett reference -with current School name (the pollen catalogue gives the older Archaeology and Palaeoecology departmental name)Attached all figures in EPS format.Checked image resolution in Online resource 1: sufficient for viewing at >100% size. I have uploaded an amended file without 'track changes' which were inadvertently left in revision r2. Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems CorporationAccepted minor text amendments Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation ABSTRACTIdentifying critical shifts in ecosystems caused by human impacts has become a priority for understanding resilience to change and setting realistic management goals. Previous work suggests that many British blanket peats have suffered a loss of functional integrity over recent centuries, but it is unclear whether all moorland habitats are equally vulnerable. This study examines the relative sensitivity of four contrasting moorland communities to historic land-use changes and assesses whether these management pressures are pushing some moorlands beyond their Holocene range of variability. Late Holocene dynamics in the Peak District, northern England, were investigated using high-resolution pollen, fungal spore ...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Holocene regime shifts in moorland ecosystems: high resolution data from the Pennines, UK

Davies

2015

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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“…BP, with the earliest sites being found on both Exmoor and Bodmin Moor at Davidstow (Christie, 1988), Stannon Downs (Jones, 2006) and Lanacombe (Gillings et al, 2009). Within 300 years, there is unambiguous evidence for the commencement of farming and settlement in these upland areas, most notably at Shaugh Moor on Dartmoor (Jordan et al, 1994;Wainwright and Smith, 1980), consistent with paleoecological data which has suggested an increasingly open landscape during the middle Bronze Age and intensive land use (Fyfe and Woodbridge, 2012).…”

Section: Bronze and Iron Age Activitymentioning

confidence: 55%

“…Recent studies have focused on palaeoenvironmental records across the southwest of Britain (Amesbury et al, 2008;Dark, 2006;Fyfe and Woodbridge, 2012;Gearey et al, 2000). The climatic and anthropogenic interpretation has, however, proved problematic (Amesbury et al, 2008;Brown, 2008;Gearey et al, 2000), due in part to the ambiguity over assigning pollen changes to reconstructing changing land cover and/or the relatively poor dating and resolution.…”

Section: Climate Datasetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extreme wet conditions coincident with Bronze Age abandonment of upland areas in Britain

et al. 2016

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Abandonment of farming systems on upland areas in southwest Britain during the Late Bronze Age -some 3000 years ago -is widely considered a 'classic' demonstration of the impact of deteriorating climate on the vulnerability of populations in such marginal environments. Here we test the hypothesis that climate change drove the abandonment of upland areas by developing new chronologies for human activity on upland areas during the Bronze Age across southwest Britain (Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bodmin Moor). We find Bronze Age activity in these areas spanned 3900 to 2950 calendar years ago with abandonment by 2900 calendar years ago. Holocene Irish bog and lake oak tree populations provide evidence of major shifts in hydroclimate across the British Isles, coincident with ice rafted debris layers recognized in North Atlantic marine sediments, indicating significant changes in the latitude and intensity of zonal atmospheric circulation across the region. We observe abandonment of upland areas in southwest Britain coinciding with a sustained period of extreme wet conditions that commenced 3100 calendar years ago. Our results are consistent with the view that climate change increased the vulnerability of these early farming communities and led to a less intensive use of such marginal environments across Britain.

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“…The correlation analysis indicated no statistically significant relationship between C. vulgaris and E. tetralix and microcharcoal, although a positive statistical relationship between macrocharcoal and C. vulgaris was found across the entire dataset, which may again be a reflection of the limited distance that C. vulgaris pollen can be separated from the background component. Fyfe and Woodbridge () found statistically significant correlations between Poaceae and Calluna with microcharcoal from early Holocene contexts in the upland moorlands of Dartmoor, which they suggested might indicate that fire played a role in at least initially promoting open vegetation, particularly Poaceae communities. The evidence for local burning and the persistent record of Betula , Ulex‐ type and Pteridium aquilinum at Cranes Moor make it enticing to suggest local heath formation and persistence throughout much of the Holocene.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatic influence upon early to mid-Holocene fire regimes within temperate woodlands: a multi-proxy reconstruction from the New Forest, southern England

2014

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A combined pollen, charcoal and climatic record is presented from Cranes Moor, southern England, covering the period c. 10 500-5850 cal a BP. It is shown that the occurrence of burning is closely related to natural processes, including prevailing climatic conditions and vegetation composition. These burning events are often linked to an increase in the summer moisture deficit, implying that the timing of burning events is linked to periods of warmer/drier climate during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (c. 11 000-5000 cal a BP). These events play an important role in the vegetation composition and succession around the site. The nature of the burning recorded at the site shows strong similarities with other records from northern Europe. This study throws caution on suggestions that fire in the Holocene record from areas such as the British Isles is linked only to human activity, and enhances the possibility that natural fire incidence played an important role in natural woodland structure dynamics.

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Differences in time and space in vegetation patterning: analysis of pollen data from Dartmoor, UK

Cited by 37 publications

References 70 publications

Late Holocene regime shifts in moorland ecosystems: high resolution data from the Pennines, UK

Late Holocene regime shifts in moorland ecosystems: high resolution data from the Pennines, UK

Extreme wet conditions coincident with Bronze Age abandonment of upland areas in Britain

Climatic influence upon early to mid-Holocene fire regimes within temperate woodlands: a multi-proxy reconstruction from the New Forest, southern England

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