Post-glacial vegetation and landscape change in upland Ireland with particular reference to Mám Éan, Connemara

Holocene Vegetation Dynamics, Landscape Change and Human Impact in Western Ireland as Revealed by Multidisciplinary, Palaeoecological Investigations of Peat Deposits and Bog-Pine in Lowland Connemara

“…In DYR V, these developments are particularly well expressed and involve initially farming that was pastoral based, and, in the mid/late Medieval period (beginning at c. 0.9 ka; 1050 CE), a substantial arable component was added. The final stages in the creation of a fully open landscape began shortly after 1 ka (c. 1000 CE) and was completed within about a century at Derryinver, which is similar to records from elsewhere in Connemara, including the uplands at Mám Éan [60].…”

“…Elm, on the other hand, plays only a minor role, as is also the case with Fraxinus and Taxus in the mid-and later Holocene. Indeed, the paucity of Taxus records is striking, given that yew is known to play an important role at several sites in Connemara and the wider region at c. 5 ka [60,89].…”

“…The AP appears to have a considerable long-distance transported component, a view supported by the consistent records for Fagus and Carpinus, which are usually regarded as non-native, i.e., late introductions to Ireland [16] (for a contrary view, see [86]). The very low values for Pinus (mostly 0.1-0.3%) that commence at c. 2.7 ka and continue to near the top of the profile are likewise interpreted as due to long-distance transport, as pine was probably locally and regionally extinct at this time [60,85]. As regards changes in bog-surface wetness, as has been postulated on the basis of investigations at LET 1 and LET 2 (see above), changes in bog taxa representation in FRK IV are relatively subdued.…”

“…In addition to the 14 C dates, the following indicators of age were used for constructing the age/depth model for BDB I: Lateglacial/Holocene transition (11.65 ka; [57]); Juniperus in the early Holocene has expanded (11.5 ka); early Holocene Alnus rise (7.7 ka); elm decline (5.8 ka); and pine flush (4.95 ka) (see [58][59][60]), and an estimated age for the top of the pollen profile, i.e., c. 1700 CE (12 cm depth; secondary rise of Pinus-indicative of afforestation; it has not registered in the profile). The age/depth curve, i.e., a smooth spline curve (smoothing factor = 0.3) generated by Clam, was regarded as giving the best age/depth relationship and is used to assign ages to the profile.…”

“…Elevated Pinus values at the end of PAZ 8 probably reflect the regional establishment of pine woodland on bog, i.e., the pine flush that was widespread in western Ireland at c. 5 ka ( [59,60]). There are no local pine timber records that can be assigned with certainty to this time but given that pine timbers are frequent in the basin and persisted until at least 3.6 ka ( 14 C dates from pine timbers in Figure 5, inset), it is reasonable to assume that bog-pine was locally present at this time.…”