Reconstructing the environmental history of the last glacial-interglacial transition: Evidence from the Isle of Skye, Inner Hebrides, Scotland

Walker, M. J. C.; Lowe, John J.

doi:10.1016/0277-3791(90)90003-s

Cited by 67 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…7""^'-perus communis was a minor component of the vegetation at all sites. Restricted growth of this taxon in western Mull (Lowe & Walker, 1986) and Skye (Walker & Lowe, 1990) is probably a result of excessive exposure to high winds and sea spray. Betula might have formed isolated patches of scrub but there was no tree growth on the Western Isles during the late glacial.…”

Section: Late Glacial Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Quaternary vegetation history of the Western Isles of Scotland

Fossitt¹

1996

New Phytologist

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SUMMARY Palacoecoiocical investigations of two lake sediment sequences are used to reconstruct the vegetation history of the Western Isles. Pollen records begin in the late glacial and show a clear progression From herb‐rich grassland with abundant Salix, Rumex and Poly‐podium to widespread Empetrum nigrum heath. Woodland developed widely in the early Holocene, and regional vegetation patterns emerged. Western Lewis supported extensive areas of birch woodland with Corylus avellana, Salix, Populus and Sorbus aucuparia. Open birch‐hazel woodland dominated other lowland regions. Regional variation was accentuated when woodland underwent a sudden decline in western Lewis at about 7900 BP. Trees were replaced by blanket peat and woodland failed to recover on a regional scale after the decline‐ Woodland continued to diversify in central and eastern regions and, by 6000 BP, Quercus, Ulmus, Pinus sylvestris, Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior had become established. Open mixed woodland persisted until the second major decline began between 5200 and 4000 UP. Woodland contracted gradually as blanket peat expanded. The Western Isles were predominantly treeless at 2500 BP. Blanket peat started to form in localized areas on the Western Isles between 9000 and 8000 BP; two main expansion phases are associated with periods of woodland decline. Sublossil wood or macrofossils are reported from a total of 40 sites. Radiocarbon ages are presented for 13 samples of these.

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Section: Late Glacial Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Quaternary vegetation history of the Western Isles of Scotland

Fossitt¹

1996

New Phytologist

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“…Les hautes terres de Cobequid sont la partie la plus élevée de la Nouvelle-Écosse continentale (330 m). ogy based on organic lake sediments has been questioned (Sutherland, 1980;Walker and Lowe, 1990) because of the "hard water effect" and redeposition of older organic materials. In this study, we utilized 24 AMS radiocarbon ages from below a distinctive Younger Dryas marker horizon to establish an age for initiation of sedimentation in a lake basin or a "minimum" age for deglaciation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deglaciation of Nova Scotia: Stratigraphy and chronology of lake sediment cores and buried organic sections

Stea¹,

Mott²

2002

gpq

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The deglaciation of Nova Scotia is reconstructed using the AMS-dated chronology of lake sediments and buried organic sections exposed in the basins of former glacial lakes. Ice cleared out of the Bay of Fundy around 13.5 ka, punctuated by a brief read- vance ca. 13-12.5 ka (Ice Flow Phase 4). Glacial Lake Shubenacadie (1) formed in central Nova Scotia, impounded by a lobe of ice covering the northern Bay of Fundy outlet. Drainage was re-routed to the Atlantic Ocean until the Fundy outlet became ice free after 12 ka. When this lake drained, bogs and fens formed on the lake plain during climatic warming. Organic sediment (gyttja) began to accumulate in lake basins throughout Nova Scotia. Glacierization during the Younger Dryas period (ca. 10.8 ka) resulted in the inundation of lakes and lake plains with mineral sediment. The nature and intensity of this mineral sediment flux or "oscillation" varies from south to northern regions. Southern lakes simply record changes in total organic content whereas northern lakes, where most buried peat sections are found, feature a thick inorganic sediment layer. Glacial ice or permanent snow cover and seasonal melting are essential in the formation of this mineral sediment layer; both to provide the water source for erosion, and to prevent plant re- colonization and landscape stabilization. Some northern lakes do not appear to record the Younger Dryas event, with organic accumulation starting around 10 ka. During the Younger Dryas, fine and coarse-grained deposits were deposited in Glacial Lake Shubenacadie (2) and other lowland areas at elevations similar to former (12 ka) lake levels, impounded by re-invigorated residual ice caps and permanent snow/aufeis.Il s'agit d'une reconstitution à partir de la chronologie par spectométrie de masse (SMA) de sédiments lacustres et de certaines coupes de matériaux organiques enfouis dans les bassins d'anciens lacs glaciaires. La baie de Fundy, libre de glace vers 13,5 ka, a connu une récurrence vers 13-12,5 ka. Le Lac glaciaire Shubenacadie (1), qui s'est formé au centre de la Nouvelle-Écosse, a été endigué par un lobe glaciaire qui recouvrait la sortie de la baie de Fundy au nord. L'écoulement a alors été détourné vers l'océan Atlantique jusqu'au retrait de la glace vers 12 ka. Une fois le lac asséché, tourbières et marécages se formèrent sur l'ancien fond lacustre au cours du réchauffement climatique. Ensuite, la gyttja s'accumula dans les bassins lacustres à travers la Nouvelle-Écosse. L'englacement au cours du Dryas récent (vers 10,8 ka) a entraîné le comblement des lacs et des plaines lacustres par des sédiments minéraux.Lanatureetl'intensitédecefluxdesédiments ou « oscillation » varient du sud au nord. Dans les lacs du sud, la teneur organique totale a simplement varié, tandis que dans les lacs du nord, une importante couche de sédiment inorganique a été déposée. Certains lacs du nord ne semblent pas avoir enregistré l'épisode du Dryas récent, l'accumulation de matière organique ayant commencé vers 10 ka. Au Dryas récent, des dépôts à...

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“…This would perhaps reveal a further Late-glacial-early Holocene transition zone similar to those recorded in west Sutherland (Pennington et al, 1972), with a brief Empetrum or Empetrum-Juriiperus zone. This type of feature also occurs at Cam Loch and Loch an Smuraich, as well as being recorded at sites in Skye (Walker et al, 1988;Walker & Lowe, 1990). Clearly there were some rapid changes occurring at this time at many locations in northern Scotland, and further work on sites from inland Sutherland and Caithness is required.…”

Section: Llp-jcmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…No attempt was made to identify Salix herbacea type grains separately, but the other features of this zone suggest less stable conditions on the surrounding slopes, a habitat which would favour the growth of the creeping 5. herbacea rather than shrub Salix. Empetrum is still abundant here but may be partly derived from inwashed sediments rather than contemporary vegetation, as has been shown to occur by detailed analyses in other similar sediments (Walker & Lowe, 1990). It would therefore appear that there was a general climatic deterioration during this zone, presumably representing the lnterstadial-Stadial transition.…”

Section: Inferred Vegetational Historymentioning

confidence: 64%

Late‐glacial and Holocene vegetation history of the Flow Country, northern Scotland

Charman

1994

New Phytologist

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SUMMARYThe vegetation history of an important conservation area, the Flow Country in northern Scotland, is descrihed using the results of pollen analysis from two closely spaced cores from the Cross Lochs, eastern Sutherland. Buried lake sediments and shallower surface peats yieid a continuous record covering the Devensian Late-glacial and the Holocene. The earliest Late-glacial pollen spectra recovered suggest a transition from open habitat to more stable communities, dominated by *Empetrum heath. This Windermere Interstadial vegetation shows some variability, with a phase of increased growth of juniper and birch, followed by deteriorating climate and less stable soil conditions in the transition to the Stadial, with Huperzia selago and Salix. There are poorly defined Loch Lomond Stadial and Stadial-Holocene transition periods, characterized by Rumex/Oxyria, after which much warmer, Holocene conditions occur, with a succession of birch-jumper and birch-hazel woodland. Birch persists in small amounts locally, but the presence of other arboreal pollen is thought to be mostly due to long distance pollen transport. From c. 5500 BP, the landscape is largely treeless, apart from a brief phase of local pine forest c. 4500-4000 BP. These changes are compared with other pollen records for northern Scotland. The trends in the Late-glacial vegetation are hroadly similar to those displayed by other sites, although many of the changes appear to be less extreme than for areas to the south and west. The lack oi Artemisia during tbe Loch Lomond Stadial in the east Sutherland and Caithness area is particuiarly noteworthy. This may imply more extensive snow cover. The early Holocene is similar to the rest of northern Scotland, but invasion of Betula was more rapid and the later growth of this genus and hazel was not so dense. The lack of pine in the early Holocene allies the site with eastern Caithness and the Northern Isles, rather than north-west Scotland and the Grampians, It is suggested that the effects of early human populations on such margina] forest areas may have been underestimated in the past. The paradoxical existence of pine macrofossiis with no pollen evidence in several areas of Scotland is explained, at least in part, by the lack of temporal precision of pollen diagrams rather than by low pollen productivity, extremely localized occurrences of the species or strong prevailing winds.

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Reconstructing the environmental history of the last glacial-interglacial transition: Evidence from the Isle of Skye, Inner Hebrides, Scotland

Cited by 67 publications

References 59 publications

Late Quaternary vegetation history of the Western Isles of Scotland

Late Quaternary vegetation history of the Western Isles of Scotland

Deglaciation of Nova Scotia: Stratigraphy and chronology of lake sediment cores and buried organic sections

Late‐glacial and Holocene vegetation history of the Flow Country, northern Scotland

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