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Dynamic early Holocene vegetation development on the Faroe Islands inferred from high-resolution plant macrofossil and pollen data

Hannon, Gina E. ; Rundgren, Mats LU and Jessen, Catherine A. (2010) In Quaternary Research 73(2). p.163-172
Abstract
Vegetation dynamics during the earliest part of the Holocene (11,250-10,250 cal yr BP) have been reconstructed from a lacustrine sequence on Sandoy, the Faroe Islands, using detailed plant macrofossil and pollen evidence. The plant macrofossils suggest the initial vegetation was sparse herb and shrub tundra, with Salix herbacea and open-ground species, followed by the development of a denser and more species-rich arctic heathland after 11,150 cal yr BP. Despite high pollen values for Betula nana, macrofossils are rare. The bulk of the macrofossils recorded are S. herbacea and Empetrum leaves with numerous herb taxa and an abundance of Racomitrium moss. Conditions start to change around 10,800 cal yr BP, with increased catchment erosion and... (More)
Vegetation dynamics during the earliest part of the Holocene (11,250-10,250 cal yr BP) have been reconstructed from a lacustrine sequence on Sandoy, the Faroe Islands, using detailed plant macrofossil and pollen evidence. The plant macrofossils suggest the initial vegetation was sparse herb and shrub tundra, with Salix herbacea and open-ground species, followed by the development of a denser and more species-rich arctic heathland after 11,150 cal yr BP. Despite high pollen values for Betula nana, macrofossils are rare. The bulk of the macrofossils recorded are S. herbacea and Empetrum leaves with numerous herb taxa and an abundance of Racomitrium moss. Conditions start to change around 10,800 cal yr BP, with increased catchment erosion and sediment delivery to the lake from ca. 10,600 cal yr BP, and a transition to alternating Cyperaceae and Poaceae communities between ca. 10,450 and 10,250 cal yr BP. This vegetation change, which has been recorded throughout the Faroes, has previously been interpreted as a retrogressive shift from woody shrubs to a herbaceous community. The detailed plant macrofossil data show the shift is the replacement of an Empetrum arctic heathland by grassland and moist sedge communities. These taxa dominate the modern landscape. (C) 2009 University of Washington. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Empetrum, Salix herbacea, Arctic heathland, Plant macrofossils, Faroe Islands, Early Holocene
in
Quaternary Research
volume
73
issue
2
pages
163 - 172
publisher
Academic Press
external identifiers
  • wos:000275246700001
  • scopus:76849106469
ISSN
0033-5894
DOI
10.1016/j.yqres.2009.11.003
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9318f78a-fb3c-4177-850e-bfa1afe969a9 (old id 1589332)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:49:40
date last changed
2022-02-04 17:34:03
@article{9318f78a-fb3c-4177-850e-bfa1afe969a9,
  abstract     = {{Vegetation dynamics during the earliest part of the Holocene (11,250-10,250 cal yr BP) have been reconstructed from a lacustrine sequence on Sandoy, the Faroe Islands, using detailed plant macrofossil and pollen evidence. The plant macrofossils suggest the initial vegetation was sparse herb and shrub tundra, with Salix herbacea and open-ground species, followed by the development of a denser and more species-rich arctic heathland after 11,150 cal yr BP. Despite high pollen values for Betula nana, macrofossils are rare. The bulk of the macrofossils recorded are S. herbacea and Empetrum leaves with numerous herb taxa and an abundance of Racomitrium moss. Conditions start to change around 10,800 cal yr BP, with increased catchment erosion and sediment delivery to the lake from ca. 10,600 cal yr BP, and a transition to alternating Cyperaceae and Poaceae communities between ca. 10,450 and 10,250 cal yr BP. This vegetation change, which has been recorded throughout the Faroes, has previously been interpreted as a retrogressive shift from woody shrubs to a herbaceous community. The detailed plant macrofossil data show the shift is the replacement of an Empetrum arctic heathland by grassland and moist sedge communities. These taxa dominate the modern landscape. (C) 2009 University of Washington. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.}},
  author       = {{Hannon, Gina E. and Rundgren, Mats and Jessen, Catherine A.}},
  issn         = {{0033-5894}},
  keywords     = {{Empetrum; Salix herbacea; Arctic heathland; Plant macrofossils; Faroe Islands; Early Holocene}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{163--172}},
  publisher    = {{Academic Press}},
  series       = {{Quaternary Research}},
  title        = {{Dynamic early Holocene vegetation development on the Faroe Islands inferred from high-resolution plant macrofossil and pollen data}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2009.11.003}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.yqres.2009.11.003}},
  volume       = {{73}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}