Icelandic volcanic ash and the mid- Holocene Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) pollen decline in northern Scotland
A volcanic ash-layer in peat from northern Scotland has been identified and coincides exactly with an abrupt decline in Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine) pollen frequencies. This provides an isochrone (time-equivalent marker horizon) with which to investigate the timing of the Holocene 'pine-dec...
Published in: | The Holocene |
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Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
SAGE Publications
1992
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/095968369200200308 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/095968369200200308 |
Summary: | A volcanic ash-layer in peat from northern Scotland has been identified and coincides exactly with an abrupt decline in Pinus sylvestris L. (Scots pine) pollen frequencies. This provides an isochrone (time-equivalent marker horizon) with which to investigate the timing of the Holocene 'pine-decline'. Furthermore, two possible causes of the southward shift of the range of Pinus in Scotland c. 4000 BP are suggested; a direct effect of acid pollution by chemicals produced by the eruption of Hekla (H-4), or a volcanically-induced climatic perturbation. These possibilities have wider implications for the influence of volcanism on postglacial environmental change. |
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