Seeing the wood for the trees. Rethinking 700 years of vegetation change in Iceland using meta-analysis of palaeoecological datasets and landscape scale model reconstructions
The colonisation of Iceland around 870 A.D. saw the influx of Norse settlers to a previously uninhabited island, resulting in large-scale ecological changes. Human impacts on the landscape vary in time and are spatially complex, making it difficult to accurately assess how Iceland was affected. To i...
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Language: | English |
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The University of St Andrews
2023
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10023/28083 https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/558 |
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ftstandrewserep:oai:research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk:10023/28083 2023-08-27T04:10:05+02:00 Seeing the wood for the trees. Rethinking 700 years of vegetation change in Iceland using meta-analysis of palaeoecological datasets and landscape scale model reconstructions Koster, Willem Wilmer Streeter, Richard Thomas 252 2023-08-02T10:25:59Z application/pdf application/msword http://hdl.handle.net/10023/28083 https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/558 en eng The University of St Andrews http://hdl.handle.net/10023/28083 https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/558 2026-07-26 Thesis restricted in accordance with University regulations. Restricted until 26th July 2026 Iceland Palynology Pollen modelling Multiple scenario approach Vegetation reconstruction model Spatial bias model Chronological quality Pollen productivity estimates Relative pollen productivity Thesis Doctoral PhD Doctor of Philosophy 2023 ftstandrewserep https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/558 2023-08-03T22:29:37Z The colonisation of Iceland around 870 A.D. saw the influx of Norse settlers to a previously uninhabited island, resulting in large-scale ecological changes. Human impacts on the landscape vary in time and are spatially complex, making it difficult to accurately assess how Iceland was affected. To improve our knowledge about the spatial and temporal patterns of landscape changes in Iceland, this thesis uses quantitative approaches to analyse existing palaeoenvironmental data from Iceland. A meta-analysis was used to determine the spatial bias in and the temporal quality of Icelandic pollen sites. Relative pollen productivity (RPP) estimates are calculated for seven ecologically important taxa, by analysing pollen-vegetation relationships at eighteen sites. The RPPs serve as input for quantitative pollen-based reconstruction models, the Multiple Scenario Approach. Landscape reconstructions totalling 3825 km² were generated for three sites (Mývatn, Reykholtsdalur, and Skálholt) and three time slices (577-877 CE, 877-1077 CE, and 1077-1277 CE). The analysis of spatial bias shows that pollen sites in Iceland are closer to farms and have a higher annual mean temperature and precipitation than a sample of random sites. The RPPs of Icelandic taxa are lower than RPPs in comparable areas. Different spatial patterns in vegetation cover emerge from the reconstruction model outputs, Mývatn remains wooded throughout the time slices, while Reykholtsdalur becomes mostly deforested from 1077 CE onwards. The spatial analysis shows the need for thorough analysis of the representativeness of current palynological datasets, which helps identify where future sampling should take place to create more representative datasets. The characterisation of pollen-vegetation relationships shows that there is much more to be understood about the mechanics behind differences in RPP estimates in different locations. Quantitative reconstruction methods provide a useful tool for gaining insight into differences in land cover changes in Iceland, ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Iceland Mývatn University of St Andrews: Digital Research Repository Mývatn ENVELOPE(-16.985,-16.985,65.600,65.600) Skálholt ENVELOPE(-20.525,-20.525,64.126,64.126) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of St Andrews: Digital Research Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftstandrewserep |
language |
English |
topic |
Iceland Palynology Pollen modelling Multiple scenario approach Vegetation reconstruction model Spatial bias model Chronological quality Pollen productivity estimates Relative pollen productivity |
spellingShingle |
Iceland Palynology Pollen modelling Multiple scenario approach Vegetation reconstruction model Spatial bias model Chronological quality Pollen productivity estimates Relative pollen productivity Koster, Willem Wilmer Seeing the wood for the trees. Rethinking 700 years of vegetation change in Iceland using meta-analysis of palaeoecological datasets and landscape scale model reconstructions |
topic_facet |
Iceland Palynology Pollen modelling Multiple scenario approach Vegetation reconstruction model Spatial bias model Chronological quality Pollen productivity estimates Relative pollen productivity |
description |
The colonisation of Iceland around 870 A.D. saw the influx of Norse settlers to a previously uninhabited island, resulting in large-scale ecological changes. Human impacts on the landscape vary in time and are spatially complex, making it difficult to accurately assess how Iceland was affected. To improve our knowledge about the spatial and temporal patterns of landscape changes in Iceland, this thesis uses quantitative approaches to analyse existing palaeoenvironmental data from Iceland. A meta-analysis was used to determine the spatial bias in and the temporal quality of Icelandic pollen sites. Relative pollen productivity (RPP) estimates are calculated for seven ecologically important taxa, by analysing pollen-vegetation relationships at eighteen sites. The RPPs serve as input for quantitative pollen-based reconstruction models, the Multiple Scenario Approach. Landscape reconstructions totalling 3825 km² were generated for three sites (Mývatn, Reykholtsdalur, and Skálholt) and three time slices (577-877 CE, 877-1077 CE, and 1077-1277 CE). The analysis of spatial bias shows that pollen sites in Iceland are closer to farms and have a higher annual mean temperature and precipitation than a sample of random sites. The RPPs of Icelandic taxa are lower than RPPs in comparable areas. Different spatial patterns in vegetation cover emerge from the reconstruction model outputs, Mývatn remains wooded throughout the time slices, while Reykholtsdalur becomes mostly deforested from 1077 CE onwards. The spatial analysis shows the need for thorough analysis of the representativeness of current palynological datasets, which helps identify where future sampling should take place to create more representative datasets. The characterisation of pollen-vegetation relationships shows that there is much more to be understood about the mechanics behind differences in RPP estimates in different locations. Quantitative reconstruction methods provide a useful tool for gaining insight into differences in land cover changes in Iceland, ... |
author2 |
Streeter, Richard Thomas |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Koster, Willem Wilmer |
author_facet |
Koster, Willem Wilmer |
author_sort |
Koster, Willem Wilmer |
title |
Seeing the wood for the trees. Rethinking 700 years of vegetation change in Iceland using meta-analysis of palaeoecological datasets and landscape scale model reconstructions |
title_short |
Seeing the wood for the trees. Rethinking 700 years of vegetation change in Iceland using meta-analysis of palaeoecological datasets and landscape scale model reconstructions |
title_full |
Seeing the wood for the trees. Rethinking 700 years of vegetation change in Iceland using meta-analysis of palaeoecological datasets and landscape scale model reconstructions |
title_fullStr |
Seeing the wood for the trees. Rethinking 700 years of vegetation change in Iceland using meta-analysis of palaeoecological datasets and landscape scale model reconstructions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seeing the wood for the trees. Rethinking 700 years of vegetation change in Iceland using meta-analysis of palaeoecological datasets and landscape scale model reconstructions |
title_sort |
seeing the wood for the trees. rethinking 700 years of vegetation change in iceland using meta-analysis of palaeoecological datasets and landscape scale model reconstructions |
publisher |
The University of St Andrews |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/28083 https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/558 |
op_coverage |
252 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-16.985,-16.985,65.600,65.600) ENVELOPE(-20.525,-20.525,64.126,64.126) |
geographic |
Mývatn Skálholt |
geographic_facet |
Mývatn Skálholt |
genre |
Iceland Mývatn |
genre_facet |
Iceland Mývatn |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/28083 https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/558 |
op_rights |
2026-07-26 Thesis restricted in accordance with University regulations. Restricted until 26th July 2026 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.17630/sta/558 |
_version_ |
1775351887341551616 |