Environmental impacts of the Norse settlement : palaeoenvironmental data from Mvatnssveit, northern Iceland.
The first stratigraphically continuous pollen profile spanning the Norse and Medieval periods from the archaeologically-rich My´vatnssveit region of northern Iceland is presented. Detailed analyses were made of the tephra, sediment characteristics, pollen and chironomids of a 3 kyr sediment sequence...
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2007
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Online Access: | http://dro.dur.ac.uk/5228/ https://doi.org/10.1080/03009480600827298 |
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ftunivdurham:oai:dro.dur.ac.uk.OAI2:5228 2023-05-15T16:06:06+02:00 Environmental impacts of the Norse settlement : palaeoenvironmental data from Mvatnssveit, northern Iceland. Lawson, I. T. Gathorne-Hardy, F. J. Church, M. J. Newton, A. J. Edwards, K. J. Dugmore, A. J. Einarsson, Á. 2007-01-01 http://dro.dur.ac.uk/5228/ https://doi.org/10.1080/03009480600827298 unknown Taylor & Francis dro:5228 issn:0300-9483 issn: 1502-3885 doi:10.1080/03009480600827298 http://dro.dur.ac.uk/5228/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03009480600827298 Boreas, 2007, Vol.36(1), pp.1-19 [Peer Reviewed Journal] Article PeerReviewed 2007 ftunivdurham https://doi.org/10.1080/03009480600827298 2020-05-28T22:27:10Z The first stratigraphically continuous pollen profile spanning the Norse and Medieval periods from the archaeologically-rich My´vatnssveit region of northern Iceland is presented. Detailed analyses were made of the tephra, sediment characteristics, pollen and chironomids of a 3 kyr sediment sequence from Helluvaðstjo¨ rn, a small, shallow lake. The pollen data show a steady decline in the percentage abundance of tree birch (Betula pubescens) pollen between the Norse settlement (landna´m, c. AD 870) and c. AD 1300, a pattern that contrasts with the abrupt fall in birch pollen percentages immediately following the Norse colonization at almost all previously studied sites in Iceland. Some lines of evidence suggest that the gradual birch decline could be a result of reworking of soil pollen, but independent evidence suggests that this may not necessarily be the case. The pollen record indicates that birch woodland was replaced by acidophilic taxa (notably Empetrum nigrum and Sphagnum), again contrasting with the more usual pattern of Poaceae expansion seen in post-landna´m pollen diagrams from mires close to farm sites. Chironomid and Pediastrum accumulation data show that the limnic environment became more productive immediately after landna´m, probably because of anthropogenic disturbance. An increase in sedimentation rate after landna´m appears initially to have been caused by increased lake productivity, while reworked inorganic soil materials became a significant contributor to the sediments after c. AD 1200. The data suggest that the impact of settlement on terrestrial vegetation may have been more variable than previously thought, while freshwater ecosystems experienced significant and rapid change. Article in Journal/Newspaper Empetrum nigrum Iceland Durham University: Durham Research Online Boreas 36 1 1 19 |
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Open Polar |
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Durham University: Durham Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftunivdurham |
language |
unknown |
description |
The first stratigraphically continuous pollen profile spanning the Norse and Medieval periods from the archaeologically-rich My´vatnssveit region of northern Iceland is presented. Detailed analyses were made of the tephra, sediment characteristics, pollen and chironomids of a 3 kyr sediment sequence from Helluvaðstjo¨ rn, a small, shallow lake. The pollen data show a steady decline in the percentage abundance of tree birch (Betula pubescens) pollen between the Norse settlement (landna´m, c. AD 870) and c. AD 1300, a pattern that contrasts with the abrupt fall in birch pollen percentages immediately following the Norse colonization at almost all previously studied sites in Iceland. Some lines of evidence suggest that the gradual birch decline could be a result of reworking of soil pollen, but independent evidence suggests that this may not necessarily be the case. The pollen record indicates that birch woodland was replaced by acidophilic taxa (notably Empetrum nigrum and Sphagnum), again contrasting with the more usual pattern of Poaceae expansion seen in post-landna´m pollen diagrams from mires close to farm sites. Chironomid and Pediastrum accumulation data show that the limnic environment became more productive immediately after landna´m, probably because of anthropogenic disturbance. An increase in sedimentation rate after landna´m appears initially to have been caused by increased lake productivity, while reworked inorganic soil materials became a significant contributor to the sediments after c. AD 1200. The data suggest that the impact of settlement on terrestrial vegetation may have been more variable than previously thought, while freshwater ecosystems experienced significant and rapid change. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lawson, I. T. Gathorne-Hardy, F. J. Church, M. J. Newton, A. J. Edwards, K. J. Dugmore, A. J. Einarsson, Á. |
spellingShingle |
Lawson, I. T. Gathorne-Hardy, F. J. Church, M. J. Newton, A. J. Edwards, K. J. Dugmore, A. J. Einarsson, Á. Environmental impacts of the Norse settlement : palaeoenvironmental data from Mvatnssveit, northern Iceland. |
author_facet |
Lawson, I. T. Gathorne-Hardy, F. J. Church, M. J. Newton, A. J. Edwards, K. J. Dugmore, A. J. Einarsson, Á. |
author_sort |
Lawson, I. T. |
title |
Environmental impacts of the Norse settlement : palaeoenvironmental data from Mvatnssveit, northern Iceland. |
title_short |
Environmental impacts of the Norse settlement : palaeoenvironmental data from Mvatnssveit, northern Iceland. |
title_full |
Environmental impacts of the Norse settlement : palaeoenvironmental data from Mvatnssveit, northern Iceland. |
title_fullStr |
Environmental impacts of the Norse settlement : palaeoenvironmental data from Mvatnssveit, northern Iceland. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Environmental impacts of the Norse settlement : palaeoenvironmental data from Mvatnssveit, northern Iceland. |
title_sort |
environmental impacts of the norse settlement : palaeoenvironmental data from mvatnssveit, northern iceland. |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://dro.dur.ac.uk/5228/ https://doi.org/10.1080/03009480600827298 |
genre |
Empetrum nigrum Iceland |
genre_facet |
Empetrum nigrum Iceland |
op_source |
Boreas, 2007, Vol.36(1), pp.1-19 [Peer Reviewed Journal] |
op_relation |
dro:5228 issn:0300-9483 issn: 1502-3885 doi:10.1080/03009480600827298 http://dro.dur.ac.uk/5228/ http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03009480600827298 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/03009480600827298 |
container_title |
Boreas |
container_volume |
36 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
19 |
_version_ |
1766402011578761216 |