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12 April 2008 Interactions between hydrology, burning and contrasting plant groups during the millennial-scale development of sub-montane wet heath
Christopher J. Ellis
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Abstract

Question: How might contrasting plant groups interact to confer ecosystem stability during the development of a wet heath: i.e. in response to two major environmental drivers, past hydrologic change and burning?

Location: Rannoch Moor, Scotland.

Methods: Three peat cores were used to reconstruct vegetation change, surface moisture and burning phases, during wet heath development for a radiocarbon-dated period from ca. 9500–1000 yr BP.

Results: Statistical analysis of peat cores revealed significant relationships between burning phases and past periods of inferred surface dryness. Vegetation elements were related in the palaeoecological record to surface dryness (Ericaceae), wetness (Sphagnum, monocotyledons, and Racomitrium) and periods of burning (i.e. negative correlation of Racomitrium and monocotyledon remains with charcoal). However, correlations between plant groups could not be adequately explained by their equivalent direct response to hydrology and burning, and the effects of species interactions are invoked.

Conclusions: The results indicate millennial-scale stability of the wet heath ecosystem in response to past environmental change (i.e. hydrology and burning). This stability is conferred by interaction between a diversity of plant groups, enabling local shifts in vegetation composition in response to environmental drivers. This long-term stability of the mire ecosystem forms a template against which present-day threats (e.g. pollution, climate change) should be critically assessed.

Christopher J. Ellis "Interactions between hydrology, burning and contrasting plant groups during the millennial-scale development of sub-montane wet heath," Journal of Vegetation Science 19(5), 693-704, (12 April 2008). https://doi.org/10.3170/2008-8-18439
Received: 12 February 2007; Accepted: 1 November 2007; Published: 12 April 2008
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KEYWORDS
Blanket mire
climate change
ecosystem stability
Holocene
Peat growth
Racomitrium
Sphagnum
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