Early to Mid-Holocene Tree Immigration and Spread in the Isle of Man: The Roles of Climate and Other Factors
The Isle of Man is a large island which lies in the middle of the northern Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland and, because of its insularity and size, has an impoverished flora compared with the two main islands. This has been the case throughout the postglacial and warrants the island’s descript...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | Quaternary |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/6/1/3 |
| _version_ | 1827747863592960000 |
|---|---|
| author | Richard C. Chiverrell James B. Innes Jeff J. Blackford Peter J. Davey David H. Roberts Mairead M. Rutherford Philippa R. Tomlinson Simon D. Turner |
| author_facet | Richard C. Chiverrell James B. Innes Jeff J. Blackford Peter J. Davey David H. Roberts Mairead M. Rutherford Philippa R. Tomlinson Simon D. Turner |
| author_sort | Richard C. Chiverrell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Isle of Man is a large island which lies in the middle of the northern Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland and, because of its insularity and size, has an impoverished flora compared with the two main islands. This has been the case throughout the postglacial and warrants the island’s description as a separate phytogeographic province. We have considered Holocene tree pollen data from seventeen sites on the island which together preserve a vegetation history that spans the six thousand years of the early and mid-postglacial from the end of the Lateglacial at 11,700 cal. BP to the mid-Holocene <i>Ulmus</i> decline at ca. 5800 cal. BP. Radiocarbon dating of the rational limits of the pollen curves for the main tree taxa has allowed an appraisal of the timing of each one’s expansion to become a significant component of the island’s woodland, and comparison with the dates of their expansion on the adjacent regions of Britain and Ireland. The radiocarbon dates show that, although some variability exists probably due to local factors, there is considerable concordance between the timings of major pollen zone boundaries in Britain and Ireland around the northern Irish Sea. On the Isle of Man the expansions of both <i>Juniperus</i> and <i>Betula</i> were delayed by several centuries compared to the British/Irish data, however the timing of the expansions of <i>Corylus</i>, <i>Ulmus</i>, Quercus, <i>Pinus</i> and <i>Alnus</i> on the Isle of Man all appear closely comparable to the ages for these pollen stratigraphic events in north Wales, northwest England, southwest Scotland and eastern Ireland, as are those for the <i>Ulmus</i> decline. It is likely that local pedological and edaphic factors on the island account for the differences in the first Holocene millennium, while regional climatic factors governed the timings for the rest of the expansions of tree taxa across the wider region, including the Isle of Man. Disturbance, including by human agency, was important at the site scale and perhaps triggered early tree expansion in some places, including <i>Quercus</i>, <i>Ulmus</i> and <i>Alnus</i>. Insularity seems not to have been a significant factor in the expansion of the major forest trees. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:58:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-63a75fce82124815a9a09b1a258bc2f6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-550X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T05:58:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Quaternary |
| spelling | doaj.art-63a75fce82124815a9a09b1a258bc2f62023-11-17T13:34:51ZengMDPI AGQuaternary2571-550X2023-01-0161310.3390/quat6010003Early to Mid-Holocene Tree Immigration and Spread in the Isle of Man: The Roles of Climate and Other FactorsRichard C. Chiverrell0James B. Innes1Jeff J. Blackford2Peter J. Davey3David H. Roberts4Mairead M. Rutherford5Philippa R. Tomlinson6Simon D. Turner7Department of Geography, University of Liverpool, Roxby Building, Liverpool L69 3BX, UKScience Labs, Geography Department, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UKSchool of Humanities, Social Science and Law, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, UKCentre for Manx Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, UKScience Labs, Geography Department, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UKOxford Archaeology North, Mill 3, Moor Lane Mills, Moor Lane, Lancaster LA1 1GF, UKCurragh Environmental Consultancy, Close Corvalley, Isle of Man IM7 5BJ, UKDepartment of Geography, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AP, UKThe Isle of Man is a large island which lies in the middle of the northern Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland and, because of its insularity and size, has an impoverished flora compared with the two main islands. This has been the case throughout the postglacial and warrants the island’s description as a separate phytogeographic province. We have considered Holocene tree pollen data from seventeen sites on the island which together preserve a vegetation history that spans the six thousand years of the early and mid-postglacial from the end of the Lateglacial at 11,700 cal. BP to the mid-Holocene <i>Ulmus</i> decline at ca. 5800 cal. BP. Radiocarbon dating of the rational limits of the pollen curves for the main tree taxa has allowed an appraisal of the timing of each one’s expansion to become a significant component of the island’s woodland, and comparison with the dates of their expansion on the adjacent regions of Britain and Ireland. The radiocarbon dates show that, although some variability exists probably due to local factors, there is considerable concordance between the timings of major pollen zone boundaries in Britain and Ireland around the northern Irish Sea. On the Isle of Man the expansions of both <i>Juniperus</i> and <i>Betula</i> were delayed by several centuries compared to the British/Irish data, however the timing of the expansions of <i>Corylus</i>, <i>Ulmus</i>, Quercus, <i>Pinus</i> and <i>Alnus</i> on the Isle of Man all appear closely comparable to the ages for these pollen stratigraphic events in north Wales, northwest England, southwest Scotland and eastern Ireland, as are those for the <i>Ulmus</i> decline. It is likely that local pedological and edaphic factors on the island account for the differences in the first Holocene millennium, while regional climatic factors governed the timings for the rest of the expansions of tree taxa across the wider region, including the Isle of Man. Disturbance, including by human agency, was important at the site scale and perhaps triggered early tree expansion in some places, including <i>Quercus</i>, <i>Ulmus</i> and <i>Alnus</i>. Insularity seems not to have been a significant factor in the expansion of the major forest trees.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/6/1/3Isle of ManHolocenepalynologytreesclimateisolation |
| spellingShingle | Richard C. Chiverrell James B. Innes Jeff J. Blackford Peter J. Davey David H. Roberts Mairead M. Rutherford Philippa R. Tomlinson Simon D. Turner Early to Mid-Holocene Tree Immigration and Spread in the Isle of Man: The Roles of Climate and Other Factors Quaternary Isle of Man Holocene palynology trees climate isolation |
| title | Early to Mid-Holocene Tree Immigration and Spread in the Isle of Man: The Roles of Climate and Other Factors |
| title_full | Early to Mid-Holocene Tree Immigration and Spread in the Isle of Man: The Roles of Climate and Other Factors |
| title_fullStr | Early to Mid-Holocene Tree Immigration and Spread in the Isle of Man: The Roles of Climate and Other Factors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Early to Mid-Holocene Tree Immigration and Spread in the Isle of Man: The Roles of Climate and Other Factors |
| title_short | Early to Mid-Holocene Tree Immigration and Spread in the Isle of Man: The Roles of Climate and Other Factors |
| title_sort | early to mid holocene tree immigration and spread in the isle of man the roles of climate and other factors |
| topic | Isle of Man Holocene palynology trees climate isolation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-550X/6/1/3 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT richardcchiverrell earlytomidholocenetreeimmigrationandspreadintheisleofmantherolesofclimateandotherfactors AT jamesbinnes earlytomidholocenetreeimmigrationandspreadintheisleofmantherolesofclimateandotherfactors AT jeffjblackford earlytomidholocenetreeimmigrationandspreadintheisleofmantherolesofclimateandotherfactors AT peterjdavey earlytomidholocenetreeimmigrationandspreadintheisleofmantherolesofclimateandotherfactors AT davidhroberts earlytomidholocenetreeimmigrationandspreadintheisleofmantherolesofclimateandotherfactors AT maireadmrutherford earlytomidholocenetreeimmigrationandspreadintheisleofmantherolesofclimateandotherfactors AT philippartomlinson earlytomidholocenetreeimmigrationandspreadintheisleofmantherolesofclimateandotherfactors AT simondturner earlytomidholocenetreeimmigrationandspreadintheisleofmantherolesofclimateandotherfactors |