Plant macrofossil data have been used to identify the successive mire communities occupying both central and marginal locations in the Walton Moss peatland complex, during the last 10 500 years. The reconstructed pathways of mire development indicate that early-Holocene fen and fen-carr communities were succeeded by species indicative of deep mire water tables and oligotrophic conditions. The character of the fen/bog transition (FBT) is compared with similar records of peatland development from Britain and Scandinavia and with independent climate data for the early Holocene. The ‘pseudohochmoor’ of central Europe is suggested as an approximate modern analogue for the dry pioneer oligotrophic mire type and alternative explanations for its presence are explored. The first major increase in ombrotrophic Sphagna occurred at c. 7800 cal. BP. Overlying Sphagnum peats provide a continuous record of climate change, inferred from fluctuations in raised mire surface wetness. The proxy palaeoclimate record, reconstructed using Detrended Correspondence Analysis, registers wet shifts commencing at c. 7800, c. 5300, 4410–3990 (2s range), c. 3500, 3170–2860 (2s range), 2320–2040 (2s range), c. 1750, c. 1450, c. 300 and c. 100 cal. BP. This climate record is compared with a similar one from Bolton Fell Moss and spectral analysis of the time-series gives periodicities of c. 1100 years and c. 600 years between wet shifts.
Aaby, B.1976: Cyclic climatic variations in climate over the past 5500 years reflected in raised bogs . Nature263, 281–284 .
2.
Aaby, B. and Tauber, H.1974: Rates of peat formation in relation to degree of humification and local environment, as shown by studies of a raised bog in Denmark . Boreas4, 1–17 .
3.
Alley, R.B. , Mayewski, P.A. , Sowers, T. , Stuiver, M. , Taylor, K.C. and Clark, P.U.1997: Holocene climatic instability: a prominent widespread event at 8200 yr ago . Geology25 (6), 483–486 .
4.
Anderson, D.E. , Binney, H.A. and Smith, M.A.1998: Evidence for abrupt climatic change in northern Scotland between 3900 and 3500 calendar years BP . The Holocene8, 97–103 .
5.
Barber, K.E.1981: Peat stratigraphy and climatic change: a palaeoecological test of the theory of cyclic peat bog regeneration. Rotterdam: Balkema .
6.
Barber, K.E.1982: Peat bog stratigraphy as a proxy climatic record. In Harding, A.F. , editor, Climatic change in later prehistory, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press , 103–113.
Barber, K.E.1985: Peat stratigraphy and climatic change: some speculations. In Tooley, M.J. and Sheail, G.M. , editors, The climatic scene: essays in honour of Gordon Manley, London: Allen and Unwin , 175–185.
9.
Barber, K.E.1993: Peatlands as scientific archives of past biodiversity . Biodiversity and Conservation2, 474–489 .
10.
Barber, K.E.1994: Deriving Holocene paleoclimates from peat stratigraphy: some misconceptions regarding the sensitivity and continuity of the record . Quaternary Newsletter72, 1–9 .
11.
Barber, K.E. , Battarbee, R.W. , Brooks, S.J. , Eglinton, G. , Haworth, E.Y. , Oldfield, F. , Stevenson, A.C. , Thompson, R. , Appleby, P. , Austin, W.N. , Cameron, N. , Ficken, K.J. , Golding, P. , Harkness, D.D. , Holmes, J. , Hutchinson, R. , Lishman, J.P. , Maddy, D. , Pinder, L.C.V. , Rose, N. and Stoneman, R.1999: Proxy records of climate change in the UK over the last two millennia: documented change and sedimentary records from lakes and bogs . Journal of the Geological Society156, 369–380 .
12.
Barber, K.E. , Chambers, F.M. , Dumayne, L. , Haslam, C.J. , Maddy, D. and Stoneman, R.E.1994a: Climatic change and human impact in north Cumbria: peat stratigraphy and pollen evidence from Bolton Fell Moss and Walton Moss. In Boardman, J. and Walden, J. , editors, Cumbria field guide, Cambridge: Quaternary Research Association .
13.
Barber, K.E. , Chambers, F.M. , Maddy, D. , Stoneman, R.E. and Brew, J.S.1994b: A sensitive high-resolution record of late-Holocene climatic change from a raised bog in northern England . The Holocene4, 198–205 .
14.
Barber, K.E. , Dumayne-Peaty, L. , Hughes, P.D.M. , Mauquoy, D. and Scaife, R.1998: Replicability and variability of the recent macrofossil and proxy-climate record from raised bogs: field stratigraphy and macrofossil data from Bolton Fell Moss and Walton Moss, Cumbria, England . Journal of Quaternary Science13, 515–528 .
15.
Barkman, J.J.1992: Plant communities and synecology of bogs and heath pools in the Netherlands. In Verhoeven, J.T.A. , editor, Fens and bogs in the Netherlands: vegetation history, nutrient dynamics and conservation, Geobotany 18, Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers , 173–236.
16.
Battarbee, R.W. , Barber, K.E. , Oldfield, F. , Thompson, R. , Stevenson, A. , Eglinton, G. , Haworth, E.Y. , Brooks, S.J.D. , Holmes, J. , Cameron, N. , Rose, N. and Maddy D.1996: Proxy records of climatic change in the UK over the last two millennia. Final Report to NERC on Special Topic Grant GST /02/701, Research Report No. 23.
17.
Blackford, J.J. 1990: Blanket mires and climatic change: a palaeoecological study based on peat humification and macrofossil analyses. Unpublished PhD thesis, Keele University.
18.
Blackford, J.J. and Chambers, F.M.1991: Proxy records of climate from blanket mires: evidence for a Dark Age (1400 BP) climatic deterioration in the British Isles . The Holocene1, 63–67 .
19.
Blackford, J.J. and Chambers, F.M.1995: Proxy climate record for the last 1000 years from Irish blanket peat and a possible link to solar variability . Earth and Planetary Science Letters133, 145–150 .
20.
Blytt, A.1876: Essay on the immigration of the Norwegian flora during alternating rainy and dry periods. Cannermeye: Christiana .
21.
Bond, G. , Showers, W. , Cheseby, M. , Lotti, R. , Almasi, P. , deMenocal, P. , Priore, P. , Cullen, H. , Hajdas, I. and Bonani, G.1997: A pervasive Millennial-scale cycle in North Atlantic Holocene and glacial climates . Science278, 1257–1266 .
22.
Bridge, M.C. , Haggart, B.A. and Lowe, J.J.1990: The history and palaeoclimatic significance of subfossil remains of Pinus sylvestris in blanket peats from Scotland . Journal of Ecology78, 77–99 .
23.
Briffa, K.R. , Bartholin, T.S. , Eckstein, D. , Jones, P.D. , Karlén, W. , Schweingruber, F.H. and Zetterberg, P.1990: A 1,400-year tree-ring record of summer temperatures in Fennoscandia . Nature346, 434–439 .
24.
Brown, A.D. and Ovenden, R.P.1993: Methane metabolism in raised bogs of northern wetlands . Geomicrobiology Journal11, 35–48 .
25.
Brown, A. , Mathur, S.P. and Kushner, D.J.1989: An ombrotrophic bog as a methane reservoir . Global Biogeochemistry Cycles3, 205–213 .
26.
Chambers, F.M. , Barber, K.E. , Maddy, D. and Brew, J.1997: A 5500-year proxy-climate and vegetation record from blanket mire at Talla Moss, Borders, Scotland . The Holocene7, 391–399 .
27.
Charman, D.J. 1990: Origins and development of the flow country blanket mire, northern Scotland, with particular reference to patterned fens. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Southampton.
28.
Conway, V.M.1948: von Posts's work on climatic rhythms . New Phytologist47, 220–237 .
29.
Daniels, R.E. and Eddy, A.1990: Handbook of European Sphagna. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Natural Environment Research Council, HMSO .
30.
Digerfeldt, G.1988: Reconstruction and regional correlation of Holocene lake-level fluctuations in Lake Bysjön, south Sweden . Boreas17, 165–182 .
31.
Dubois, A.D. and Ferguson, D.K.1985: The climatic history of Pine in the Cairngorms based on radiocarbon dates and stable isotope analysis, with an account of the events leading up to its colonization . Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology46, 55–80 .
32.
Duller, G.1995: Tröels-Smith plotting program. Kingston: Kingston University .
33.
Dumayne, L. 1992: Late Holocene and human impact on the environment of northern Britain. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Southampton.
34.
Dumayne, L. , Stoneman, R.E. , Barber, K.E. and Harkness, D.D.1995: Problems associated with correlating calibrated radiocarbon-dated pollen diagrams with historical events . The Holocene5, 118–123 .
35.
Dupont, L.M.1986: Temperature and rainfall variations in the Holocene based on comparative palaeoecology and isotope geology of a hummock and a hollow (Bourtangerveen, The Netherlands) . Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology48, 71–159 .
36.
Feng, X. and Epstein, S.1994: Climatic implications of an 8000-year hydrogen isotope time series from bristlecone pine trees . Science265, 1079–1081 .
37.
Ferdinandsen, C. and Winge, O.1925: Cenococcum FR. Kongelige Veterinoer – OG Landbohoiskoles Aasskrift , 332–382.
38.
Fisher, D.A. , Koerner, R.M. and Reeh, N.1995: Holocene climatic records from Agassiz Ice Cap, Ellesmere Island, NWT, Canada . The Holocene5, 19–24 .
39.
Foster, D.E. , Wright, H.E. Jr. , Thelaus, M. and King, G.A.1988: Bog development and landform dynamics in central Sweden and south-eastern Labrador, Canada . Journal of Ecology76, 1164–1185 .
40.
Gear, A. J. and Huntley, B.1991: Rapid changes in the range limits of Scots pine 4000 years ago . Science251, 544–547 .
41.
Gimingham, C.H.1964: Dwarf-shrub heaths. In Burnett, J.H. , editor, The vegetation of Scotland, Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd , 232–287.
42.
Godwin, H.1956: The history of the British flora: a factual basis for phytogeography, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
43.
Grosse-Brauckmann, G.1986: Analysis of vegetative plant macrofossils. In Berglund B.E. , editor, Handbook of Holocene palaeoecology and palaeohydrology, Chichester: John Wiley , 591–618.
44.
Hall, D. , Wells, C.E. and Huckerby, E.1995: The wetlands of Greater Manchester. North West Wetlands Survey. Lancaster: Lancaster Imprints 3 .
45.
Haslam, C.J. 1987: Late Holocene peat stratigraphy and climate change – a macrofossil investigation from the raised mires of Western Europe. PhD thesis, University of Southampton.
46.
Hibbert, F.A. , Switsur, V.R. and West, R.G.1971: Radiocarbon dating of Flandrian pollen zones at Red Moss, Lancashire . Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B177, 161–176 .
47.
Hughes, P.D.M. 1997: The palaeoecology of the fen/bog transition during the early to mid-Holocene in Britain. PhD thesis, University of Southampton.
48.
Ingram, H.A.P.1982: Size and shape in raised mire ecosystems: a geophysical model . Nature297, 300–303 .
49.
Ingram, H.A.P.1983: Hydrology. In Gore, A.J.P. , editor, Ecosystems of the world 4A. Mires: swamp, bog, fen and moor, General studies67–158, Amsterdam: Elsevier Science .
50.
Keigwin, L.D.1996: The Little Ice Age and Medieval Warm Period in the Sargasso Sea . Science274, 1504–1508 .
51.
Kilian, M.R. , van der Plicht, J. and van Geel, B.1995: Dating raised bogs: new aspects of AMS 14C wiggle matching, a reservoir effect and climate change . Quaternary Science Reviews14, 959–966 .
52.
Klitgaard-Kristensen, D. , Sejrup, H. P. , Haflidason, H. , Johnsen, S. and Spurk, M.1998: A regional 8200 cal. yr cooling event in northwest Europe, induced by final stages of the Laurentide ice-sheet deglaciation?Journal of Quaternary Science13, 165–169 .
53.
Korhola, A.A.1990: Palaeolimnology and hydroseral development of the Kotasio bog, southern Finland, with special reference to Cladocera . Annales Academiae Scietarum Fennicae AIII155, 40-40 pp..
54.
Korhola, A.A.1992: Mire induction, ecosystem dynamics and lateral expansion on raised bogs in the southern coastal area of Finland . Fennia170, 25–94 .
55.
Korhola, A.A.1994: Radiocarbon evidence for rates of lateral expansion in raised mires in southern Finland . Quaternary Research42, 299–307 .
56.
Korhola, A.A.1995: Holocene climatic variations in southern Finland reconstructed from peat-initiation data . The Holocene5, 43–58 .
57.
Kummerow, J. , Mills, J.M. , Ellis, B.A. and Kummerow, A.1988: Growth dynamics of cotton grass (Eriophorum vaginatum) . Canadian Journal of Botany66, 253–256 .
58.
Lamb, H.H.1995: Climate, history and the modern world (second edition). London: Routledge .
59.
Leah, M.D. , Wells, C.E. , Appleby, C. and Huckerby, E.1997: The wetlands of Cheshire. North West Wetlands Survey. Lancaster: Lancaster Imprints 5 .
60.
Leah, M.D. , Wells, C.E. , Stamper, P. , Huckerby, E. and Welch, C.1998: The wetlands of Shropshire and Staffordshire. North West Wetlands Survey. Lancaster: Lancaster Imprints 7 .
61.
Linick, T.W. , Long, A. , Damon, P.E. and Ferguson, C.W.1986: High-precision radiocarbon dating of bristlecone pine from 6554 to 5350 bc . Radiocarbon28, 943–953 .
62.
Lomb, N.R.1976: Least-squares frequency analysis of unequally spaced data . Astrophysics and Space Science39, 447–462 .
63.
Lowe, J.J.1993: Isolating the climate change factors in early- and mid-Holocene palaeobotanical records from Scotland. In Chambers, F.M. , editor, Climate change and human impact on the landscape, London: Chapman and Hall .
64.
Maley, J.1982: Dust, clouds, rain types, and climatic variations in tropical North Africa . Quaternary Research18, 1–16 .
65.
Magny, M.1992: Holocene lake-level fluctuations in Jura and the northern subalpine ranges, France: regional pattern and climatic implications . Boreas21, 319–334 .
66.
Mauquoy, D. and Barber, K.E.1999a: Evidence for climatic deteriorations associated with the decline of Sphagnum imbricatum Hornsch. ex Russ. in six ombrotrophic mires from northern England and the Scottish Borders . The Holocene9, 423–437 .
67.
Mauquoy, D. and Barber, K.E.1999b: A replicated 3000 yr proxy-climate record from Coom Rigg Moss and Felecia Moss, the Border Mires, northern England . Journal of Quaternary Science14, 263–275 .
68.
Middleton, R. , Wells, C.E. and Huckerby, E.1995: The wetlands of Lancashire. North West Wetlands Survey. Lancaster: Lancaster Imprints .
69.
Nilssen, E. and Vorren, K.D.1991: Peat humification and climate history . Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift71, 215–217 .
70.
O'Brien, S.R. , Mayewski, P.A. , Meeker, L.D. , Meese, D.A. , Twickler, M.S. and Whitlow, S.I.1995: Complexity of Holocene climate as reconstructed from a Greenland ice core . Science270, 1962–1964 .
71.
Olsson, I.U.1986: Radiometric dating. In Berglund, B.E. , editor, Handbook of Holocene palaeoecology and palaeohydrology, Chichester: John Wiley , 3–65.
72.
Pearson, G.W. and Stuiver, M.1993: High precision bidecadal calibration of the radiocarbon time scale 500–2,500 bc . Radiocarbon35, 25–33 .
73.
Pearson, G.W. , Becker, B. and Qua, F.1993: High precision 14C measurement of German and Irish oaks to show the natural 14C variations from 7,890 to 5,000 bc . Radiocarbon35, 93–104 .
74.
Pennington, W. , Haworth, E.Y. , Bonney, A.P. and Lishman, J.P.1972: Lake sediments in northern Scotland . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B264, 191–294 .
75.
Pilcher, J.R.1991a: Radiocarbon dating. In Smart, P.L. and Francis, P.D. , Quaternary dating methods – a users' guide. Technical Guide 4, Cambridge: Quaternary Research Association .
76.
Pilcher, J.R.1991b: Radiocarbon dating for the Quaternary scientist . Quaternary Proceedings1, 27–33 .
77.
Press, M.C. , Teukolsky, S.A. , Vetterling, W.T. and Flannery, B.P.1992: Numerical recipes in Fortran. The art of scientific computing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
78.
Rodwell, J.S.1991: British plant communities Volume 2: Mires and heaths. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
79.
Rybnicek, K. and Rybnickova, E.1968: The history of the flora and vegetation on the Blato mire in south-eastern Bohemia, Czechoslovakia . Folia Geoboanica. Phytotaxonomica3, 117–142 .
80.
Sejrup, H.P. , Haflidason, H. , Kristensen, D.K. and Johnsen, S.J.1995: Last glacial and Holocene climatic development in the Norwegian Sea region: ocean front movements and ice-core data . Journal of Quaternary Science10, 385–390 .
81.
Sernander, R.1908: On the evidence of postglacial changes of climate furnished by the peat-mosses of northern Europe . Geologiska Föreningens I Stockholm Förhandlingar30, 465–478 .
82.
Smith, A.G. and Pilcher, J.R.1973: Radiocarbon dates and vegetation history of the British isles . New Phytologist72, 903–914 .
83.
Smith, A.J.E.1978: The moss flora of Britain and Ireland. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
84.
Stace, J.1991: New flora of the British Isles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press .
85.
Stager, J.C. and Mayewski, P.A.1997: Abrupt early to mid-Holocene climatic transition registered at the equator and the poles . Science276, 1834–1836 .
86.
Starkel, L.1991: Environmental changes at the Younger Dryas-Preboreal transition and during the early Holocene: some distinctive aspects in central Europe . The Holocene1, 234–242 .
87.
Stoneman, R.E. 1993: Holocene palaeoclimates from peat stratigraphy: extending and refining the model. PhD thesis, University of Southampton.
88.
Stoneman, R.E. , Barber, K.E. and Maddy, D.1993: Present and past ecology of Sphagnum imbricatum and its significance in raised peat-climate modelling . Quaternary Newsletter70, 14–22 .
89.
Stuiver, M. and Becker, B.1993: High-precision calibration of the radiocarbon time scale ad 1950–6000 bc . Radiocarbon35, 35–65 .
90.
Stuiver, M. and Pearson, G.W.1993: High-precision bidecadal calibration of the radiocarbon time scales, ad 1950–500 bc and 2500– 6000 bc . Radiocarbon35, 1–23 .
91.
Stuiver, M. and Reimer, P.J.1993: Extended 14C database and revised CALIB radiocarbon calibration program . Radiocarbon35, 215–230 .
92.
Svensson, G.1988: Bog development and environmental conditions as shown by the stratigraphy of Store Mosse mire in southern Sweden . Boreas17, 89–111 .
93.
ter Braak, C.J.F.1987: CANOCO – a FORTRAN program for canonical community ordination by [partial] [detrended] [canonical] correspondence analysis, principal components analysis and redundancy analysis (version 2.1). Wageningen: Agricultural Mathematics Group .
94.
Tipping, R.1995: Holocene evolution of a lowland Scottish landscape: Kirkpatrick Fleming. Part I, peat- and pollen-stratigraphic evidence for raised moss development and climatic change . The Holocene5, 69–81 .
95.
Tröels-Smith, J.1955: Characterisation of unconsolidated sediments . Danmarks Geologiska Undersoegelsa IV, Reakke 3, 1–73 .
96.
van Geel, B.1978: A palaeoecological study of Holocene peat bog sections in Germany and the Netherlands, based on the analysis of pollen, spores and macro- and microscopic remains of fungi, algae, cormophytes and animals . Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology25, 1–120 .
97.
van Geel, B. , Buurman, J. and Waterbolk, H.T.1996: Archaeological and palaeoecological indications of an abrupt climate change in the Netherlands, and evidence for climatological teleconnections around 2650 BP . Journal of Quaternary Science11, 451–460 .
98.
Von Grafenstein, U. , Erlenkeuser, H. , Muller, J. , Jouzel J. and Johnsen S.1998: The cold event 8200 years ago documented in oxygen isotope records of precipitation in Europe and Greenland . Climate Dynamics14, 75–81 .
99.
Walker, D.1966: The Quaternary history of the Cumberland lowland . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B251, 1–120 .
100.
Walker, D. and Walker, P.M.1961: Stratigraphic evidence of regeneration in some Irish bogs . Journal of Ecology49, 169–185 .
101.
Wein, R.W.1973: Biological flora of the British Isles: Eriophorum vaginatum . Journal of Ecology61, 601–615 .
102.
Wimble, G.A. 1986: The palaeoecology of the lowland coastal raised mires of south Cumbria. PhD thesis, University of Wales.
103.
Yu, G. and Harrison, S.P.1995: Holocene changes in atmospheric circulation patterns as shown by lake status changes in northern Europe . Boreas24, 260–268 .
