Palaeoecological investigations of changes in the composition of ombrogenous raised mire and fen vegetation at Rhos Goch National Nature Reserve, Mid Wales

Hughes, P.D.M. (2005) Palaeoecological investigations of changes in the composition of ombrogenous raised mire and fen vegetation at Rhos Goch National Nature Reserve, Mid Wales (CCW Contract Science, 712) Bangor, USA. CCW 56pp.

Abstract

Plant macrofossil analysis, macroscopic charcoal analysis, spheroidal carbonaceous particle analysis and radiocarbon dating have been completed on the raised bog deposits at Rhos Goch Common to examine the history of peat accumulation and vegetation change at the site. Two full-depth peat profiles were studied from the bog plane and the margin of the peat dome, respectively. A further three short cores were located on contrasting bog surfaces to study recent pool, lawn and hummock development. The results of the investigation show that the modern floristically-impoverished vegetation is a relatively recent development. During the mid- to late-Holocene the site supported a range of ombrotrophic Sphagna including Sphagnum imbricatum and S. magellanicum. Stratigraphic logs and radiocarbon dating demonstrate that a significant part of the raised dome margin is missing. The most likely explanation for the missing peat deposits is that the site has been exploited for peat in the past, since there is little evidence to suggest that recent fires were any more severe than those occurring naturally in the early-Holocene. The impact of peat removal has been significant. There is clear evidence that the bog water table has fluctuated over a wide range causing accelerated secondary decomposition in the catotelm right down to the level of the fen-bog transition.

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Contributors

Author: P.D.M. Hughes

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