Mire development across the fen-bog transition on the Teifi floodplain at Tregaron Bog, Ceredigion, Wales, and a comparison with 13 other raised bogs
Mire development across the fen-bog transition on the Teifi floodplain at Tregaron Bog, Ceredigion, Wales, and a comparison with 13 other raised bogs
1 A literature comparison of 14 radiocarbon-dated macrofossil records of raised peat bog initiation indicates that there is a relationship between the prevailing climate and the character of the first ombrotrophic vegetation communities at peatland sites in Britain and Ireland.
2 All that is required for ombrotrophy is the separation of the mire growing surface from the influence of surface and subsurface waters. This could occur via vertical accumulation of the peat mass or a lowering of the water table. The establishment of bog species can be rapid once isolation occurs.
3 Peatlands may become ombrotrophic in a variety of water table conditions and climatic regimes. There are at least two distinctive routes to ombrotrophy, via a 'dry-pioneer oligotrophic community' or via a 'wet-pioneer oligotrophic community'.
4 Tregaron South-east Bog does not fit the pattern suggested by the literature comparison. The Fen-Bog Transition (FBT) occurred in a period of increased effective precipitation but the first ombrotrophic community was indicative of relatively dry, 'hummocky' bog and a deep or unstable water table.
5 The transitional poor fen communities at Tregaron South-east Bog were short-lived. Sphagnum palustre mire lasted for 90 years compared to 300 years at Bolton Fell Moss in Cumbria, and the FBT was synchronous across much of the bog.
6 The Tregaron peatland complex has a long history of water table fluctuations as shown by the stratigraphy of the marginal peats.
7 Channel incision in the River Teifi could have contributed to the development of 'dry hummock' pioneer bog in the humid climatic conditions at 7300 cal. BP, by reducing the level of lagg streams.
mire development, fen-bog transition, Holocene, hydroseral succession, plant macrofossils, peat stratigraphy
253-264
Hughes, P.D.
14f83168-b203-4a91-a850-8c48535dc31b
Barber, K.E.
83d1acae-326d-4cb5-94b6-3d1dc78d64e9
May 2003
Hughes, P.D.
14f83168-b203-4a91-a850-8c48535dc31b
Barber, K.E.
83d1acae-326d-4cb5-94b6-3d1dc78d64e9
Hughes, P.D. and Barber, K.E.
(2003)
Mire development across the fen-bog transition on the Teifi floodplain at Tregaron Bog, Ceredigion, Wales, and a comparison with 13 other raised bogs.
Journal of Ecology, 91 (2), .
(doi:10.1046/j.1365-2745.2003.00762.x).
Abstract
1 A literature comparison of 14 radiocarbon-dated macrofossil records of raised peat bog initiation indicates that there is a relationship between the prevailing climate and the character of the first ombrotrophic vegetation communities at peatland sites in Britain and Ireland.
2 All that is required for ombrotrophy is the separation of the mire growing surface from the influence of surface and subsurface waters. This could occur via vertical accumulation of the peat mass or a lowering of the water table. The establishment of bog species can be rapid once isolation occurs.
3 Peatlands may become ombrotrophic in a variety of water table conditions and climatic regimes. There are at least two distinctive routes to ombrotrophy, via a 'dry-pioneer oligotrophic community' or via a 'wet-pioneer oligotrophic community'.
4 Tregaron South-east Bog does not fit the pattern suggested by the literature comparison. The Fen-Bog Transition (FBT) occurred in a period of increased effective precipitation but the first ombrotrophic community was indicative of relatively dry, 'hummocky' bog and a deep or unstable water table.
5 The transitional poor fen communities at Tregaron South-east Bog were short-lived. Sphagnum palustre mire lasted for 90 years compared to 300 years at Bolton Fell Moss in Cumbria, and the FBT was synchronous across much of the bog.
6 The Tregaron peatland complex has a long history of water table fluctuations as shown by the stratigraphy of the marginal peats.
7 Channel incision in the River Teifi could have contributed to the development of 'dry hummock' pioneer bog in the humid climatic conditions at 7300 cal. BP, by reducing the level of lagg streams.
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Published date: May 2003
Additional Information:
This paper demonstrates that ombrotrophic bog formation can occur relatively rapidly across a wide wetland expanse when the water table drops leaving surface peat ‘perched’ above the level of the regional ground water table. The paper presents a new model of raised bog formation, based on Hughes’s Ph.D. research.
Keywords:
mire development, fen-bog transition, Holocene, hydroseral succession, plant macrofossils, peat stratigraphy
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 14757
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/14757
PURE UUID: 826df30c-2659-4c5a-b8ac-6d40368fd732
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Date deposited: 01 Mar 2005
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:02
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Author:
K.E. Barber
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