Burial rituals inferred from palynological evidence: Results from a late Neolithic stone cist in southern Sweden

Soil samples from a late Neolithic stone cist in Hamneda, southern Sweden, were pollen analysed. The results of the analysis suggest that the local vegetation at the time of the burial was a half-open woodland with pasture and small-scale cereal growing, intermingled with stands ofTilia (lime),Quercus (oak) andCorylus (hazel). The analysis also gives unique information on the burial ritual. High pollen percentages ofHordeum type,Triticum type and undifferentiated Cerealia from among the shards of a pot deposited in the cist show that the pot originally contained cereal grains, bread, porridge, gruel or beer. Furthermore, the analysis shows that flowers ofAnemone nemorosa were deposited on or beneath the dead body in the cist.     

Long-term changes in floristic diversity in southern Sweden: palynological richness, vegetation dynamics and land-use

The rarefaction technique is applied to two Holocene pollen sequences (covering the last 12,000 calendar years) from two lakes in southern Sweden. One represents an open agricultural landscape, the other a partly wooded and less cultivated landscape. The inferred palynological richness is interpreted as an approximate measure of floristic diversity at the landscape scale. The overall trend is an increased diversity from the mid-Holocene to the Modern period, which is linked to a parallel rise in human impact. The pattern is similar for the two sites with peaks corresponding to archaeological periods characterised by deforestation and expanding settlement and agriculture. The highest diversity was reached during the Medieval period, about a.d. 1,000–1,400. Declining diversity during the last 200 years characterises the agrarian landscape. These results confirm, for southern Scandinavia, the “intermediate disturbance” hypothesis for biodiversity at the landscape scale and on millennial to century time scales. They have implications for landscape management in modern nature conservation that has the purpose of maintaining and promoting biodiversity.     

Estimating the consequences of land-use changes on butterfly diversity in a marginal agricultural landscape in Sweden

Abandonment of farming with the resultant increase in forest cover is one of the major threats to semi-natural grasslands in marginal agricultural areas. In Sweden, the loss of semi-natural grassland is a serious nature conservation problem since it is one of the most species-rich habitats. In this study, the consequences of grassland abandonment and afforestation on butterfly diversity and butterfly dispersal costs are estimated and used to compare three different future land-use scenarios for a marginal agricultural landscape in Sweden. Based on previous butterfly surveys on grasslands in the area, a relationship between land-use type and butterfly diversity was established. By comparing land-use maps of different scenarios, the number of suitable habitat patches and total suitable habitat patch area with low, medium and high butterfly diversity could be estimated. To obtain an indication of possible fragmentation effects, a least-cost analysis was used to compare travel costs of the butterflies between suitable habitat patches for the different scenarios. The results show that different land-use scenarios affect butterfly diversity and travel costs differently. In the extreme case scenario of cessation of full-time farming and a reduction in part-time farming, nearly all valuable butterfly habitats will vanish, since the most species-rich habitats lie in the periphery of the settlement and are expected to be abandoned and afforested first. If, on the other hand, grassland management is less reduced the effect of abandonment on butterflies depends very much on which areas continue to be managed. To preserve the most important grasslands for butterflies an active management strategy for the whole study area would be needed. While it seems relatively easy to identify the areas most important to conserve from a butterfly diversity perspective, it will be more difficult to find an optimal spatial solution that also minimises dispersal costs for butterflies.     

Long-term development of a cultural landscape: the origins and dynamics of lowland heathland in southern England

The lowland heathlands of southern England comprise ca. 14?% of the total area of this habitat in Europe yet their history is poorly understood. This paper presents the first detailed palaeoecological evidence (combining palynological, microscopic charcoal and radiocarbon data) relating to the origin and long-term dynamics of heathland vegetation in southern England. Valley peat sites, situated on the Lower Greensand Group (coarse-grained sandstones) at Conford (Hampshire) and Hurston Warren (West Sussex) have been investigated. The sequence from Conford indicates the unusually late survival of Pinus sylvestris (to as late as ca. 6050?cal. b.p.) in southern England. This is attributed to edaphic factors and, after ca. 7050?cal. b.p., to frequent fires. After intervening phases of dominance by deciduous woodland, heathland vegetation became established in the proximity of both sites in the Late Bronze Age (ca. 3000?cal. b.p.) with increases in indicators of grazing and burning demonstrating an association between the development of heathland and human activity. Thereafter, the pollen and charcoal records show that the vegetation remained in a dynamic state as the scale and nature of human activity varied through time. Major expansions in the extent of heathland occurred relatively recently; after ca. 1450?cal. b.p. at Hurston Warren and after ca. 850?cal. b.p. at Conford. A review of the palaeoecological evidence suggests that the most intense use and greatest coverage of heathland in southern England probably occurred during the medieval to post-medieval periods.     

Long-term responses in population dynamics and diversity of small mammals in riparian and upland habitats within an agricultural landscape

Riparian zones in agricultural landscapes provide linear non-crop habitats for a variety of plant and mammal species, and hence are an important component of biodiversity. To date, variable responses of abundance, species richness, and species diversity of small mammals have been recorded in riparian and upland habitats. To address this variability, we provide a detailed analysis of seasonal changes in abundance and diversity of terrestrial small-mammal communities over a 7-year period within an agricultural landscape in south-central British Columbia, Canada. We tested the hypotheses (H) that abundance, species richness, and species diversity of communities of small mammals (H₁), and demographic parameters of reproduction, recruitment, and survival of the major species: deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) and montane vole (Microtus montanus) (H₂), would be higher in riparian than upland habitats. Mean total abundance of small mammals was higher in summer and winter, and species richness higher in summer, in riparian than hedgerow habitats. Winter population data supported the total and species abundance patterns for small mammals, but species richness was similar, and diversity lower, in riparian than hedgerow sites during winter periods. Deer mice were the dominant species in terms of abundance and reproductive output for pregnancies and recruitment, but not survival, in riparian sites. Montane voles were similar in abundance and demographic parameters in the two habitats. House mice (Mus musculus) preferred hedgerows and wandering shrews (Sorex vagrans) riparian sites. Demographic parameters for deer mice and montane voles indicated that both riparian and hedgerow sites were “source” rather than “sink” habitats, and likely contribute to maintenance of mammal diversity in agricultural landscapes.     

Long-term history of land-use and vegetation at Ire,an agriculturally marginal area in Blekinge,south Sweden

Pollen records from a small lake and a small peatland at Ire in northern Blekinge, Sweden, reveal that until a.d. 300 there was a mixed deciduous type of woodland dominated by Quercus, Tilia and Corylus, with Betula, Pinus, Populus, Fraxinus, Ulmus and Acer as important constituents. The first, but weak, signs of human influence on the vegetation are detected around 2300 b.c. At this time, the area was probably used for woodland grazing. The regional expansion of Fagus occurred around 100 b.c.–a.d. 200, and later, at about a.d. 500, woods dominated by Fagus were common in the area. Around a.d. 600–700 an isolated farmstead may have been established in the area, as single pollen grains of Secale (rye) were found. This farmstead may represent the first permanent settlement in the area. A more widespread opening of the vegetation occurred around a.d. 1000, probably as an effect of a more pronounced use of the area, and an expansion of settlements in the region. The openness of the area seems to have peaked around a.d. 1400–1800, and during this period the vegetation was highly fragmented with small stands of woodland, intensively grazed pastures, and arable fields where Secale and Triticum were mainly cultivated. Around a.d. 1600 Fagus pollen percentages sharply decrease, most probably caused by a deliberate and selective felling of beech trees for the production of potash, which consumed enormous amounts of wood. Picea seems to have been established around a.d. 1600, but it did not become a regional dominant until the first part of the 20th century, when land use decreased and it became favoured by forestry.     

Vegetation dynamics of Mediterranean shrublands in former cultural landscape at Grazalema Mountains,South Spain

Plant community dynamics in Mediterranean basin ecosystems are mainly driven by an alternation of episodes of human intervention and land abandonment. As a result, a mosaic of plant communities has evolved following different stages of degradation and regeneration. Some authors has relate secondary succession to abandoned culture lands and regeneration to natural systems with abandonment of livestock or forestry exploitation. In this paper, the dynamics of shrublands in mid-mountain areas in the South of Spain after disturbance and land abandonment has been studied. The plant cover and 13 environmental variables of 137 selected sites on the Grazalema mountains was analysed to determine the vegetation pattern in relation to environmental factors and the succession types, either regenerative or secondary succession. The results show that today the Grazalema mountains have a heterogeneous vegetation pattern. Besides physical factors such as altitude or soil , human disturbance has modulated current vegetation patterns and dynamics. Two main types of vegetation dynamics can be distinguished in the study area. In areas affected by cutting, regeneration results in rich and dense shrub land, with resprouters as dominant species. In areas affected by recurrent wildfires or agriculture, secondary succession became dominant, resulting in less diverse shrubland, due to the dominance of seeders and decrease in resprouter species richness and cover.     

Fire and stone clearance in Iron Age agriculture: new insights inferred from the analysis of terrestrial macroscopic charcoal in clearance cairns in Hamneda,southern Sweden

Areas with ancient clearance cairns have been studied in Hamneda, Småland Uplands, southern Sweden, by archaeological and palaeoecological methods. Based on numerous radiocarbon dates and stratigraphical analyses, the local introduction of stone clearance is dated to the first century A.D. The clearance cairns reflect a system of semi-mobile cultivation that lasted until c. A.D. 900. Pollen and macrofossil analyses provide information on cereal growing and pastures in these clearance cairn areas, while charcoal analyses reveal details on the agrarian expansion dynamics and the use of fire in vegetation clearance. In the expansion phase, Quercus (oak) woodlands were cleared and transformed to open pastures and arable land, partly by the use of fire. A secondary succession of Betula (birch) and Corylus (hazel) was dealt with by fire clearances to keep pastures open and to prepare new arable plots. In the long run, Betula in particular was favoured by the land-use system. The mobility of the cultivation system is discussed together with the causes behind the introduction of stone clearance. A possible causal relationship with the introduction of hay mowing is also discussed.     

Distribution of birds in natural landscape mosaics of old-growth forests in northern Sweden: relations to habitat area and landscape context

We censused breeding birds for three years in natural landscape mosaics of virgin old-growth spruce forest and mire in a large protected forest area in northern Sweden Twenty forest patches, ranging from 0 2 to 17 8 ha in size, were selected in two matrix types, dominated by forest and mire, respectively Patches were very similar with regards to habitat features There was a strong effect of patch area on species richness, but no effect of matrix type Standardization of species richness by rarefaction revealed that small patches (<5 ha) had fewer and large patches (>10 ha) more species than expected Overall distribution of species across patches showed a highly significant nested pattern, indicating that a few habitat generalists occupy all size classes, whereas more demanding species avoid small patches regardless of landscape composition Individual species tended to be distributed evenly across patch classes and no significant edge effect in terms of density of birds was found Our results have bearings on actions to preserve avian diversity in northern boreal forests small patches (<5 ha) provide habitat only for habitat generalists, and therefore larger (>10 ha) patches should be preserved     

Cultural landscape and plant use at the Phoenician site of Motya (Western Sicily,Italy) inferred from a disposal pit

Vegetation History and Archaeobotany - The present study concerns the Phoenician-Punic site of Motya, a small island set in Western Sicily (Italy), in the Marsala Lagoon (Stagnone di Marsala),...     

From forest to open pastures and fields: cultural landscape development in western Norway inferred from two pollen records representing different spatial scales of vegetation

The cultural landscape development of a farming community in western Norway was investigated through pollen analyses from a lake and a peat/soil profile. The pollen record from the lake indicates that there was a decrease in arboreal pollen (AP) by the end of the Mesolithic period (ca. 4200 cal b.c.), and that a substantial forest clearance occurred during the Bronze Age (ca. 1500 cal b.c.). The latter, together with grazing indicators and cereals, suggests a widespread establishment of farming. At the beginning of the Roman Iron Age there is an increase in heath communities. The pollen diagram from the peat/soil profile shows the forest clearance in the Bronze Age more clearly than the lake profile. This local pollen diagram is compared with modern pollen samples from mown and grazed localities in western Norway. Both analogue matching and ordination (PCA) indicate that the site was characterised by pastures and cereal fields from the Late Bronze Age to the Late Iron Age. An expansion of cereal cultivation took place during the Pre-Roman Iron Age, and an arable field was established at the site after ca. a.d. 800. This investigation illustrates the potential of selecting pollen sites reflecting different spatial scales, and complements the cultural history of the area as inferred from archaeological and historical records.     

Vegetation dynamics following trampling in grassland and heathland in Sølendet Nature Reserve, a boreal upland area in Central Norway

Trampling is recognised as a cause of disturbance in grassland and heathland vegetation along two public nature trails in Sølendet nature reserve in central Norway. The effects of trampling by visitors and of controlled trampling were monitored over a period of 5–7 years in permanent plots. A retrogressive development was recorded as vegetation cover and height were reduced and a substantial loss of species richness and biomass took place. Some species, mainly graminoids such as Agrostis capillaris and Carex vaginata , initially appeared to be more tolerant, but were eventually reduced as well. Low, geophytic and prostrate habits of growth and hardy leaf tissues seemed to be beneficial for tolerance to trampling. Moist grassland and lichen-dominated heathland were more vulnerable to trampling than dry grassland. Even though 350–1500 visitors walked through the permanent plots along the trails each summer, effects on the soil surface remained moderate and only a minor furrow was visible on the ground.     

Flax in Sweden: the archaeobotanical, archaeological and historical evidence

The earliest recorded evidence of flax being cultivated in Sweden is from the end of the Bronze Age/beginning of the Iron Age. Later, from ca. a.d. 1100 and onwards, flax became an economically important plant in the country, and during the 12th to 16th centuries there was a substantial increase in the Swedish export of linen to other parts of Europe. Alongside its extensive cultivation, a set of cultural traditions and rituals was eventually built up around flax. The objective of this article is to draw an outline of the history of flax cultivation in Sweden and to present the relevant prehistoric and historic source material. A point of discussion will be the different roles that fibre flax and oil flax played over a long period of time and the problem of seed corn import for the development of domestic fibre flax in the country. The study is based on the prehistoric archaeobotanical record, mainly charred seeds from the Swedish Iron Age (ca. 500 b.c.–a.d. 1050), the archaeological record, documentary evidence and folklore.     

Mid-Holocene local vegetation dynamics and human impact at Los Castillejos,Andalusia, Spain: evidence from charcoal analysis

From the anthracological study of considerable quantities of charcoal recovered from the excavation of the settlement at Los Castillejos de Montefrío, a synthesis was made of the vegetation dynamics during Recent Prehistory of the area, from the middle of the sixth millennium bc to the beginning of the second millennium bc. The vegetation dynamics mark four anthracological phases over this sequence. From the Late Neolithic (end of the fifth millennium bc) the influence of different activities such as livestock raising, burning and agriculture become evident in the development of the natural vegetation, altering species composition and appearance frequency. The last anthracological phase, MF4, spanning the second half of the third millennium bc, saw the regeneration of the tree vegetation as certain former activities ceased, indicating the environmental singularity of this enclave within the context of the southern Iberian Peninsula.     

Reproductive patterns in central and marginal populations of a large brown seaweed: drastic changes at the southern range limit

Understanding the factors determining geographic ranges and range shifts of species is a central issue in ecology and evolutionary biology. Research addressing distributional borders from a demographic perspective frequently focused on reproductive traits, finding reproduction reductions or failure at the range margin. However, some of the observed changes in marginal locations could be the result of adaptive adjustments to local, unfavourable conditions, though they have been rarely interpreted from this point of view. In this study we investigated the reproductive patterns of the seaweed Fucus serratus in central and southern marginal locations (SW UK, N Spain) over a 3‐yr period. Our main goals were: 1) to determine the spatial (centre‐margin) and temporal variation in reproductive traits and 2) to test if this variation fits with life‐history predictions for stressful environments. Threshold size for reproduction declined at the range margin, in accordance with life‐history predictions. Nevertheless, we also observed parallel drastic reductions in the percentage of reproductives, reproductive allocation and plant size. The reproductive capacity of marginal locations was thus dramatically reduced in relation to central ones. Furthermore, the decline became more pronounced over the study period. Our results suggests that the viability of marginal populations is at risk. This situation clearly differs from the pattern observed during the last decade. At that time, the species was able to growth and reproduce beyond its distributional boundary at similar rates than inside its range in N Spain. The seaweed was then expanding its distribution and the position of the boundary was set by dispersal limitations. At present, the southern boundary of this species seems to be directly influenced by very unfavourable abiotic conditions, which may be linked to the present scenario of climatic change or to environmental fluctuations acting at shorter‐time scales.     

The RCE: a Riparian, Channel, and Environmental Inventory for small streams in the agricultural landscape

1. The Riparian, Channel and Environmental (RCE) Inventory has been developed to assess the physical and biological condition of small streams in the lowland, agricultural landscape. It consists of sixteen characteristics which define the structure of the riparian zone, stream channel morphology, and the biological condition in both habitats. 2. The inventory is based on the view that in landscapes where non-point source pollution and agriculture dominate, the environmental condition of small streams can be assessed by an appraisal of the physical condition of the riparian zone and stream channel. It is assumed that disturbance of this physical structure is a major cause for reduction of stream biological structure and function. This assumption is supported by a case study using fifteen Italian stream locations in which the RCE was found to be positively correlated to the benthic macroinvertebrate community as measured by the Extended Biotic Index (r = 0.80, P < 0.001) and the Shannon Diversity Index (r = 0.73; P < 0.001). 3. The inventory is designed for quick use to cover a large number of streams in a short period of time. When used it generates a numerical score which can be used to compare the physical and biological condition between different streams within a region. The numerical score is divided into five, colour-coded classes to facilitate use in streammonitoring programmes and to allow comparison with biological indices.     

The effect of woodland area on avian community composition in a fragmented southern UK landscape and associated management recommendations

ABSTRACT

Capsule: Smaller woodlands not only support fewer species but also show different avian community composition due to loss of woodland interior and an increase in edge habitat.

Aims: To use observed community composition changes, rather than traditional total species richness-area relationships, to make area-specific management recommendations for optimizing woodland habitat for avian communities in fragmented landscapes.

Methods: 17 woodlands were selected in Oxfordshire, UK, with areas between 0.2 and 120 ha. Three dawn area searches were conducted in each woodland between 1st April and 28th May 2016 to record encounter rates for each species. The impact of internal habitat variation on woodland comparability was assessed using habitat surveys.

Results: Woodlands with area less than 3.6 ha showed a significant positive relationship between total avian species richness and woodland area. Woodlands with area over 3.6 ha were all consistent with a mean (± se) total richness of 25.4?±?0.6 species, however the number of woodland specialists continued to increase with woodland area. Woodland generalists dominated the total encounter rate across the area range, however the fractional contribution of woodland specialists showed a significant positive correlation with woodland area, while the fractional contribution of non-woodland species significantly decreased. Non-woodland species numbers peaked in mid-sized woodlands with enhanced habitat heterogeneity.

Conclusions: Community composition analysis enabled more targeted recommendations than total species richness analysis, specifically: large woodlands (over 25?ha) in southern UK should focus conservation efforts on providing the specific internal habitats required by woodland specialists; medium-sized woodlands (between approximately 4 and 25?ha) should focus on promoting internal habitat variety, which can benefit both woodland species and non-woodland species of conservation concern in the surrounding landscape; small woodlands (under 4?ha) should focus on providing nesting opportunities for non-woodland species and on improving connectivity to maximize habitat for woodland generalists and facilitate movement of woodland specialists.     

Pathogen induced disturbance and succession in temperate forests: Evidence from a 100-year data set in southern Sweden

Major tree species are declining in many temperate forests due to changing disturbance regimes, including invasive pests and pathogens. We examined the interaction of secondary succession and Dutch elm disease in the Swedish temperate forest reserve Dalby Söderskog, based on five tree surveys made between 1909 and 2011. The forest is characterized by the coexistence of four major European tree species: wych elm (Ulmus glabra), European ash (Fraxinus excelsior), European beech (Fagus sylvatica) and pedunculate oak (Quercus robur). After protection of the forest in 1918, lack of disturbance mainly favoured elm, while the oak population declined due to mortality of old oaks and lack of regeneration. Dutch elm disease has caused high and continuous elm mortality since 1988. As a result, increased light availability at the forest floor favoured abundant regeneration of ash, beech, and lately also oak. The recent arrival of an invasive fungal pathogen causing ash dieback may once again change the course of succession. Open space emerging from loss of elm and ash in forest reserves may be used by reserve managers to favour oak regeneration and biodiversity of semi-open woodlands once lost during succession to closed forest. We conclude that winners and losers change places as an effect of invasive pathogens, resulting in unexpected successions and both losses and gains in valuable ecological niches and habitat structures in temperate broadleaf forests.