The ‘Little Ice Age’ in the Southern Hemisphere in the context of the last 3000 years : Peat-based proxy-climate data from Tierra del Fuego

DM’s research (at Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University) was supported through a European Community Marie Curie Fellowship (Contract HPMF-CT-2000-01056).Peer reviewedPostprin

The use of paleoecological data in mire and moorland conservation

For degraded mires and moorlands in Europe, paleoecological data from peats reveal how and when the present landscape developed. These data widen the vision of future landscapes and legitimate a greater range of targets for nature conservation agencies

Coring and sub-sampling of peatlands for palaeoenvironmental research

Every palaeoenvironmental, palaeoecological and palaeogeochemical study of a peatland begins with coring or section sampling and sub-sampling. This first step in a peat-based palaeoenvironmental study is the most crucial, as a high-quality investigation can be achieved only from a foundation of high-quality stratigraphic sampling and sub-sampling. Various techniques for coring, sampling and sub-sampling are described, aiming to: (a) provide the reader with an overview of existing approaches and techniques; (b) offer guidance on good practice for achieving high-quality results efficiently; and (c) standardise the methodology in order to achieve comparable sequences and samples for future multiproxy, multi-site and multi-core projects

Application of palaeoecology for peatland conservation at Mossdale Moor, UK

In a recent discussion of research priorities for palaeoecology, it was suggested that palaeoecological data can be applied and used to inform nature conservation practice. The present study exemplifies this approach and was conducted on a degraded blanket mire in Yorkshire, UK, in collaboration with a field-based moorland restoration agency. High-resolution, multiproxy palaeoecological analyses on a peat core from Mossdale Moor reconstructed mid to late-Holocene vegetation changes. Humification, pollen, plant macrofossil and charcoal analyses carried out throughout the peat profile show marked changes in species composition and indicate their potential causes. Results suggest that human clearance in the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition may have initiated peat growth at Mossdale Moor, making this landscape ‘semi-natural’ in its origin. Further human-induced changes are identified at 1300 cal years BP, most likely clearance by fire, and between 20 and 0 cm depth where a substantial charcoal increase is interpreted as recent (<400 years) management practices using burning to encourage browse on the moor. The long-term ecological history of the moor, derived using palaeoecological techniques, will be used to inform conservation practice and to help set feasible targets for restoration and conservation at Mossdale Moo

Conservation and habitat restoration of moorland and bog in the UK uplands: A regional, paleoecological perspective

Conservation practice in the United Kingdom (UK) uplands has been strongly influenced by policy responses to the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992). The UK was the first nation to produce a national Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP)(Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 2007a, b; UKBAP, 2008); policy is now enshrined in Habitat Action Plans (65 HAPs), Species Action Plans (1149 SAPs) and Local Biodiversity Action Plans (innumerable LBAPs), plus European designations of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs

Exploring the prevalence and diversity of pollen carried by four species of migratory Old World warbler (Sylvioidea) on arrival in the UK

Capsule Pollen encrusted around the bill of migrating warblers can reveal marked differences in foraging ecology between bird species. Aims To examine patterns of the prevalence and diversity of pollen in four species of warbler, and explore the potential of pollen to act as an indicator of recent foraging behaviour. Methods By isolating pollen from bill encrustations using laboratory palynological techniques and identification by light microscopy, we examined variation in the prevalence of the five most common pollen taxa, and variation in pollen assemblages in four species of warbler arriving on the south coast of England. Results All samples contained abundant pollen, with 19 floral taxa identified. Sylvia warblers tended to carry Prunus and Citrus pollen, while Phylloscopus warblers mainly carried Eucalyptus pollen. Pollen assemblages varied markedly between bird species. Conclusion Commercial and garden flowering trees are an important resource for migrating warblers. Pollen may be such a valuable resource that flowering plants might be included in the conservation management of stopover sites. The use of pollen to resolve migratory routes may be problematic however, requiring detailed knowledge of both the distribution and flowering phenology of plants en route

Informing innovative peatland conservation in light of palaeoecological evidence for the demise of Sphagnum imbricatum: the case of Oxenhope Moor, Yorkshire, UK

Actively growing mires have high conservation value and the potential to sequester carbon. However, drainage, burning, overgrazing and atmospheric pollution have led to depauperation of native flora and loss of peat at many peatland sites. In order to counteract such degradation, palaeoecological techniques can be applied and the data then used to inform nature conservation practice. The present study exemplifies this approach and was conducted on degraded blanket mire in Yorkshire, UK, in collaboration with a field-based moorland restoration agency. High-resolution, multiproxy palaeoecological analyses on a peat core from Oxenhope Moor were used to reconstruct Holocene vegetation changes spanning approximately the last 7000 years. Humification, pollen, plant macrofossil and charcoal analyses show distinct changes in species composition and indicate their potential causes. Human-induced changes identified at 2100 cal. BP are most likely to reflect deliberate clearance by fire. Sphagnum imbricatum disappears and is subsequently replaced by S. papillosum at ca. 1000 cal. BP, possibly due to drier conditions and competition between the two species. Increased human activity is identified since the Industrial Revolution where monocots and Eriophorum vaginatum increase, interpreted as a result of managed burning. It is intended that the long-term ecological history of the site, derived using palaeoecological techniques, will be used to inform conservation practice and can help set feasible targets for restoration and conservation. Specifically, encouraging a species mix that has pre-19th century longevity is suggested, including the specific recommendation that translocation of S. imbricatum be explored experimentally at this site, with a view to ascertaining likely success elsewhere

Overcoming status quo bias in the human brain

Humans often accept the status quo when faced with conflicting choice alternatives. However, it is unknown how neural pathways connecting cognition with action modulate this status quo acceptance. Here we developed a visual detection task in which subjects tended to favor the default when making difficult, but not easy, decisions. This bias was suboptimal in that more errors were made when the default was accepted. A selective increase in subthalamic nucleus (STN) activity was found when the status quo was rejected in the face of heightened decision difficulty. Analysis of effective connectivity showed that inferior frontal cortex, a region more active for difficult decisions, exerted an enhanced modulatory influence on the STN during switches away from the status quo. These data suggest that the neural circuits required to initiate controlled, nondefault actions are similar to those previously shown to mediate outright response suppression. We conclude that specific prefrontal-basal ganglia dynamics are involved in rejecting the default, a mechanism that may be important in a range of difficult choice scenarios

Using palaeoecology to advise peatland conservation: An example from West Arkengarthdale, Yorkshire, UK

Globally, peatlands are regarded as important carbon stores and their conservation essential for ensuring continuation of terrestrial carbon storage. Numerous peatlands in particular regions of Europe have been degraded by drainage, burning, extraction, overgrazing and pollution in recent decades, often leading to erosion, loss of peat mass and a loss of a variety of flora. In the UK, some 90% of peatlands can be regarded as degraded. Implemented restoration schemes have been aimed at blocking drainage ditches, re-vegetating bare peat or changing the present vegetation assemblage to a more ‘desirable’ alternative. Here we use palaeoecological techniques to reconstruct the development of a blanket peatland through its entirety with a particular focus on recent land management practices and their impact on vegetation in order to determine and support restoration targets. Analysis at West Arkengarthdale, Yorkshire, UK, shows that the present vegetation is not characteristic and has only been present for c. 200 years. Peat has been developing at the site for approximately 6700 years with Sphagnum particularly abundant between 0–40 cm depth (present day—450 cal. BP) and 150–190 cm depth (c. 3200–3900 cal. BP) and seldom recorded elsewhere in the core. A very recent change in Sphagnum composition is seen towards the surface of the profile, with Sphagnum papillosum making up 100% of the identified Sphagnum in the last 50 years. Monocots, Poaceae, Rumex and Polytrichum commune increase with the beginning of the industrial revolution and an increase in charcoal fragments is indicative of increased pollution and managed burning to support grouse management. It is suggested that any intention to alter land management at the site to encourage a greater variety of Sphagnum species and a decrease in Calluna is in line with peatland development at the site over the past 450 years. This collaborative approach between research palaeoecologists and conservation agency staff has wider application elsewhere