Palaeoecology of Pine (Pinus Sylvestris) in the Swedish Scandes and a Review of the Analysis of Subfossil Wood

ABSTRACT

Subfossil pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) occurs in various deposits and in great frequency well above the current altitudinal pine limit in the Scandes Mountains. These tree remnants constitute a fairly continuous record of range-limit dynamics throughout the Holocene and offer excellent potential for palaeoecological as well as palaeoclimatological research. General aspects of this record are discussed, including the fundamental issue of the circumstances of preservation. It is proposed that throughout the Holocene conditions for preservation have existed at the fluctuating tree-limit. Hypothetically, temporal clusters and gaps in the frequency distribution of radiocarbon dates can fairly consistently reflect climatic variability. Tree-limit recession in particular may be rapid, in response to episodes of severe winter cold. Such events may appear disproportionately protracted backwards in time, due to frost-heaving and rain-induced erosion of deposits with subfossils. Additional aspects of subfossil pine, which are briefly discussed, include relative altitude, ecological setting, population structure, stress and disturbance, dendrochronology and recent processes.

Key words:

• subfossil wood
• review
• radiocarbon dates
• subalpine
• palaeoecology
• the Holocene
• Pinus sylvestris