Abstract

Aim The dominant forces behind the expansion of Fagus sylvatica (beech) in northern Europe during the late Holocene have been much debated. Palaeoecological analyses were performed for a biodiversity hotspot reserve in order to study the processes behind the local establishment of Fagus, as well as the historical vegetational development in relation to present-day biodiversity and conservation.Location Biskopstorp Forest Reserve in south-west Sweden.Methods Pollen and charcoal were analysed from three small-hollow sites in the reserve. Two of the investigated wetlands were located adjacent to old-growth stands of Fagus, and the third was located near a stand of old Quercus.Results The 2500-year record shows that Fagus was first established around the two Fagus old-growth sites, c. AD 900 and 1200, respectively, and that this was followed by an expansion around AD 1600. During the establishment phase, and more so in the expansion phase, there were simultaneous increases in types of pollen indicative of human activity. These indicators are also frequent throughout the record from the Quercus site, but here Fagus never became common.Main conclusions The dynamics behind the establishment and expansion of Fagus in the reserve seems to have been influenced to a large degree by human activity, for example selective cutting, human-induced fires, and agriculture. Fagus became established in the reserve more than 1000 years after it became established regionally, making climate less probable as the dominant force behind the species' stand-scale establishment. The spreading of Fagus across southern Scandinavia has previously been shown to be a patchy process in time and space. Our study suggests that this patchiness is evident also at a small spatial scale (a few kilometres). At the Quercus site, relatively high amounts of pollen from the field layer throughout the record indicate open conditions that probably favoured Quercus. The degree of human impact at this site was probably too high to allow the expansion of Fagus. With the long-term perspective provided by our study it was possible to identify the last 200-300 years as an unrepresentative period with respect to tree species composition and forest dynamics. The large increase of Picea locally and regionally over the last several hundred years, combined with dramatic levels of human impact, have altered the tree composition and forest dynamics to such an extent that active management is necessary in order to maintain biodiversity in the reserve.

Keywords

beech; charcoal analysis; ecological base-line; forest fire; human impacts; long-term ecology; palaeoecology; pollen analysis; Quercus; Sweden

Published in

Journal of Biogeography
2008, Volume: 35, number: 4, pages: 682-697

SLU Authors

• Lindbladh, Matts

  • Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Niklasson, Mats

  • Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Karlsson, Matts Ingemar

  • Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

Sustainable Development Goals

Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss


UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01813.x

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/18346