Abstract
Abstract. The investigated northwest German mire site at “Totes Moor” is densely covered with subfossil pine stumps (Pinus sylvestris L.) from the fen–bog transition. This facilitates the spatio-temporal reconstruction of mire development, which is based on 212 in situ tree stumps in the case study presented here. Six dendrochronologically dated site chronologies together cover 2345 years between 6703 and 3403 BC. The gaps in between are 6 to 550 years long. Additionally, a floating chronology of 309 years, containing 30 trees, was radiocarbon-dated to the beginning of the 7th millennium cal BC. Peat-stratigraphical survey was carried out additionally, and elevations a.s.l. were determined at several locations. Tree dying-off phases, which indicate water level rise at the site, mostly in context of the local fen–bog transition, are evident for ca. 6600–6450, ca. 6350–5750, ca. 5300–4900, ca. 4700–4550, ca. 3900–3850, ca. 3700–3600, ca. 3500–3450 and ca. 3400 BC. The spatial distribution of the dated in situ trees illustrates the phase-wise expansion of raised bog over fen peat at the site. The documented bog expansion pulses likely correspond to climatic wet sifts.
Highlights
Raised bog development shaped the northwest German lowland during the Holocene, as eventually about a third of the area had been covered by mires (Metzler, 2004)
For the floating chronology segment three radiocarbon dates, which were determined at the Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG) in Hanover, were wiggle-matched on the base of the IntCal13 calibration curve (Reimer et al, 2013) using the OxCal 4.2 online software (Bronk Ramsey et al, 2001; Bronk Ramsey, 2009)
Of the 700 tree stumps sampled at this site most were pine (Pinus sylvestris), only 10 oak (Quercus sp.) stumps were sighted and sampled
Summary
Raised bog development shaped the northwest German lowland during the Holocene, as eventually about a third of the area had been covered by mires (fens and bogs) (Metzler, 2004). The area was characterized by large lowland raised bogs, which grow better under humid and cool conditions (Behre, 2008). The expansion of these raised bogs is evident since the 7th millennium BC, with a strong increase between 5100 and 3600 BC (Eckstein et al, 2011; Petzelberger et al, 1999). When in situ stumps are dated, they document the raised bog expansion
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
