Abstract
SummaryPollen originating from small populations of Tilia cordata is largely deposited within a few hundred metres of the trees, so that their presence can only be detected by pollen analysis at sites within distances of this order. Pollen diagrams from such sites show a continuous curve for Tilia pollen extending to the present surface, although the values may be only about 1 % of arboreal pollen. Pollen analysis shows that T. cordata was present in the Lake District by about 5000 to 4800 B.C.; it then became plentiful in the southern valleys and extended to reach its present north‐western limit, or just beyond, by 3100 B.C., when migration ceased. While the tree was extending its range, it must have been able to produce frequent large crops of fertile seed but subsequently regeneration from seed ceased. After 3100 B.C. the proportion of its pollen initially may increase but then generally decreases. Although there are small recoveries at several horizons, these are not certain evidence of reproduction by seed. Failure to produce fertile seed renders the species particularly sensitive to woodland clearance and has resulted in a decrease in abundance within the Lake District and its virtual extinction in west Yorkshire and south Lancashire.
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