Fossil Plant Communities and Regeneration Patterns on a Raised Bog in South Sweden

Abstract

SUMMARY (1) The Store Mosse mire has developed during the last 5000 years, with three bog stages separated from each other by vegetation producing highly humified peat layers. (2) The Fuscum bog stage at the bottom was dominated by relatively dry growing communities with Sphagnum fuscum. The Rubellum-Fuscum bog stage had several different communities with Sphagnum fuscum, S. rubellum and S. sect. Cuspidata. In the Magellanicum bog stage, hummocks, occupied by Sphagnum imbricatum, S.fuscum and S. rubellum, had a restricted distribution. They were joined in hummock strings. Sphagnum magellanicum was the most important species in the intervening hollows, but even Sphagnum cuspidatum occurred. (3) The peat-forming communities of the bog show an upward trend comparable with the east-west gradient found in present day bog communities. This differentiation may be related to increasing oceanicity. (4) Hollows are supposed to be secondary features, which are developed when environmental conditions give rise to an increase of water on the bog surface. No cyclic, autogenic regeneration between hummock and hollow communities was observed. (5) In the Magellanicum bog stage two types of bog growth can be distinguished. In the