The Late Devensian vegetation of Ireland

Abstract

The vegetation of the Late Devensian period in Ireland is reviewed. New investigations at Ballybetagh, Co. Dublin, Dunshaughlin, Co. Meath, Glenveagh, Co. Donegal and Poulroe, Co. Clare, are reported. A sequence of phases of vegetation development for the Dublin region is described and regional variation elsewhere in Ireland discussed. Pollen influx values for two Late Devensian sites in southeastern Ireland are reported. A case is made that the Juniperus-Empetrum phase between 12400 and 12000 B.P. was the warmest phase of the Late Devensian. The reason for absence of birch woodland in late-glacial Ireland is discussed. Evidence for widespread soil erosion at the end of the Juniperus-Empetrum phase is presented. The occurrence of a corrie glaciation at Lough Nahanagan in the Wicklow Mountains in the Artemisia phase is documented. A radiocarbon chronology for events in the Late Devensian of Ireland is proposed