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10,000 years of change: the Holocene Entomofauna of the British Isles
Author(s) -
Dinnin Mark H.,
Sadler Jonathan P.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of quaternary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.142
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1099-1417
pISSN - 0267-8179
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1417(199910)14:6<545::aid-jqs489>3.0.co;2-x
Subject(s) - holocene , woodland , climate change , deforestation (computer science) , ecology , geography , grassland , habitat , wetland , steppe , habitat fragmentation , fragmentation (computing) , present day , archaeology , biology , physics , astronomy , computer science , programming language
The fossil insect evidence for large scale and dramatic changes in the British landscape over the last 10,000 years is reviewed. Five main phases in the development of the British entomofauna are considered in detail: (i) Early Holocene warming and environments, (ii) afforestation, (iii) the maximum ‘Urwald’, (iv) deforestation and (v) the creation of the ‘culture‐steppe’. These changes are discussed in terms of the interplay between ecological, climatic and human‐induced changes to the environment. The fossil record indicates that during this process at least 44 species of invertebrates found in mature woodland, wetland and species rich grassland are no longer recorded in the UK. Increased habitat fragmentation as a result activity, perhaps against the backdrop of subtle climate change, is seen as the main cause of these losses.