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PLANT MACROFOSSILS FROM LATE‐DEVENSIAN DEPOSITS AT NANT FFRANCON, CAERNARVONSHIRE
Author(s) -
BURROWS C. J.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1974.tb01329.x
Subject(s) - macrofossil , herbaceous plant , woodland , vegetation (pathology) , glacial period , period (music) , geology , pollen , ecology , physical geography , geography , paleontology , biology , medicine , physics , pathology , acoustics
S ummary The occurrence of plant macrofossils in Late‐Devensian sediments from the valley of Nant Ffrancon is described. The range of fossils present and their distribution relative to changes in the sedimentary sequence allow an interpretation to be made of the Late‐Devensian environments of the area. A time of barren landscape, as ice retreated from the valley and adjacent areas, was followed by a brief period of vegetation development in which some woody plants were present, then a brief return to colder conditions and devegetation. There then occurred a longer interval during which varied vegetation developed, beginning primarily with herbaceous communities and culminating in a period of predominance of birch woodland and scrub, which probably formed mosaics with herbaceous communities. Finally, there was a return to barren conditions as climate again became colder. No absolute dating is yet available for these events but, provisionally, they may be correlated with phases in the glacial history of the area and with changes recorded by pollen analysis by other workers.