Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- I Introductory Chapters
- II Ecophysiology
- III Aquatic Bryophytes
- IV Desert and Tropical Ecosystems
- V Alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic Ecosystems
- VI Sphagnum and Peatlands
- VII Changes in Bryophyte Distribution with Climate Change: Data and Models
- 17 The Role of Bryophyte Paleoecology in Quaternary Climate Reconstructions
- 18 Signs of Climate Change in the Bryoflora of Hungary
- 19 Can the Effects of Climate Change on British Bryophytes be Distinguished from those Resulting from Other Environmental Changes?
- 20 Climate Change and Protected Areas: How well do British Rare Bryophytes Fare?
- 21 Modeling the Distribution of Sematophyllum substrumulosum (Hampe) E. Britton as a Signal of Climatic Changes in Europe
- 22 Modeling Bryophyte Productivity Across Gradients of Water Availability Using Canopy Form–Function Relationships
- VIII Conclusions
- Index
- References
17 - The Role of Bryophyte Paleoecology in Quaternary Climate Reconstructions
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 October 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- I Introductory Chapters
- II Ecophysiology
- III Aquatic Bryophytes
- IV Desert and Tropical Ecosystems
- V Alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic Ecosystems
- VI Sphagnum and Peatlands
- VII Changes in Bryophyte Distribution with Climate Change: Data and Models
- 17 The Role of Bryophyte Paleoecology in Quaternary Climate Reconstructions
- 18 Signs of Climate Change in the Bryoflora of Hungary
- 19 Can the Effects of Climate Change on British Bryophytes be Distinguished from those Resulting from Other Environmental Changes?
- 20 Climate Change and Protected Areas: How well do British Rare Bryophytes Fare?
- 21 Modeling the Distribution of Sematophyllum substrumulosum (Hampe) E. Britton as a Signal of Climatic Changes in Europe
- 22 Modeling Bryophyte Productivity Across Gradients of Water Availability Using Canopy Form–Function Relationships
- VIII Conclusions
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
The Quaternary covers the past 2.5 million years of Earth history. This unique period is well known for a record of oscillating climatic parameters. If one wishes to understand the trajectory of future climatic changes triggered by human activities, one should also have a clear picture of the climate of the past. Fluctuating climates are reflected in peat bog profiles. Paleoecological studies using plant macrofossils, like bryophyte remains, have an important role in the reconstruction of past hydrological changes in lakes and peat bogs. Plant macrofossil analysis has been used most frequently in the oceanic regions of Europe, where the moisture gradient is reflected clearly in different Sphagnum taxa. The method of bog surface wetness predictions has not been adapted to date for the characterization of continental peatbogs. Hungary is located along the southern limit of Sphagnum-dominated peat bogs, with peat bogs restricted to the moister regions of the country. Holocene climatic events, such as severe droughts, caused significant changes in mire development and as such are traceable in the paleoenvironmental record of these bogs.
Fossil mosses used as proxies for detecting past climatic changes
Detailed paleoecological investigations of fossil mosses enable us to accurately capture the prevailing conditions in some terrestrial ecosystems, mainly those in littoral parts of various catchment basins. There are two major directions for investigation and interpretation: one is restricted to the ecological needs of the individual taxa, whereas the other is based on the ecological requirements of ecological groups and communities in the reconstruction.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Bryophyte Ecology and Climate Change , pp. 335 - 358Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
References
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