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Pollen-Analyses of Sub-Carse Peats of the Forth Valley

1966; Wiley; Issue: 39 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/621674

1475-5661

Walter W. Newey,

Marine and coastal plant biology

THE CARSE of Stirling forms part of the valley of the upper Forth, situated in Central Scotland to the west of Stirling. It is an extensive tract of almost level land floored by the estuarine clays and silts known as the carse clay. Below these clays occurs a peat-bed described by T. F. Jamieson (1865) and investigated more recently by pollen-analysis by S. E. Durno (1956); the peat rests upon a surface composed of clay and silt deposits. Numerous borings have indicated that the peat below the carse lies at several different levels, being nearest to the surface at the southern margin of the plain and lying deeper northward towards the river Forth. The surfaces upon which the peat rests are flat or very gently inclined and represent beaches formed during periods of high sea-level in Late-Glacial and Post-Glacial times. J. B. Sissons (pp. I9-24 of this volume) has distinguished three different beaches, each with a bed of peat resting on it. These beaches, referred to as the Low, Main and High Buried Beaches, occur between about 20 and 40 feet O.D. With their overlying peats, these beaches were buried successively by the carse marine deposits during the main Post-glacial rise in sea-level. This paper describes work by pollen-analysis upon the buried peats of the two lower beaches and the deposits immediately above and below them; the objectives were to investigate vegetational changes during changes in sea-level and to determine the approximate time of these changes, having regard to previous work done by pollen-analysis and radio-carbon dating. Samples for pollen-analysis were taken from two sites, shown on the map; site I is at Kippen (630960) where the lowest of the buried peats is exposed along the banks of the river Forth; and site 2 is at West Flanders Moss (583957) where peat of the Main Buried Beach occurs. At the Kippen site, where the peat is much compressed, samples were taken from the cleaned face of the exposure; at the site at West Flanders Moss, a Hiller borer was used in the usual way. A five centimetre sampling interval was used at Kippen, owing to the compression of the peat, but an interval of ten centimetres was used at West Flanders Moss.