A. L. Backman

Om den Åländska skogens förhistoria

Backman A. L. (1934). Om den Åländska skogens förhistoria. Acta Forestalia Fennica vol. 40 no. 20 article id 7297. https://doi.org/10.14214/aff.7297

Abstract

The paper presents preliminary results of paleobotanical studies on vegetation in Åland, south-west Finland. The investigations concentrated on studying arrival of tree species and stratigraphy of peatlands. According to the studies, some plant fossils found in the peat (Ceratophyllum submersum, Sparagnium neglectum, Najas flexilis) indicate that climate of the region has earlier been warmer than at the present. The present forests in Åland are dominated by coniferous species, but the pollen analysis of the peat indicate that Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) became a common species in the region about by the time of Christ’s birth. The species has reached its present distribution in Åland relatively late. The pollen analyses give relatively little information about the arrival of birch (Betula sp.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), but it seems obvious that occurrence of birch reached its culmination just before spruce. During the warm period common alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.) was the most important species, and also pollen of oak (Quercus robur L.), kinden (Tilia cordata L.) and elm (Ulmus sp.) was relatively common in the peat of some of the studied peatlands. An interesting finding was the pollen of Carpinus betulus in many sites in Åland.

The PDF includes a Finnish and German summary.

Keywords
Pinus sylvestris; Betula; Picea abies; Finland; tree species; distribution; Alnus incana; occurrence; Åland; pollen analysis; paleobotany; Carpinus betulus

Published in 1934

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