Sudden disappearance of yew (Taxus baccata) woodlands from
eastern England coincides with a possible climate event around
4.2 ka ago

J 2024

Sudden disappearance of yew (Taxus baccata) woodlands from eastern England coincides with a possible climate event around 4.2 ka ago

BEBCHUK, Tatiana, Paul J KRUSIC, Joshua H PIKE, Alma PIERMATTEI, Ronny FRIEDRICH et. al.

Basic information

Original name

Sudden disappearance of yew (Taxus baccata) woodlands from eastern England coincides with a possible climate event around 4.2 ka ago

Authors

Edition

Quaternary Science Reviews, Elsevier Ltd, 2024, 0277-3791

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

10511 Environmental sciences

Country of publisher

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

Impact factor

Impact factor: 4.000 in 2022

Organization unit

Faculty of Science

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108414

UT WoS

001138596100001

Keywords in English

Dendrochronology; Forest dynamics; Mid-Holocene; Palaeoecology; Radiocarbon dating; Sea-level changes; Subfossil wood; Tree rings

Abstract

V originále

Tree-ring chronologies form the backbone of high-resolution palaeoclimatology. However, their number declines drastically prior to medieval times, and only a few such records worldwide extend back to the mid-Holocene. Here, we present a collection of more than 400 subfossil yew (Taxus baccata L.) trees excavated from near sea-level peat-rich sediments in the Fenland region of eastern England. The well-preserved yew trunks are between two and eight metres long, often exhibit adventitious root layers, and contain up to 400 rings of highly irregular growth. Combined dendrochronological and radiocarbon dating resulted in two tree-ring width chronologies that comprise 36 and 32 trees, span 413 and 418 years, exhibit mean inter-series correlations (Rbar) of 0.50 and 0.51, and were provisionally dated to 5225-4813 (+/- 4) and 4612-4195 (+/- 6) years cal BP. Together with a total of 63 radiocarbon dates (14C), our subfossil tree-ring evidence suggests that yew establishment (or onset of preservation) began-5250 years cal BP and resulted in extensive climax forests between 5200 and 4200 years cal BP. A first stage of yew decline-4800-4600 years cal BP was possibly caused by oxygen deprivation from soil wetting, whereas yew disappearance-4200 years cal BP is suggested to have been triggered by marine inundation as a consequence of rapid sea-level rise. Both phases of yew decline in eastern England coincide with marked reductions in subfossil oak and pine from peatbogs in Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands. Our results emphasise the potential to develop a dendrochronological network in coastal England for better understanding of larger-scale climate and environmental changes during the mid-Holocene, including the still debated 4.2 ka climate event. Moreover, we expect our subfossil yew chronologies to facilitate the dating of local archaeological remains, refine sea-level reconstructions around the British Isles, and contribute to the international radiocarbon calibration curve IntCal.

Citovat

BEBCHUK, Tatiana, Paul J KRUSIC, Joshua H PIKE, Alma PIERMATTEI, Ronny FRIEDRICH, Lukas WACKER, Alan CRIVELLARO, Tito AROSIO, Alexander V KIRDYANOV, Philip GIBBARD, David BROWN, Jan ESPER, Frederick REINIG and Ulf BÜNTGEN. Sudden disappearance of yew (Taxus baccata) woodlands from eastern England coincides with a possible climate event around 4.2 ka ago. Quaternary Science Reviews. Elsevier Ltd, 2024, vol. 323, January 2024, p. 1-11. ISSN 0277-3791. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108414.

@article{2405284,
   author = {Bebchuk, Tatiana and Krusic, Paul J and Pike, Joshua H and Piermattei, Alma and Friedrich, Ronny and Wacker, Lukas and Crivellaro, Alan and Arosio, Tito and Kirdyanov, Alexander V and Gibbard, Philip and Brown, David and Esper, Jan and Reinig, Frederick and Büntgen, Ulf},
   article_number = {January 2024},
   doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108414},
   keywords = {Dendrochronology; Forest dynamics; Mid-Holocene; Palaeoecology; Radiocarbon dating; Sea-level changes; Subfossil wood; Tree rings},
   language = {eng},
   issn = {0277-3791},
   journal = {Quaternary Science Reviews},
   title = {Sudden disappearance of yew (Taxus baccata) woodlands from eastern England coincides with a possible climate event around 4.2 ka ago},
   url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379123004626},
   volume = {323},
   year = {2024}
}

TY  - JOUR
ID  - 2405284
AU  - Bebchuk, Tatiana - Krusic, Paul J - Pike, Joshua H - Piermattei, Alma - Friedrich, Ronny - Wacker, Lukas - Crivellaro, Alan - Arosio, Tito - Kirdyanov, Alexander V - Gibbard, Philip - Brown, David - Esper, Jan - Reinig, Frederick - Büntgen, Ulf
PY  - 2024
TI  - Sudden disappearance of yew (Taxus baccata) woodlands from eastern England coincides with a possible climate event around 4.2 ka ago
JF  - Quaternary Science Reviews
VL  - 323
IS  - January 2024
SP  - 1-11
EP  - 1-11
PB  - Elsevier Ltd
SN  - 02773791
KW  - Dendrochronology
KW  - Forest dynamics
KW  - Mid-Holocene
KW  - Palaeoecology
KW  - Radiocarbon dating
KW  - Sea-level changes
KW  - Subfossil wood
KW  - Tree rings
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379123004626
N2  - Tree-ring chronologies form the backbone of high-resolution palaeoclimatology. However, their number declines drastically prior to medieval times, and only a few such records worldwide extend back to the mid-Holocene. Here, we present a collection of more than 400 subfossil yew (Taxus baccata L.) trees excavated from near sea-level peat-rich sediments in the Fenland region of eastern England. The well-preserved yew trunks are between two and eight metres long, often exhibit adventitious root layers, and contain up to 400 rings of highly irregular growth. Combined dendrochronological and radiocarbon dating resulted in two tree-ring width chronologies that comprise 36 and 32 trees, span 413 and 418 years, exhibit mean inter-series correlations (Rbar) of 0.50 and 0.51, and were provisionally dated to 5225-4813 (+/- 4) and 4612-4195 (+/- 6) years cal BP. Together with a total of 63 radiocarbon dates (14C), our subfossil tree-ring evidence suggests that yew establishment (or onset of preservation) began-5250 years cal BP and resulted in extensive climax forests between 5200 and 4200 years cal BP. A first stage of yew decline-4800-4600 years cal BP was possibly caused by oxygen deprivation from soil wetting, whereas yew disappearance-4200 years cal BP is suggested to have been triggered by marine inundation as a consequence of rapid sea-level rise. Both phases of yew decline in eastern England coincide with marked reductions in subfossil oak and pine from peatbogs in Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands. Our results emphasise the potential to develop a dendrochronological network in coastal England for better understanding of larger-scale climate and environmental changes during the mid-Holocene, including the still debated 4.2 ka climate event. Moreover, we expect our subfossil yew chronologies to facilitate the dating of local archaeological remains, refine sea-level reconstructions around the British Isles, and contribute to the international radiocarbon calibration curve IntCal.
ER  -

BEBCHUK, Tatiana, Paul J KRUSIC, Joshua H PIKE, Alma PIERMATTEI, Ronny FRIEDRICH, Lukas WACKER, Alan CRIVELLARO, Tito AROSIO, Alexander V KIRDYANOV, Philip GIBBARD, David BROWN, Jan ESPER, Frederick REINIG and Ulf BÜNTGEN. Sudden disappearance of yew (Taxus baccata) woodlands from eastern England coincides with a possible climate event around 4.2 ka ago. \textit{Quaternary Science Reviews}. Elsevier Ltd, 2024, vol.~323, January 2024, p.~1-11. ISSN~0277-3791. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108414.

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