The pollen record is a collection of field-based observations and interpretations derived from pollen analysis and ecological context. These notes document seasonal and long-term patterns in plant presence, distribution, and material behaviour as observed through pollen evidence.
Pollen Record
Key findings * Not everything in the record was definitely there. For example, pine trees have highly mobile pollen and can sometimes be overrepresented in the pollen record. * Not everything absent from the pollen record was absent on the ground. For example, insect-pollinated plants are often absent, or under-represented in the
Species: Oak
None of what I've studied looks at the links of the trees that colonised Dartmoor after glaciation compared to the trees that are here today. Genetics are not referenced -- simply the familial relationship of a species within a genus. A continuous lineage of native trees is a
Species: Alder
Compared to cities and countryside hedgerows, it's actually quite difficult to forage for colour on the high moor of Dartmoor. The earliest tree colonisers of Dartmoor after the glaciers were dwarf willow and birch. Dartmoor has seen the comings and goings of trees for thousands of years. Most
Field Notes
If you've been to Princetown, you no doubt will have travelled through many habitats to arrive in the village: lowland farms, valley forests, and the bleak high moor. If we were to take a sample from each of these places, they would have slightly different contemporary pollen assemblages.
Field Notes
The pollen record is retrieved from land. Dirt is collected from "today" back 10,000 years, just after the glaciers retreated. It isn't worth collecting samples below glacial till because it's likely that soil has been churned, and no longer sits in the correct,
Pollen Record
The history of plants on Dartmoor is known from only a handful of studies which have been conducted on Dartmoor. Each of the studies has taken a sliver of dirt, and then examined it under a microscope to find the pollen from the plants that have grown here over time.