Lateglacial and Holocene floras and faunas from the Salpetermosen area, north-east Sjælland, Denmark

Abstract

The Salpetermosen area in north-east Sjælland, Denmark, was deglaciated about 18 000 to 17 000 years ago. Melting of bodies of stagnant glacier ice led to the for-mation of kettle holes, which contain Lateglacial and Holocene sediments with remains of plants and animals that provide information on the past flora and fauna of the area. During the Allerød period, open forests with Betula pubescens (downy birch) characterised the area, the flora included light-demanding species such as Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (bearberry), Empetrum nigrum (crowberry) and rare Populus tremula (aspen), Betula nana (dwarf birch) and Rubus saxatilis (stone bramble), as well as the thermophilous swamp plant Oenanthe aquatica (fine-leaved water dropwort). During the Younger Dryas, the vegetation was characterised by dwarf-shrub heaths dominated by Betula nana, but including Dryas octopetala (mountain avens), Salix herbacea (least willow), Arctostaphylos alpina (alpine bearberry,) and rare Betula pube-scens, as well as the thermophilous plants Urtica dioeca (stinging nettle) and Lychnis flos-cuculi (ragged robin). The Early Holocene forests were dominated by Betula pubescens, Populus tremula and Pinus sylvestris (scots pine), but included rare Betula nana. Alnus glutinosa (alder) arrived at c. 10 000 cal. years BP. The calciphilous sedge Cladium mariscus (fen-sedge) and the macrolimnophyte Najas marina (spiny naiad) were common. The Late Holocene flora included the acidophilous plant Scheuchzeria palustris (rannoch-rush).