Ecology and native status of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Ireland
Jenni Roche
Supervisors: Prof. Fraser Mitchell & Dr Steve Waldren
Palaeoecological evidence indicates that Scots pine colonised Ireland soon after the last glaciation, flourished in certain areas and then declined. The most recent specimen was dated to c. 410 AD, after which the species is generally thought to have become extinct in Ireland. Scots pine was reintroduced to Ireland c. 1700 AD and has since been widely planted. Despite its uncertain native status, the species is included in Ireland’s Native Woodland Scheme, which provides grant aid to landowners to plant native trees of local provenance. The ecology of the species in Ireland has not been adequately described. Definitive information is therefore urgently required. This project aims to provide reliable, consolidated information on the native status, ecology and biodiversity value of P. sylvestris in Ireland. Vegetation, stand structure, regeneration and soils were examined at 18 pinewoods in Ireland and six in Scotland. The plant community ecology and biodiversity value of P. sylvestris in Ireland have been described and compared with those of high quality native pinewoods in Scotland. A review of the dynamics of P. sylvestris in Ireland during the Holocene is ongoing. In addition, the continuity, dynamics, fire history and chronology of a putative native stand are being investigated through fine spatial resolution pollen analysis, charcoal analysis and radiocarbon dating.
Publications:
Roche, J.R., Mitchell, F.J.G. & Waldren, S. (2008) Ecology of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) in Ireland - preliminary results. In: R. Moles (ed.) Conference Proceedings of Environ 2007, the Irish Environmental Researchers' Colloquium (in press).
Perrin, P.M., Martin, J.R., Barron, S.J. & Roche, J.R. (2006). A cluster analysis approach to classifying Irish native woodlands. Biology and Environment, 106B, 261-275.
Roche, J. (2008). Meeting Report - Postgraduate Ecology Forum. Bulletin of the British Ecological Society, 39, (2), 53-54.
Roche, J. (2003). Tradition and biodiversity in Connemara. Peatland News, 36, 19-20.