Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1998, Page 214

220
HUMANIMPACT AT TJØRNUVÍKIN THE FAROEISLANDS
Depth (cm) below surface pollen concentration grains.cm"3 Vegetation
165 209,904.6 Dry meadow with abundant Gramineae, Sagina procumbens Filipendula ulmaria, Montia fontana, Stellaria media, Caltha palustris. Hordeum-type cereal pollen.
205 151,475.3 Pollen and macrofossil remains of large Rumex sp. and Gramineae. Microcharcoal, Sagina procumbens, Montia fontana, Stellaria media seeds, Hordeum-typc cereal pollen with low values of Calluna.
209 170,958.0 Marked increase in total pollen concentration. Microcharcoal, increase in Rumex acetosa, Plantago lanceolata and Hordeum- type cereal pollen along with abundant Gramineae. Sagina procumbens, Montia fontana, and Stellaria media seeds.
211.3 27,499.4 First instance of Hordeum-type pollen and increase in grassland herbs. First records for macrofossil weed species associated with clearance. Sagina procumbens, Montia fontana, Stellaria media, large, wild grass pollen and microcharcoal. Decrease in pollen of Cyperaceae and minimum of Juniperus and Calluna.
220-250 14,216.1 Abundant Juniperus pollen (30%) with Calluna vulgaris (15%) and Cyperaceae. Wet meadow and herb community includes Ranunculus, flammula, Hypericum pulchrum, Equisetum palustre, Menyanthes trifoliata, Alchemilla, Filipendula, Succisa, Epilobium, Potentilla and Armeria.
Table 1. Summary descriptions ofthe pre- and post-settlement vegetation changes inferredfrom pollen and plant
macrofossils in the present study at Tjørnuvík.
Talva 1. Yvirlitsfrágreiðingar av plantusamansetingini áðrenn og eftir landnám vístar í hesi grein við plantusáð og
-leivdum úr Tjørnuvfk
crease in total pollen concentration record-
ed at 209 cm but after the increase in or-
ganic content of the sediments at 217 cm.
Large, wild grass pollen types were also
first recorded in the same sample, numeri-
cal details of which will be published sepa-
rately. This again confirms the results from
the earlier work at this site, where the vari-
ation in the large grass pollen grains
recorded at settlement were stated to prob-
ably include Leymus arenarius (Jóhansen,
1971; 1985).
The results of the macrofossil analysis
(Table 1), revealed that species associated
with clearance and cultivation occurred
above 211.3 cm. These included Montia
fontana and Stellaria media, both wide-
spread and common today, and trouble-
some weeds in newly cultivated fields: Sag-
ina procumbens, a species which is abun-
dant on beaten paths and by roadsides and
abundant flowers of a large Rumex sp. (R.
obtusifolius or R. longifolius), common
near dwellings (Bloch, 1980) together with