The Holocene 20 (2)

Presents an analysis of the Northern Irish bog oak record presented in Turney et al. (2005) for the last 4500 years. The record is compared with a compiled peatland water table record from the same region and palaeohydrological data from northern England and mid-latitude Europe. It is argued that it is apparent that there is no consistent relationship between the population frequency of Irish bog oaks and the palaeohydrological reconstructions, illustrating that the record is not reflecting wetness changes in peatlands. Suggests that the bog oaks should be scrutinised on a within-site and a site-by-site basis to assess the spatial coherency of the shifts in tree populations and the synchronicity of phases of germination and dying off (GDO). Argues that further work is needed to critically examine the controls on the establishment and demise of bog oaks on Irish peatlands before these data can be used as a palaeoclimate proxy, and that only then can they be used to test solar forcing of Holocene climate change.

Quantitatively determined the effect of a range of treatment levels on particle size distribution among four sediment types representing a range of mineral/organic particle size distributions, organic content and particle characterisation (charcoal or detrital plant material). The optimum treatment was shown to be dependent on the characteristics of the sample. Thus final treatment recommendations are based on sample characteristics and the types of distribution descriptors used in a study.