‘Pine Decline or pine declines?’ Analysis and Interpretation of Bog-Pines from Wem Moss, Shropshire, UK

A dendrochronological investigation was undertaken on subfossil Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stumps following their discovery during conservation management at Wem Moss, a small (28 ha) former raised mire in Shropshire, UK. Two ring-width chronologies were constructed from 14 of the 17 trees sampled spanning 198 and 208 years, respectively. Whilst dendrochronological dating was not possible, radiocarbon assays provided an estimated age for this mire-rooting woodland of between 3015 and 2505 years cal. BCE, coinciding with the age traditionally associated with the widespread mortality of pine trees throughout much of the UK and Ireland, often referred to as the Pine Decline (ca. 4000 radiocarbon years BP). Placed in a wider geographical context, the Wem Moss pines are located within the lowland Meres and Mosses region, where previous studies on subfossil pine have demonstrated protracted declines in mire-rooting trees. These have included tree mortality significantly post-dating the Pine Decline, especially at larger peatland sites that exceed 5 km2. Such macrofossil evidence for the presence of Scots pine into the late Holocene is supported by continuous Pinus pollen representation at peatland sites in the Welsh Marches (English–Welsh border), suggesting the possible survival of native Scots pine trees in this area up to the present day. The investigation of Wem Moss bog pines and their wider geographical context highlights the incomplete and patchy nature of palaeo-vegetational records and also the need for future genetic research on living Scots pine in possible refugial areas in Britain and Ireland

Aging mulberry trees (Morus nigra L): The Charterhouse, London, UK

Black or Common Mulberry (Morus nigra) was introduced into Britain in the late sixteenth–early seventeenth centuries and has since had limited success as an ornamental and fruit-producing tree. Older specimens survive in a limited number of locations including at The Charterhouse in central London. Four of these trees were investigated with the aid of standard dendrochronological techniques, historic images, including an early postcard and a painting by Edward Ardizzone, and with the application of expert knowledge of the forms and ages of contemporary mulberry trees. Results included the creation of a new ring-width chronology (CH_Mulberry) and dating that suggests the two oldest trees may well have been planted to commemorate either Queen Victoria’s Golden (AD 1887) or Diamond Jubilee (AD 1897). The research represents a first known dendrochronological investigation of the species, highlighting issues associated with sampling “tortuous” growth forms and the poor visibility of sapwood rings, as well as the potential for the use of branch ring-widths to facilitate dendrochronological dating of fruit and other trees

Evaporating legacies: Industrial heritage and salt in Cheshire, UK

This paper examines the nature and legacies of the salt industry in Cheshire and recommends action to avoid losing an understanding of its fragmentary heritage. Brine and rock salt occurring in the natural environment has led to significant industrial development in Cheshire over the last two millennia. Technologies for salt exploitation have varied in scale and in location, and their ephemeral nature has often left few traces in the landscape. This industrial legacy contrasts with extractive industries such as coal which leave more tangible aftermaths - infrastructure and communities. Cheshire salt legacies include the unplanned consequences of subsidence, but also informal opportunities, for instance in nature conservation and recreation. Salt industry heritage in Cheshire is the central justification for the new Weaver Valley Regional Park which seeks to promote future social and economic well-being, but the salt legacies which delimit its area deserve sufficient recognition and wider communication

La conmemoración del Bicentenario en Argentina y Uruguay durante los gobiernos “progresistas”: tendencias de cambio en la memoria cultural performática

El 25 de mayo de 2010 se realizó en Buenos Aires como acto principal conmemorativo del Bicentenario de la Revolución de Mayo un desfile “histórico-artístico”, organizado desde el primer gobierno de Cristina Fernández. El 10 de octubre de 2011 se efectuó en la plaza Independencia de Montevideo el acto central del Bicentenario uruguayo, durante el segundo gobierno nacional del Frente Amplio, bajo la presidencia de José “Pepe” Mujica. Este artículo analiza estas fechas redondas focalizándose en la performatividad oficial desplegada desde estos gobiernos, en comparación a la tradición precedente de conmemorar este tipo de performances políticas. El estudio examina las resignificaciones en la memoria cultural performática realizadas en un contexto histórico político inédito en la región, el denominado “ciclo progresista”. El argumento central postula que estos Bicentenarios introdujeron cambios importantes mediante estas performances políticas al resignificar el contrato social fundante de la nación en ambos países

Políticas culturales en Uruguay durante el ciclo progresista (2005-2020). Avances y contradicciones en un tiempo de cambios

During the progressive cycle (2005-2020), Uruguay for the first time in its history, was governed by a center-left political party. The article examines the cultural policies developed during this political cycle. Applies a critical notion of cultural policy that seeks to transcend its use limited to the artistic field management, without excluding it from the analysis. Regarding sectoral policies, examines the emergence of a new paradigm, cultural citizenship, parallel to the continuity of the support for artistic disciplines of scholarly culture. Regarding substratum policies, the cultural implications of the policy towards difference are addressed in what was called the new agenda of rights and the valorization of capitalism as an engine of national development.Durante el ciclo progresista (2005-2020) Uruguay estuvo gobernado por primera vez en su historia por un partido político de centro-izquierda. El artículo examina las políticas culturales desarrolladas durante este ciclo político. Se aplica una noción crítica de política cultural que trasciende su uso limitado a la gestión del campo artístico, sin excluirlo del análisis. Sobre las políticas sectoriales se examina la emergencia de un nuevo paradigma, la ciudadanía cultural, en paralelo a la continuidad del apoyo a disciplinas artísticas de la cultura erudita. Sobre las políticas de sustrato, se abordan las implicaciones culturales de la política hacia la diferencia en lo que se denominó nueva agenda de derechos y de la valorización del capitalismo como motor del desarrollo nacional

Le retour des cosaques

La renaissance des cosaques apparaît comme un vaste mouvement social encouragé à l'origine par le parti communiste, et surveillé de près par le ministère de l'Intérieur et de la Défense pour son potentiel militaire. Ce mouvement reflète avant tout le désarroi d'une part importante de la société russe, et rassemble les perdants et ceux qui, ne voulant pas se perdre, se raccrochent au mythe d'un passé dont les vertus seraient salvatrices. Il pourrait se présenter comme une troisième voie, entre les démocrates et Jirinovski. Mais il est avant tout profondément réactionnaire, nationaliste et antisémite, et dans ses conditions, il ne concourra pas à la modernisation de la société russe. Peut-être ne s'agit-il que d'un feu de paille qui s'éteindra de lui-même lorsque la Russie aura retrouvé la stabilité économique et la croissance

Hydrogeomorphic control on tree growth responses in the Elton area of the Cheshire Saltfield, UK

Increment cores were sampled from oak (Quercus robur) and ash (Fraxinus excelsior) growing at Elton, an area of the Cheshire Saltfield that has experienced significant subsidence and damage to the natural and built environments in the latter part of the twentieth century. Ring-width measurements for Elton trees permitted the construction of one main site chronology (Elton) and four sub chronologies (Elton A, Elton B, Elton C, Elton ASH). Ring-width difference between these and a control chronology identified periods of sustained growth reduction in oak trees commencing in AD 1859/1861, 1886 and 1934. Growth reductions after 1934 are related to watertable draw down caused by brine pumping from a concentration of nine boreholes at Elton, up to 2 km from tree sampling locations. Growth reductions in 1859/1861 and 1886 are likely to be the result of earlier phases of brine pumping in the Wheelock Valley, up to 5 km to the east of Elton, and these reductions correlate well with historic records of subsidence and pumping activity. Cessation of pumping in 1977 led to a lagged growth recovery in oak trees between 1981 and 1986, indicating that an artificial drought had been imposed on the Elton area for a period in excess off 100-y. This research demonstrates a hydrological separation of surface water and groundwater in an area where salt beds are overlain by till and that ring-width records of Q. robur can be used to reconstruct watertable variability and also the spatial impact of solution mining. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Post glacial history of the Nant Helen opencast site South Wales: implications for land restoration

A proposal to extend opencast mining at Nant Helen Colliery, South Wales, threatened both archaeological sites and a large expanse of upland mire on Mynydd y Drum. Excavations of two cairns and a length of post-medieval trackway were conducted there by the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust in the summer of 1987. These were accompanied by palaeoecological work to ascertain both the post-glacial environmental history of Mynydd y Drum and the contemporary environmental setting of the two cairns. Evidence suggests that the most dramatic impact upon local woodland was in the early Bronze Age. The evidence for former extensive deciduous woodlands on Mynydd y Drum now offers British Coal a wider range of land restoration goals, for consideration when the opencast mining ceases. -from Author

Multidecadal variability in Atlas cedar growth in northwest Africa during the last 850 years: implications for dieback and conservation of an endangered species

Widespread forest dieback is a phenomenon of global concern that requires an improved understanding of the relationship between tree growth and climate to support conservation efforts. One priority for conservation is the Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica), an endangered species exhibiting dieback throughout its North African range. In this study, we evaluate the long-term context for recent dieback and develop a projection of future C. atlantica growth by exploring the periodic variability of its growth through time. First, we present a new C. atlantica tree- ring chronology (1150–2013 CE) from the Middle Atlas mountains, Morocco. We then compare the new chronology to existing C. atlantica chronologies in Morocco and use principal components analysis (PCA) to isolate the common periodic signal from the seven longest available records (PCA7, 1271–1984 CE) in the Middle and High Atlas portions of the C. atlantica range. PCA7 captures 55.7% of the variance and contains significant multidecadal ( ̃95yr, ̃57yr, ̃21yr) periodic components, revealed through spectral and wavelet analyses. Parallel analyses of historical climate data (1901–2016 CE) suggests that the multidecadal growth signal ori- ginates primarily in growing season (spring and summer) precipitation variability, compounded by slow- changing components of summer and winter temperatures. Finally, we model the long-term growth patterns between 1271–1984 CE using a small number (three to four) of harmonic components, illustrating that sup- pressed growth since the 1970s – a factor implicated in the dieback of this species – is consistent with recurrent climatically-driven growth declines. Forward projection of this model suggests two climatically-favourable periods for growth in the 21st century that may enhance current conservation actions for the long-term survival of the C. atlantica in the Middle and High Atlas mountains