Palaeoecology has been prominent in studies of environmental change during the Holocene epoch in Scotland. These studies have been dominated by palynology (pollen, spore and related bio-and litho-stratigraphic analyses) as a key approach to multi- and inter-disciplinary investigations of topics such as vegetation, climate and landscape change. This paper highlights some key dimensions of the pollen- and vegetation-based archive, with a focus upon woodland dynamics, blanket peat, human impacts, biodiversity and conservation. Following a brief discussion of chronological, climatic, faunal and landscape contexts, the migration, survival and nature of the woodland cover through time is assessed, emphasising its time-transgressiveness and altitudinal variation. While agriculture led to the demise of woodland in lowland areas of the south and east, the spread of blanket peat was especially a phenomenon of the north and west, including the Western and Northern Isles. Almost a quarter of Scotland is covered by blanket peat and the cause(s) of its spread continue(s) to evoke recourse to climatic, topographic, pedogenic, hydrological, biotic or anthropogenic influences, while we remain insufficiently knowledgeable about the timing of the formation processes. Humans have been implicated in vegetational change throughout the Holocene, with prehistoric woodland removal, woodland management, agricultural impacts arising from arable and pastoral activities, potential heathland development and afforestation. The viability of many current vegetation communities remains a concern, in that Scottish data show reductions in plant diversity over the last 400 years, which recent conservation efforts have yet to reverse. Palaeoecological evidence can be used to test whether conservation baselines and restoration targets are appropriate to longer-term ecosystem variability and can help identify when modern conditions have no past analogues.

中文翻译：

---

苏格兰全新世环境变化的古生态学观点

古生态学在苏格兰全新世时期的环境变化研究中占有重要地位。这些研究以孢粉学（花粉、孢子和相关的生物和岩石地层分析）为主，作为对植被、气候和景观变化等主题进行多学科和跨学科调查的关键方法。本文重点介绍了基于花粉和植被的档案的一些关键方面，重点关注林地动态、泥炭毯、人类影响、生物多样性和保护。在简要讨论时间、气候、动物和景观背景之后，评估了林地覆盖随时间的迁移、生存和性质，强调了其时间超越性和海拔变化。虽然农业导致南部和东部低地地区的林地消失，毯状泥炭的蔓延尤其是北部和西部的现象，包括西部和北部岛屿。苏格兰几乎四分之一的土地被泥炭覆盖，其蔓延的原因继续引起人们求助于气候、地形、土壤、水文、生物或人为影响，而我们仍然对泥炭的时间了解不足形成过程。人类与整个全新世的植被变化有关，包括史前林地清除、林地管理、耕地和畜牧活动对农业的影响、潜在的荒地开发和植树造林。许多当前植被群落的生存能力仍然令人担忧，因为苏格兰数据显示过去 400 年植物多样性减少，最近的保护工作尚未扭转。古生态学证据可用于测试保护基线和恢复目标是否适合长期生态系统可变性，并有助于确定现代条件何时没有过去的类似物。