Faunal and floral assemblages from Bingley Bog, West Yorkshire, and their significance for late Devensian and early Flandrian environmental changes

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Late Devensian and early Flandrian, mollusc-, ostracod- and pollen-bearing deposits from Bingley Bog, West Yorkshire are described. The sequence of environmental changes began with a rapid climatic amelioration which allowed the establishment of a diverse molluscan and ostracod fauna. This was followed by a short, less temperate episode that is registered by both the animal and the plant fossils. The Mollusca in particular imply that while a partial climatic recovery was made after this episode, environmental conditions were in overall decline. This decline culminated in a short, severe climatic phase which was probably responsible for the extinction of the fauna, and for a significant change in the flora. Birch woodland was replaced by tundra-like vegetation. The initial climatic amelioration most probably corresponds to the onset of temperate conditions at the start of the Windermere (Allerød) Interstadial. A subsequent worsening of climate, to cool temperate conditions, is tentatively correlated with the Older Dryas episode. The final cold phase would thus represent the Younger Dryas (Loch Lomond) Stadial. Both plant and animal records indicate the establishment of temperate conditions subsequent to Younger Dryas time. The early Flandrian fauna exhibited a rapid increase in both numbers and diversity, and woodland developed widely during the period.