History of the Vegetation of the Southern Pennines

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Abstract
The Scandinavian ice sheet did not invade the higher ground of the Pennines. However, the nuna-taks were covered with ice the year round. There are no records of the vegetation of the area at this early period. The interglacial period was marked by series of glacial or possibly only one prolonged interglacial period. In the 1st great glaciation the conditions were so severe that the temperate flora was eliminated. On the retreat of the ice of interglacial times the temperate flora returned, receiving a severe check during the last glaciation, when the nunataks of the southern Pennines probably supported a tundra flora. Palaeoliths occur in the interglacial parts of south-east England and on the older drift but not on the newer drift. Excavations on the moors prove the pre-Roman origin of the peat and the presence of trees and ericaceous shrubs in early Tardenois times. Pollen analysis revealed no spp. uncommon in the present vegetation of the southern Pennines. By the end of the Boreal period the Pennine forest had reached its climax and the advent of the moist climate marked the onset of degeneration. By Neolithic times, peat began to accumulate. The climate at that time approximated the present one and the same type of vegetation has persisted.

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