FLANDIRAN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY OF THE ISLE OF MULL, SCOTLAND III. A HIGH-RESOLUTION POLLEN PROFILE FROM GRIBUN, WESTERN MULL.

Pollen percentage and pollen concentration data are described from an infilled basin within a Loch Lomond Stadial end moraine at Gribun on the west coast of the Isle of Mull, Inner Hebrides, Scotland. The pollen profile, which is over 13 m deep, spans most of the Flandrian stage and constitutes one of the most detailed records of post-glacial vegetational change for any area in northern Britain. Nine local pollen assemblage zones and five pollen concentration zones are identified in the pollen diagrams, and these can be correlated with biozones recognized in other profiles on Mull, In general, the data from Gribun confirm the spatial and temporal patterns of Flandrian vegetational developments that have been suggested by these earlier studies. However, the high level of biostratigraphic resolution within the Gribun profile places these palaeobotanical and associated reconstructions on a more secure footing, and it is therefore proposed that Gribun be considered as the type site for the Flandrian stage in this area of western Scotland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]