New research conducted by scientists from the University of Cambridge reveals that the flat and agricultural landscape of the Fens in eastern England was once a vast woodland filled with towering yew trees. The study, which involved the analysis of hundreds of tree trunks unearthed by Fenland farmers during plowing, found that the majority of the ancient wood can be traced back to yew trees that thrived in the region between 4,000 and 5,000 years ago. These trees, although considered a nuisance for farmers due to their tendency to jam farming equipment, hold a wealth of well-preserved information about the appearance of the Fens thousands of years ago.
Around 4,200 years ago, the Fen yew woodlands suddenly and mysteriously died out as they fell into peat and became preserved. The researchers speculate that a rapid rise in sea levels in the North Sea inundated the area with saltwater, resulting in the disappearance of the extensive woodlands. The information contained within these yew trees could potentially provide valuable insight into whether this particular climate event was linked to other global events occurring during the same period, such as the megadrought in the Middle East, which is believed to have contributed to the collapse of ancient Egypt’s Old Kingdom.
Yew trees (Taxus baccata) are known for their exceptionally long lifespans and can grow up to 20 meters tall. While these trees are commonly found in gardens and churchyards across southern England, they are notably absent in the Fens, a marshy region of eastern England. The Fens, most of which was once a wetland until it was drained between the 17th and 19th centuries, is now recognized as one of the most fertile farmlands in the United Kingdom, thanks to its nutrient-rich peat soil.
Although the Fens are renowned for their agricultural productivity, the landscape is predominantly flat and unremarkable, dominated by fields of crops such as potatoes, sugar beet, and wheat. However, around 5,000 years ago, the area was densely populated by a sprawling forest. Today, these ancient woodlands are a recurring inconvenience for farmers, as their equipment often gets entangled with large buried pieces of wood, particularly when planting potatoes, which require slightly deeper planting than other crops. Consequently, farmers pull up and pile these logs at the edges of their fields, resulting in the common sight of large heaps of logs dotting the area.
While these logs present a challenge for farmers, they serve as a valuable resource for researchers like Tatiana Bebchuk, a Ph.D. student from Cambridge’s Department of Geography and the lead author of the study. Bebchuk and her team approached Fenland farmers and collected samples from hundreds of discarded logs to unlock the secrets they hold. What they discovered was truly astounding: the wood was astonishingly well-preserved, appearing as if it were freshly cut down.
Trees are exceptional recorders of past climate conditions, as their growth rings provide valuable information about temperature and hydroclimate for each growing season they experienced. However, as we delve further into the past, reliable evidence becomes increasingly scarce due to the rarity of very old trees and well-preserved wood materials. The analysis conducted by the Cambridge Tree-Ring Unit (TRU) revealed that the yew trees retrieved from Fenland fields were indeed ancient. Some of these trees had already reached the remarkable age of 400 years when they perished. This newfound discovery offers unparalleled climate insights spanning over a millennium from approximately 5,200 years ago to around 4,200 years ago when the Fens were covered in yew and oak woodlands, in sharp contrast to its present appearance.
The identification of these ancient trees in the Fens is nothing short of extraordinary. It is akin to stumbling upon an Egyptian pyramid while turning a corner in rural Cambridgeshire. The preservation of a tree that died thousands of years ago for such an extended period is simply unexpected due to the ease with which wood decays and decomposes.
Given that the majority of the Fens are situated just above sea level, it is highly likely that a sudden sea level rise around 4,200 years ago led to the demise of the Fen woodlands. This period coincided with significant climatic changes occurring across the globe. Notably, a megadrought in China and the Middle East is believed to have potentially triggered the collapse of several ancient civilizations, including Egypt’s Old Kingdom and the Akkadian Empire in Mesopotamia.
Undoubtedly, researchers are eager to explore the connection between these climate events. Bebchuk expressed the team’s curiosity, questioning whether the megadroughts in Asia and the Middle East were somehow linked to the rapid rise in sea levels in northern Europe. Was this a global climate event or a series of unrelated regional changes? The answers to these questions remain elusive, but the insights gathered from these ancient trees could act as crucial puzzle pieces in unraveling this climatic detective story.
The significance of this unique climate and environmental archive cannot be overstated. It presents an abundance of opportunities for future studies, and remarkably, it is located right in Cambridge’s own backyard. Professor Ulf Büntgen, the senior author of the study, highlighted the exceptional nature of this finding, noting that researchers often travel across the globe in search of ice cores or ancient trees. The discovery of such a unique archive within close proximity to their own research institution is truly remarkable.
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- Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
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