Botanists from NUI Galway are using an unusual source to study the history of farming and its impact on the Burren: fungi that grow on cattle and sheep dung.
The aim is to show how farming increased and decreased at different times over the past 3,500 years and how this has shaped the extraordinary plant life in the Burren in County Clare
Fossils in peat
Researchers Ingo Feeser and Michael O’Connell collected peat and soil samples from upland areas. Peat preserves pollen, so it is a natural archive of past plant life over many centuries.
But scientists have only recently realised that peat also preserves other fossils such as fungal spores.
So the team is also analysing fossil spores produced by fungi that grow only on the dung of herbivorous animals such as cattle and sheep.
Using radiocarbon dating and analysis of the fossils, they have uncovered the history of upland farming in the Burren and the major role that grazing livestock played in shaping its flora and landscape.
Pine forests
The Burren is now famous for its moon-like landscapes, but the scientists are showing how the area wasn’t always like this.
For example, the fossil pollen reveals that the exposed north-western Burren hills on the southern side of Galway Bay were covered by pinewood until around 500 BC. With increased farming by Iron Age people, the pine went into decline.
The scientists also examined the charcoal contained in eroded soils recovered from grykes, or deep fissures in the limestone.
This shows that substantial soil erosion followed the clearing of primeval woodlands by early farmers, and continued to be a feature of the Burren until well into medieval times.
Learn more
Learn about Science Ambassador Karen Bacon’s work in paleobotany
Read NUI Galway’s guides to career opportunities for botany graduates
Check out the Burren Interpretative Centre’s learning zone – including a Burren timeline and some interactive games
