Long-term sustainability of a northern boreal deciduous swamp forest in northern Sweden: succession in the absence of fire

In Fennoscandian boreal forests the general succession pattern after a stand-replacing fire includes the pioneer tree species Betula, Populus, Salix and Pinus. The primary colonizers are subsequently replaced by secondary species; on mesic and moist soils commonly by Picea abies. Many swamp forests have developed from deciduous Betula/Alnus fens to Picea abies swamp forests during the last 3500 years, since Picea became common in this region. Our objective was to study the long-term vegetation development, fire history and succession patterns of a boreal swamp forest in N Sweden. The area was characterized by Betula trees, and there were no signs of recent fire. We wished to investigate whether Betula dominance was a result of succession after disturbance other than fire, or an exception to the general rule that normally Picea abies is the dominating secondary species in this region. The study included analyses of pollen and charred particles along with AMS dating. Our results revealed that Betula has bee...