LATE-GLACIAL POLLEN SITES IN THE WESTERN ISLES OF SCOTLAND

Only one polleniferous site containing Late Devensian Lateglacial deposits has been reported from the Western Isles - that of Loch Lang, South Uist, which contains putative Loch Lomond Stadial age sediments. Evidence is presented here for seven proposed Lateglacial sites from the Western Isles; four from Lewis and three from South Uist. A pollen profile is illustrated from each island and is shown to extend into probable Bolling times. The litho- and biostratigraphically derived climatic oscillations of Bolling-Older Dryas-Allerod-Younger Dryas-Holocene seem to be apparent at one site, which also displays particularly strong representation of Empetrum pollen. Although the data constitute the first published evidence for full Lateglacial sequences from the Western Isles, there seems little doubt that the previous total lack of such sites is not indicative of their paucity.