Replicability and variability of the recent macrofossil and proxy-climate record from raised bogs: field stratigraphy and macrofossil data from Bolton Fell Moss and Walton Moss, Cumbria, England

Replication of results is a basic tenet of science, but in palaeoecology th is is very time-consuming and the 'signal' is subject to 'noise'. The deriv ation of proxy-climate signals from ombrotrophic peat was carried out origi nally using samples from open peat faces where the stratigraphic relationsh ips could be easily observed. Now that such sections are rare and often deg raded there is a need to demonstrate that data can be replicated from core profiles. Ten short cores taken from two adjacent bogs have been analysed f or macrofossils and show a coherent series of changes, which are also simil ar to previous profiles from the same sites. It is concluded that variation between profiles is slight and less than observations of present vegetatio n mosaics might suggest. Recommendations for a standard approach to fieldwo rk on raised bogs that emphasises the utility of subfossil pool layers are proposed and the need for a secure chronology is stressed. (C) 1998 John Wi ley & Sons, Ltd.