Burn of Benholm
Also within
Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Quaternary of Scotland | Favourable | — | 2011-12-05 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
Peat habitats store centuries of carbon and depend on a stable, waterlogged water table. Warmer, drier summers dry out peat, making it far more vulnerable to wildfire and to carbon release — a pressure that can undo years of restoration work regardless of how well the site is otherwise managed.
Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Quaternary
Landscape processes: Glacial, Peatland / Mire
Description
BURN OF BENHOLM The Burn of Benholm, located 14 km to the north of Montrose, is a key site for Quaternary studies in eastern Scotland. The site provides the only existing exposure of shelly deposits formerly recorded at several sites in south Aberdeenshire. These deposits comprise grey, pebbly clays and diamictons (poorly sorted sediments) containing fragments of marine shells and lenses of peat. They are overlain by red till, then sand and gravel. The red till is generally acknowledged to have been deposited during the Late Devensian by the Strathmore ice sheet moving towards the north-east, but the origin and age of the underlying deposits have been debatable. Although they have been interpreted as in situ marine deposits, their characteristics are now considered to be consistent with emplacement as a deformation till during the onshore movement of glacially transported rafts of marine sediment, during a post-Anglian and pre-Devensian glacial episode. The peat lenses contain pollen indicating an open tundra environment and suggesting that they relate to an Early Devensian interstadial. The Burn of Benholm is one of only a few sites in Scotland with deposits of this age. The site is of outstanding importance for establishing the sequence of glacial events, ice movement patterns and environmental changes that occurred in Scotland during the Late Quaternary.