Modern pollen samples provide an invaluable research tool for helping to interpret the quaternary fossil pollen record, allowing investigation of the relationship between pollen as the proxy and the environmental parameters such as vegetation, land-use, and climate that the pollen proxy represents. The European Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) is a new initiative within the European Pollen Database (EPD) to establish a publicly accessible repository of modern (surface sample) pollen data. This new database will complement the EPD, which at present holds only fossil sedimentary pollen data. The EMPD is freely available online to the scientific community and currently has information on almost 5,000 pollen samples from throughout the Euro-Siberian and Mediterranean regions, contributed by over 40 individuals and research groups. Here we describe how the EMPD was constructed, the various tables and their fields, problems and errors, quality controls, and continuing efforts to improve the available data

A lacustrine sequence from Lake Sedmo Rilsko (altitude 2095 m) in the northwest of Rila Mountain, Bulgaria, was analysed on the basis of 84 pollen spectra and three "%C accelerator mass spectrometry dates. The lower part of the sequence (413-530 cm) corresponds to the Late-glacial. Three phases, two stadial and one interstadial, are characterized by the dominance of mountain-steppe herb vegetation composed of Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae and Poaceae, with single trees of Pinus and shrub land of Juniperus and Ephedra. The identification of pollen grains of Abies, Quercus robur-type, Corylus, Acer, Fagus and other mesophilous trees suggests that they survived the harsh Late-glacial conditions in refuges below an altitude of 1000 m, where moisture was sufficient for their growth. In the early Holocene period, Betula forests at high altitudes and, below them, closed deciduous forests with Quercus, Tilia, Ulmus and Corylus, occurred from 11800 until approx. 6700 cal. BP. The formation of the coniferous belt dominated by Pinus sylvestris, Pinus peuce and Abies alba lasted from between 6700 and 5000 cal. BP. The forest dynamics in the Subboreal and the Subatlantic ended with the invasion of Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies after approx. 4500 and 3300 cal. BP, respectively. Indications of anthropogenic activities, expansion of agriculture in the lowland foothills, and livestock grazing in the mountain meadows and pastures, are clearly evident from the pollen diagram from 2400 cal. BP onwards.

This paper compares pollen spectra derived from modified Tauber traps and moss samples from a selection of woodland types from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Poland, Switzerland and Wales. The study examines the representation of individual taxa in the two sampling media and aims to ascertain the duration of pollen deposition captured by a moss. The latter aim was pursued through the calculation of dissimilarity indexes to assess how many years of pollen deposited in a pollen trap yield percentage values that are most similar to those obtained from the moss. The results are broadly scattered; the majority of moss samples being most similar to several years of pollen deposition in the adjacent trap. 123Veget Hist Archaeobot (2010) 19:271-283 DOI 10.1007/s00334-010-0258-y 2 years of pollen deposition in the trap also revealed large differences. There is a tendency for bisaccate grains such as Pinus and Picea to have a higher representation in moss than in traps but there is considerable regional variation. The results indicate that pollen proportions from moss samples often represent the pollen deposition of one area over several years. However, bisaccate pollen grains tend to be over-represented in moss samples compared to both pollen traps and, potentially, lake sediments.

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Pollen analysis was performed on a 343 cm long core recovered from Lake Ribno Banderishko (2190 m) on Northern Pirin Mountain (southwestern Bulgaria), supplemented by six '4C AMS dates. The lower part of the sequence (343-290 cm) was deposited during the Lateglacial when mountain-steppe vegetation with Artemnisia, Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae and other herbs, and with stands of Pinus and Juniperus, dominated at high altitudes. The identification of pollen of mesophilous trees suggests that local populations may have survived in refuges below 1000 m where environmental conditions were favourable for their growth. The reforestation dynamics in early-Holocene times (11200-8400 cal. BP) started with Betula forests at high altitudes and deciduous forests with Quercus, Ulmus, Tilia and Fraxinus excelsior at lower altitudes. The time of the maximal spread of Corylus at c. 8000 cal. BP coincided with the establishment of Abies alba in the forests, and the beginning of the formation of a coniferous belt, dominated by pines (Pinus sylvestris, P. peuce, P. nigra and P. heldreichii). The late immigrants Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies invaded the mountain slopes at c. 4400 cal. BP and 3300 cal. BP, respectively. Palynological traces of anthropogenic activity and landscape management began after c. 2200 cal. BP.