History of Czech Vegetation Since the Late Pleistocene

Kuneš, Petr; Abrahám, Vojtěch

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-63181-3_6

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 118 publications

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“…Our record at Cvilínek, lying in the same landscape, contrasts this finding with deciduous trees dominating off‐site. Similar records were also obtained from adjacent mountains (Dudová, Hájek, Petr, & Jankovská, ; Glina et al, ; Kuneš & Abraham, ; Vočadlová et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…Our record at Cvilínek, lying in the same landscape, contrasts this finding with deciduous trees dominating off-site. Similar records were also obtained from adjacent mountains (Dudová, Hájek, Petr, & Jankovská, 2018;Glina et al, 2017;Kuneš & Abraham, 2017;Vočadlová et al, 2015). The off-site vegetation consists of arable land and intensively managed Picea forests (Phase 5; Figure 8).…”

Section: Implications On Vegetation Reconstructionsupporting

confidence: 64%

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Cut and covered: Subfossil trees in buried soils reflect medieval forest composition and exploitation of the central European uplands

et al. 2019

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Knowledge of historic changes in vegetation, relief, and soil is key in understanding how the uplands in central Europe have changed during the last millennium, being an essential requirement for measures on forest conversion and nature conservation in that area. Evidence of forest‐clearing horizons from the medieval period could be systematically documented at four low‐ to mid‐altitudinal sites (360–640 meters above mean sea level) in the Harz (Harz Mountains), Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains), and Českomoravská vrchovina (Bohemian‐Moravian Highlands). Subfossil trees with traces of human cutmarks and burning were recovered from buried wet‐organic soils (paleosols) within a context of mining and settlement archaeology, applying a multiproxy‐approach by using data from archaeology, paleobotany, geochronology, dendrochronology, and pedology. Tree stumps and trunks, as well as small‐scale wood remains represent an in situ record of local conifer stands (spruce, fir, and pine). Some deciduous tree taxa also occur. Dating of the tree remains yielded ages from the 10th/11th to the 13th/14th centuries A.D. After deforestation, the tree remains were buried by technogenic and alluvial–colluvial deposits. The reconstructed conifer‐dominated woodlands on wet soils mirror the local vegetation structure immediately before the medieval deforestation. As such wet sites are common in the uplands, conifers were significantly present in the natural vegetation even at mid and lower altitudes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Section: Implications On Vegetation Reconstructionsupporting

confidence: 64%

Cut and covered: Subfossil trees in buried soils reflect medieval forest composition and exploitation of the central European uplands

et al. 2019

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“…Unfortunately, no reference pollen profile covering whole Holocene is available for the south‐western White Carpathians (Hájek et al, ). For this reason, we used the nearest available profile (Vracov, 20 km WNW of the study area; Kuneš et al, ) to date the Early‐Middle Holocene transition that is considered a major turning point in the Holocene development of Central European landscapes (Fyfe et al, ; Kuneš & Abraham, ; Pokorný et al, ). The 14 C AMS method was applied on a bulk sample from a depth of 230 cm in the Center for Applied Isotope Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, USA.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil charcoal elucidates the role of humans in the development of landscape of extreme biodiversity

et al. 2019

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The south‐western White Carpathians (Czech Republic, Slovakia) are one of the few places in low‐elevation Central Europe where a diverse landscape, including extremely species rich meadows, scattered oak trees, and mixed oak woodlands, has escaped modern transformation. We studied C14‐dated and taxonomically identified macroscopic soil charcoal record to elucidate the genesis of this landscape. Thirteen soil profiles were sampled in grasslands along a gradient of elevation and history of human settlement. We identified clear pattern in the taxonomic composition of woody soil charcoal and anthracomass along this gradient, which we ascribe to different pathways of landscape development. Charcoal assemblages of chernozem‐like soils in the promontories of the mountain range have a low anthracomass and are dominated by heliophilous and semishade species (Quercus, Pinus), with the oldest charcoals dated to pre‐Neolithic times. Soils of the middle elevations have a high anthracomass and often show pronounced differences in charcoal composition at different soil depths; the oldest charcoal samples date back between the Neolithic and Early Middle Ages, and heliophilous species increase towards the topsoil. The soil of the summit area shows a medium anthracomass and charcoal assemblage dominated by shade‐tolerant trees; the charcoal dates from the Middle Ages. Our results suggest continuity of an open to semiopen landscape in lower elevations of the White Carpathians, whereas middle and higher elevations experienced a forested period. Humans and fire played an important role in landscape development, as indicated by both soil charcoal and available palaeoecological and archaeological evidence. Local meadows with extremely high biodiversity thus appear to be a continuation of an ancient forest‐steppe‐like ecosystem.

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“…In the Hercynian mountain ranges, the postglacial vegetation developed in general from species-poor to moderately rich mosaic of taiga, tundra, and steppe in the Late Glacial, towards very species-poor, denselywooded landscape dominated by temperate mixed forests during the Holocene. Picea played an important role here (Kuneš & Abraham, 2017). Relatively high precipitation and low temperatures supported the development of closed forests, which peaked by the end of the Middle Holocene, when highly competitive broadleaved trees (Fagus, Abies, Carpinus) took over the dominance followed by the Holocene diversity minimum.…”

Section: Drivers Of the Geographical Patternsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Holocene plant diversity dynamics shows a distinct biogeographical pattern in temperate Europe

Roleček

Abrahám

Vild

et al. 2020

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Aims: Reconstruction of the Holocene diversity changes in a biogeographically complex region. Description of major diversity patterns, testing their predictors, and their interpretation in the palaeoecological and biogeographical context. Testing the assumption that pollen record is informative with respect to plant diversity in our study area. Methods: Fossil pollen extracted from 18 high-quality profiles was used as a proxy of past plant diversity. Pollen counts of tree taxa were corrected by pollen productivity, and pollen assemblages were resampled to 100 grains per sample and 150 grains per 500-years time window. SiZer analysis was used to test and visualize multi-scale diversity patterns. Linear modelling was used to identify the best predictors. SiZer maps and pollen composition were analysed using non-metric multidimensional scaling. K-means clustering and indicator species analysis were used to interpret ordination results. Results: Mean Holocene plant diversity is significantly predicted by latitude, while its temporal pattern followed the biogeographical region and elevation. Major differences were found between the Mesic and Montane Hercynia (lower diversity, increasing only in the Late Holocene) and Pannonia, the Carpathians and Warm Hercynia (higher diversity, increasing from the Early or Middle Holocene on). Low diversity in the Middle and Late Holocene is associated with the prevalence of woody and acidophilic taxa. High diversity is associated with numerous grassland and minerotrophic wetland taxa, crops and weeds. Fossil-modern pollen diversity and modern pollen-plant diversity show significant positive relationships. Conclusions: Plant diversity and its changes during the Holocene are geographically structured across temperate Europe. Main causes appear to be differences in past dynamics of the landscape openness and vegetation composition, driven mainly by changes in climate and human impact and their different timing. Fossil pollen, if appropriately treated, is a useful proxy of past plant diversity.

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History of Czech Vegetation Since the Late Pleistocene

Cited by 16 publications

References 118 publications

Cut and covered: Subfossil trees in buried soils reflect medieval forest composition and exploitation of the central European uplands

Cut and covered: Subfossil trees in buried soils reflect medieval forest composition and exploitation of the central European uplands

Soil charcoal elucidates the role of humans in the development of landscape of extreme biodiversity

Holocene plant diversity dynamics shows a distinct biogeographical pattern in temperate Europe

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