Veget Hist Archaeobot (2003) 12:233–247
DOI 10.1007/s00334-003-0021-8
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Magdalena Ralska-Jasiewiczowa · Dorota Nalepka ·
Tomasz Goslar
Some problems of forest transformation at the transition
to the oligocratic/Homo sapiens phase of the Holocene interglacial
in northern lowlands of central Europe
Received: 17 March 2003 / Accepted: 25 September 2003 / Published online: 20 November 2003
Springer-Verlag 2003
Abstract The paper discusses the main changes in the
composition of mixed deciduous forests which occurred
mostly between 5,000 and 2,000 b.p., based on selected
pollen diagrams from the lowlands of Germany, Denmark
and Poland, and including two pollen diagrams from
varved sediments, used as reference sites, and on
isopollen maps for Poland. The Ulmus retreat is shown
on maps, and additional data for its pathogenic origin are
presented. Corylus declines at ca. 3,500 b.p. at both
reference sites, and its connection with Fagus expansion
in the west and Carpinus expansion in the east is
discussed. The nature of post-Atlantic transitory shrub–
forest communities with dominant Corylus and Quercus
is presented. Relationships between the history of Fagus
and Carpinus and the development of human settlements
are shown. Human impact has been admitted as one of the
most important driving forces determining vegetational
development since the time of fully developed Neolithic
cultures. Other very important abiotic factors were the
climate (particularly after 2,500 b.p.), and soil degradation.
of climatic and ecological processes can be divided into
four main phases (Fig. 1):
1. The first cryocratic phase corresponds to the transition
from the late glacial to the early interglacial, when the
formation of primitive soils, and their colonisation by
pioneer herb communities begins.
2. The subsequent protocratic phase is a period of
ameliorating climate, with soils still poor in humus.
Formation of grasslands, shrubs and pioneer forests is
in progress.
3. The mesocratic phase is a long, warm period when
many mesotrophic trees end their migrations, multispecies mixed forests are being formed and settle on
fertile, often brown soils.
Keywords Oligocratic stage · Synchrony · Corylus
decline · Fagus/Carpinus relationships · Human impact
Introduction
The Holocene is the most recent, still progressing
interglacial of the Quaternary. According to the classical
model proposed by Iversen (1958), any interglacial cycle
M. Ralska-Jasiewiczowa ()) · D. Nalepka
W. Szafer Institute of Botany,
Polish Academy of Sciences,
Lubicz 46, 31-512 Krakw, Poland
e-mail: [email protected]
Fax: +48-12-4219790
T. Goslar
Poznań Radiocarbon Laboratory,
Rubież 46, 61-612 Poznań, Poland
Fig. 1 Interglacial cycle in western Europe (Iversen 1958, modified
by Andersen 1964, 1966). The scheme presents the main changes in
regional vegetation and soils, as well as the inferred regional
changes of climate (after Birks 1986)
234
Fig. 2 Pollen diagram of varved sediments from Lake Meerfelder
Maar, Eifel, W Germany (selected pollen curves, after Kubitz
2000), shown to illustrate the synchrony of some main changes in
forest composition around the transition to the oligocratic stage of
the Holocene, with those recorded in the pollen diagram from Lake
Gościa˛ż, central Poland (Fig. 3)
4. The deteriorating, or retrogressive telocratic phase has
been further subdivided by Andersen (1964, 1966)
into two stages—in the first, soils becoming impoverished (oligocratic stage) and, in the following stage,
major climate cooling (telocratic stage s. str.). Both
are accompanied by corresponding vegetational
changes, characterised by the expansion of species
which can tolerate leached soils and a cooler, more
humid climate.
first—between the protocratic and mesocratic phases—
was characterised by intensive tree migrations and forestformation processes, with strong competition between
tree species. The second—between the mesocratic and
oligocratic phases—began after a long period of relative
stabilisation of mixed, species-rich forests associated with
the climatic optimum of the Holocene. Soils and later also
climate deteriorated progressively, giving rise to a
transformation of vegetation communities.
In this paper we focus on the second transitional
period, because by then the impact of human populations
on the natural environment had already reached a rather
advanced stage, and we attempt to determine how far it is
possible to identify relationships between the natural and
anthropogenic influences in this process.
Recent precise investigations on sedimentary archives,
yielding series of multi-proxy data based on fine-resolution dating, help to present some of those problems.
Sequences of undisturbed series of varved (annually
laminated) sediments come from key sites, such as in the
Eifel region, W Germany, the lakes Holzmaar and
Meerfelder Maar (Fig. 2) of volcanic origin (Zolitschka
1989, 1992, 1998; Litt et al. 1997, 1998; Kubitz 2000),
and in central Poland, Lake Gościa˛ż (Fig. 3) of glacial
origin (Ralska-Jasiewiczowa et al. 1998, 2001). These
According to this scheme, the present state is the
oligocratic phase of the Holocene interglacial. However,
it refers to natural processes forming an interglacial cycle,
whereas the Holocene interglacial differs essentially from
the preceding ones, due to the presence of Homo sapiens.
Human populations, active from the beginning of the
recent interglacial, expand very fast, transforming the
environment according to their needs. In the oligocratic/
telocratic phase of the Holocene, the impact of man on the
environment increases rapidly, influencing vegetation,
soils and finally also the global climate. The consequences of human activities and natural changes can
hardly be distinguished from each other.
The richest and most interesting periods of interglacial
environmental change are two transitional periods. The
235
Fig. 3 Pollen diagram of varved sediments from Lake Gościa˛ż,
central Poland (selected pollen curves, after Ralska-Jasiewiczowa
et al. 1998), shown to illustrate the synchrony of some main
changes in forest composition from around the transition to the
oligocratic stage of the Holocene, with those recorded in the pollen
diagram from Lake Meerfelder Maar (Fig. 2)
sequences seem to provide signals of events referring to
the whole area of northern central European lowlands, as
shown by selected pollen diagrams (cf. below). The first
version of this paper, which discussed only the pollen
diagrams and did not include the isopollen maps, was
presented at the ELDP (European Lake Drilling Project)
meeting in Potsdam in May 2001.
Discussion
Material and methods
The majority of pollen diagrams used in this article were digitised
from the original papers. The only diagram from Flgelner Holz
was plotted using the raw pollen data. We are very grateful to K.E.
Behre for rendering them accessible to us. The Meerfelder Maar
diagram was digitised from a copy obtained from the author, B.
Kubitz, to whom we would like to express our thanks. In all,
188 sites have been compiled to trace the processes of forest
transformation during the Late Glacial and the Holocene, and new
isopollen maps have been produced by a group of Polish
palynologists as a joint project. A set of maps illustrating the
transition to the oligocratic phase of the Holocene is presented in
this paper (cf. Appendix).
The elm decline
It has generally been accepted that the post-optimum
transformation of deciduous woods began around
5,000 b.p., at the time of the so-called Ulmus decline
(elm decline), broadly recorded in the European pollen
diagrams. This was the period when the development of
Neolithic settlements, which started in northern central
Europe around 6,500 b.p., accelerated through the
decreasing density of woodlands brought about by a
large reduction in elm trees.
The problem of the Ulmus decline in Holocene pollen
diagrams was the subject of heated discussion for tens of
years—different hypotheses were offered, e.g. change of
climate, human impact, and finally the spread of the socalled “Dutch” elm disease caused by an ascomycete
fungus (Ceratocystis ulmi), and carried over by bark
beetles of the genus Scotylus (Rackham 1980). The
majority of Holocene palynologists accepted the argu-
236
ments and evidence of elm disease as the triggering factor
for elm retreat and, in consequence, for the acceleration of
Neolithic land occupation (e.g. Groenman-van Waateringe 1983; Girling and Greig 1985; Birks 1986; Molloy
and O’Connell 1991; Peglar 1993). There are isolated
reports of the fall in Ulmus being recorded as 700–
800 years earlier, e.g. at Wolin Island at the NW Baltic
coast (Latałowa 1992a, 1992b), or as recurring several
times between ca. 6,500 and 5,400 cal b.p. in NW
Denmark (Andersen and Rasmussen 1993). The pattern of
Ulmus distribution on Polish isopollen maps shows the
process of Ulmus decline as being more differentiated in
time and space than previously accepted, but consistent
within areas of varying geomorphology and landscapes
(cf. Appendix).
The distribution of Ulmus in the mesocratic deciduous
forests of around 6,000 b.p. and somewhat after was fairly
stable. Higher pollen values were occurring in the south,
in uplands (Mamakowa 1961; Ralska-Jasiewiczowa 1977;
Bałaga 1998), and in the mountains (Gil et al. 1974;
Ralska-Jasiewiczowa 1980; Obidowicz 1996), reaching
values of up to 10% or more, where U. glabra must have
been the dominant elm species. During the Atlantic
period, mountain elm was probably an essential element
of the lower montane forest zone in the whole of the
Polish Carpathians ( Ralska-Jasiewiczowa 1980). Today it
still occurs above 1,200 m a.s.l. in the Tatras, and ca.
1,150 m a.s.l. in the Bieszczady Mts. (Zieliński 1979).
The isopollen maps (cf. Appendix) show that Ulmus
pollen was also then fairly abundant up to the Wielkopolska (Poznań-Gniezno region) in W Poland, there spreading over fertile soils, and also over the loess uplands. The
central and western lowlands had less than 5% Ulmus
pollen. This was the Holocene optimum of elm distribution. Around 5,200 b.p. Ulmus retreated from its upland
distribution southwards, towards the mountains. At
5,000 b.p. a decline in its pollen values down to 2% or
less occurred in a W–E area in N Poland, where U. laevis
seems to have dominated over U. glabra (RalskaJasiewiczowa 1983). Subsequently (4,800 b.p.), this area
broadened, covering the northern half of Poland, with
pollen values of 3–5% remaining only as little islands in a
few places in northern lake districts. The southern area of
higher values (<5%) retreated to the Western Carpathians.
The development of such a pattern of Ulmus reduction
corresponds quite logically with the pathogenic hypothesis, and it is not concordant with the migration routes of
successive Neolithic cultures. However, it seems convincing, as already supposed (Girling and Greig 1985;
Birks 1986; Peglar 1993; Ralska-Jasiewiczowa et al.
1998), that Neolithic people took advantage of elm
disease to clear the deciduous woods on more fertile soils
faster and more easily.
The following maps show the progressing, southward
shift of reduced (1–3%) Ulmus values. At 3,000 b.p. the
5% isoline is not exceeded anywhere in Poland. At the
time when late Neolithic cultures were declining, the
mature soils were already subject to the leaching and
podsolisation processes of the meso- to oligocratic stages
Fig. 4 The plant communities forming the Quercion petraeae
alliance in Poland (after Matuszkiewicz 1981)
of the interglacial. After a temporary stage of pioneer
copses composed of Betula, Populus tremula or Alnus
incana depending on habitat, the invasion of many
abandoned areas by wood species caused the development
of forest–shrub vegetation of different composition. A
rather open, woodland type with dominant hazel shrubs
and free-standing, abundantly flowering oak trees must
have been quite common.
Oak–hazel vegetation types
There are no strict modern analogues for such communities, but similarities can be found in the Quercion
petraeae alliance (Fig. 4), such as the Lithospermo–
Quercetum subboreale, a xerothermic scrub-wood of
oceanic-Mediterranean affinities, now a relict in Poland,
or the more shrubby Peucedano cervariae–Coryletum.
Finally, we may also mention the Potentillo albae–
Quercetum with a rich herb layer, open and rather
heliophilous, but with little Corylus. Peucedano cervariae–Coryletum and Potentillo albae–Quercetum are
thought to be closely connected with the vegetation of
forest edges and marginal communities of anthropogenic
origin (Rhamno–Prunetea, Trifolio–Geranietea), or as
directly forming in woodland habitats after earlier,
extensive long-term cattle grazing (Matuszkiewicz 1981).
Between 4,000 and 3,400 b.p., a very distinct fall in
Corylus pollen is indicated not only in Polish diagrams,
but also rather frequently in those from the adjacent
countries (e.g. Eifel region, Brauer et al. 2000, and Kubitz
2000; SE Westfalen, Pott 1986; see Fig. 2 and below). In
the pollen profiles from both reference areas (Figs. 2, 3),
this retreat is even more drastically indicated in the influx
than in the percentage diagrams. The onset of this process
was fixed at around 3,400 b.p. (=3,700 cal b.p.) in Lake
Gościa˛ż, and at ca. 3,490 b.p. (=3,810 cal b.p.) in both
lakes from the Eifel region. It is very clear that the
effective migration and expansion of Fagus coming from
the SW, and of Carpinus from the SE into central Europe,
started at nearly the same time (Fagus—Eifel at
3,510 b.p.=3,840 cal b.p., and Carpinus—Lake Gościa˛ż
at 3,420 b.p.=3,750 cal b.p.).
In the case of Corylus, climatic changes seem to be the
least probable reason for its decline. There are some hints
of both thermal oscillation towards climate cooling (varve
evidence from the Eifel region synchronous with the
Lobben glacier advance in the Alps; Zolitschka 1992) and
a decrease in climate humidity (a long period of
decreased, although oscillating, humidity is recorded in
237
the lake levels of S Sweden between ca. 5,500 and ca.
3,000 b.p., Gaillard and Digerfeldt 1991; evidence of a
drier period in the lakes of N Poland between 4,000 and
3,000 b.p., Ralska-Jasiewiczowa and Starkel 1988). If
these climatic oscillations had any impact on vegetation
changes, they would tend to affect the spread of latemigrating trees like Carpinus and Fagus. Corylus has a
wide temperature tolerance and is also very adaptable to
different soil types.
In the Polish isopollen map for 4,300 b.p. (cf.
Appendix), nearly all Poland is covered with Corylus
pollen values <10%; in western-central Poland, in the
zone around Gdańsk Bay, and at the south-eastern margin
of the country those values reach 20%. At 3,800 b.p.
Corylus has rather high, evenly distributed values above
10% in western, central and northern Poland, and also in
the Carpathians and Roztocze Mts. The values over 20%
occur in the peri-Baltic areas. The lower values (below
10%) cover the eastern part of the country up to the
Podlasie border and the pre-Carpathian depression with
the Małopolska Upland. Up to 3,300 b.p., Corylus
percentages have reduced across the whole country
except for the lake districts, the coastal zone, and the
other limited areas of higher humidity in the mountains
and eastern foothills. The further decrease to below 5%
proceeds again from SE–E, following a similar trend as
on the 3,800 b.p. map. As continental climate cannot be
the explanation for this, we have to consider other reasons
for the phenomenon.
The development of Early Bronze Age cultures, like
the Mierzanowicka culture which spread in the Małopolska region, practising rather primitive arable agriculture
but broadly dependant on cattle grazing, may have
contributed to the shrinking hazel distribution. The
migration and expansion of Fagus and Carpinus from
the SE–E and SW is synchronous with the Corylus fall,
and possibly this migration pressure was one factor in the
reduction of Corylus-dominated open shrub–woods.
In the model of the interglacial cycle (Fig. 1), the
Corylus–Quercus zone falls at the transitional time
between the mesocratic and oligocratic phases. In the
older interglacials, however, particularly in the Eemian
with respect to the duration and character of vegetation
cycles, no distinct corresponding phase has been observed. It can be concluded that the Holocene Corylus–
Quercus period was a transitional one, without ecological
equilibrium, and was merely a response to the cyclic
abandonment of lands used at different times by different
Neolithic populations. Various successional processes
may have developed in such areas, leading to the
formation of a forest cover different from the mixed
deciduous forests of Atlantic type, which could not reexpand due to changed soil conditions and changing
climate. Thus, Corylus–Quercus-dominated vegetation
may have persisted for some time, being perhaps the
oldest anthropogenic scrub–forest community.
Beech and hornbeam expansion
Around 3,500 b.p. (ca. 3,800 cal b.p.), the later-immigrating trees Carpinus and Fagus started to spread from their
previous habitats to the south of the area discussed
towards the central Europe lowlands. Obviously these two
tree genera, having different ecological requirements,
started their migrations in different landscapes and
climatic conditions at a similar time.
Fagus sylvatica, a tree of a cooler and more humid,
rather oceanic climate, has heavy fruits and slow migration rates. However, it can easily colonise Corylus
shrubbery, as its seeds are mostly distributed by animals
and, at the seedling and juvenile stages, it has the best
shade tolerance of all deciduous trees (Dzwonko 1990).
Carpinus betulus, preferring more continental conditions,
produces wind-distributed seeds. Its seedlings can hardly
penetrate the rich herb layer, and high percentages are
lost. Moreover, during juvenile growth the seedlings need
2–4 times more light than most trees of deciduous forests
(Faliński and Pawlaczyk 1993). So, a high density of
Corylus, together with a thick ground layer of already
stabilised open vegetation, hampers its reproduction.
However, once established after the pioneer tree stages
with their decreased density of herb layer, it will very
easily reproduce by suckering, colonising any forest gaps
(Vera 2000). Also, it is very resistant to grazing and any
other form of mechanical damage. In this way both trees
have strong, but different potentials for expansion into
areas occupied by the unstable Corylus–Quercus communities.
In general, archaeological periodisation schemes for
central Europe place the ending of the Neolithic period at
3,800 b.p. Kubitz (2000) marks the upper boundary of
the Neolithic in the Eifel area at 3,800 cal b.p.
(=3,490€20 b.p.). In the region of central Poland at Lake
Gościa˛ż, the Late Neolithic Comb-Pitted Pottery Culture
remained in situ, according to archaeologists, until ca.
3,860 cal b.p. (=3,580 b.p.), although its distinct traces in
the pollen diagram end much earlier (before 4,000 b.p.;
Ralska-Jasiewiczowa et al.1998).
W to NW Germany
Tracing the expansion of Fagus and Carpinus in the
pollen diagrams from the central European lowlands
(Fig. 5), one should begin in W Germany and continue in
an easterly direction (Fig. 5 and below). The pollen
diagram from Meerfelder Maar (336 m a.s.l.; Litt et al.
1997; Kubitz 2000) is shown in Figs. 2 and 6. The huge
maxima in Fagus developing from around 3,500 b.p.
(3,700–3,800 cal b.p.) mirror the decline in Corylus and
are accompanied by a slight rise in anthropogenic herb
indicators, connected undoubtedly with some Early
Bronze settlement activities. A small presence of Carpinus pollen begins in the later part of the Fagus
culmination, slightly before 2,900 b.p. (ca. 3,000 cal b.p.).
The following long-term depression of the Fagus pollen
238
Fig. 5 Map showing the geographical location of mentioned sites
in N Germany, Denmark and N Poland. 1 Meerfelder Maar (Kubitz
2000), 2 Erndtebrck (Pott 1985, 1986), 3 Rehhornsmoor (Drfler
1989), 4 Flgelner Holz I (Behre and Kučan 1994), 5 Holmegaard
(Aaby 1986), 6 Felchowsee (Jahns 2000), 7 Kołczewo (Latałowa
1989, 1992a, 1992b; Ralska-Jasiewiczowa and Latałowa 1996), 8
Żurawiec (Latałowa 1989), 9 Puszcza Darżlubska (Latałowa 1982,
1989), 10 Lake Mały Suszek (Miotk-Szpiganowicz 1992), 11 Lake
Skrzetuszewskie (Tobolski 1990, 1991), 12 Lake Gościa˛ż (RalskaJasiewiczowa et al. 1998), 13 Woryty (Pawlikowski et al. 1982;
Ralska-Jasiewiczowa and Latałowa 1996)
curve (ca. 2,650–1,640 b.p.=ca. 2,700–1,500 cal b.p.)
finds its explanation in the high maximum of herbs,
dominated by human indicators, which covers a long
series of subsequent cultural phases from the Hallstatt C,
through the La Tne and Roman times, up to the
beginning of the Migration period and the onset of the
next Fagus rise. This second, shorter Fagus maximum is
synchronous with the Carpinus rise, culminating during
the early stage of woodland re-expansion. The distinct
Corylus-pollen peak from an early phase of forest
regeneration shows the relation of hazel expansion to
settlement history. The deep depression of the NAP curve
coincides with this shrub- and tree-regeneration period
which commonly occurs in central European pollen
diagrams in connection with the Migration period.
The pollen diagram from the mire at Erndtebrck,
470 m a.s.l. (Pott 1985, 1986; Fig. 6), located in the lowmountain area of Siegerland, SE Westfalen, is shown here
for comparison. This only documents the forest history
from around 3,500 b.p. (ca. 3,800 cal b.p.). It also reveals
a Fagus rise from ca. 3,300 b.p. (ca. 3,500 cal b.p.), very
similar to and only slightly later than that in the Eifel
diagrams. Fagus regression starts from ca. 2,400 b.p.,
possibly due to human activities from early Roman (preRoman?) times, and then, after a short regeneration phase,
from the Roman settlement period, lasting until ca. 1,700–
1,600 b.p. It seems that also here the decline of the Roman
period and the beginning of the Migration times provoke
forest regeneration also enabling Carpinus to expand.
Such a pattern is rather typical for foothill and low
montane landscapes. The record of this site is not
complete and not fully comparable, because the NAP
raw data were not available and so the diagram is based
on the AP sum. However, the curves of human indicators
in the complete diagram (Pott 1985) clearly show the
pattern described above; the settlement phases are also
Fig. 6 Age correlation of selected pollen curves (Carpinus, Fagus,
Corylus, NAP) from five pollen diagrams from N Germany and one
diagram from Zealand, Denmark, showing the age relationships
between the Corylus fall and Carpinus and/or Fagus rise, and the
inverse correlation between the maxima of both trees and maxima
of NAP (for authors of pollen diagrams see Fig. 5 caption)
239
Fig. 7 Age correlation of selected pollen curves (Carpinus,
Fagus, Corylus, NAP) from
seven pollen diagrams from N
Poland (for further explanation
see Figs. 5, 6)
240
characterised by rises in Corylus values. In the central
Mnsterland, the oak–hornbeam region of the low NW
part of Westfalen, Carpinus begins to expand from ca.
2,700 b.p., reaching values up to 30% AP around the time
of the birth of Christ (Pott 1985).
The following German sites illustrate the history of
woodland in the North Sea coastal zone. At Rehhornsmoor in the Cuxhaven region, Lower Saxony (Drfler
1989; Fig. 6), the pollen record represents the woods of
fresh to humid soils formed on loam beds where, after ca.
5,000 b.p., oak was the main wood-forming tree together
with hazel. The first slight rise in the Fagus curve began
here rather late, after 2,500 b.p., clearly induced by the
change of climate. However, it coincides with the Corylus
fall, and also with the beginning of a distinct settlement
phase. Probably in this area influenced directly by
maritime climate, the rise of humidity in the earlier
Subatlantic period triggered the Fagus migration in spite
of land use, but only the events connected with the
Migration period around 1,600 b.p. enabled its vigorous
expansion. Then the wood regeneration phase also starts
with a short episode of Corylus development. Synchronously, a slow spread of Carpinus develops gradually, up to the small culmination closely preceding the
high Fagus expansion which rapidly ousted the hornbeam
during the economic breakdown ca. 600–400 years ago.
For the duration of its Holocene history in central Europe,
a distinctly decreased vitality of hornbeam in maritime
climate areas is obvious.
In the adjacent region of Lower Saxony, several pollen
diagrams were presented by Behre and Kučan (1994) in
the context of a large project on the history of the Flgeln
“Siedlungskammer”. The diagram from the kettle-hole
mire Flgelner Holz I is reproduced here (Fig. 6). After
the elm decline around 4,400 b.p., forest cover was
composed of birch–oak and alder woods, similar to those
described from the environs of Rehhornsmoor in the
adjacent Cuxhaven region. It was inhabited in the early
Neolithic by the tribes of the “Trichterbecher” culture
which was based mostly on animal husbandry. The
appearance of Secale cereale starts from ca. 2,370 b.p.,
and is coincident with the slight fall in the Corylus curve,
synchronous with the first significant rise in Fagus. Since
that time indicators of agricultural activities occur
regularly. Excavation from the pre-Roman period showed
a Celtic field-pattern where probably a slow rotation
system was used until the 1st to 2nd century a.d. Fagus,
and from ca. 1,840 b.p. also Carpinus percentages were
rising slowly but continuously up to ca. 1,640 b.p. when a
distinct rise to a peak in Fagus began, together with a
depression in herb values. The deepest depression of these
coincides with the Fagus maximum at 1,100 b.p. (880–
990 b.c.) and lasts until 1480–1950 a.d.
Denmark
In the pollen diagram from Holmegaard (Fig. 6) in
Zealand, Denmark (Aaby 1986), Fagus and Carpinus
appear synchronously, around ca. 3,100 b.p.
(3,350 cal b.p.), but Fagus expands rapidly and forms a
huge maximum within ca. 200 years, reflecting closely
the Corylus fall. Carpinus is present only scarcely. These
events clearly precede the development of settlements
around 2,400–2,300 b.p. which, during its first stage,
resulted in very strong devastation of Fagus woods. It
permitted hornbeam to expand a little, and later Corylus
shrubs regenerated on gradually exploited and abandoned
fields and pastures. This phase was followed by the
second Fagus expansion during the Migration period.
Carpinus remained at very low values all the time, most
probably for climatic reasons.
E Germany and Poland
At Felchowsee in NE Brandenburg (Germany, Fig. 6),
close to the Lower Odra River Valley (Jahns 2000),
Fagus and Carpinus appear simultaneously with a very
slow Corylus decline. This is still happening during the
Neolithic settlement period clearly recorded in the
diagram between ca. 5,279 b.p. and ca. 3,700 b.p. The
woods of the region were clearly dominated by oak and
pine, with a very small contribution from other trees,
apart from birch. The vitality and expansion potential of
both species, Fagus and Carpinus, seem to be nearly
equal. Carpinus starts spreading around 2,400 b.p., during
the recessional settlement phase between the La Tne/preRoman and Roman periods, and Fagus follows by the end
of this recession phase, from ca. 2,100 b.p. However,
again both trees reach their maximum values during the
Migration period.
Those analyses of Fagus/Carpinus competitive relationships within areas influenced by the maritime climate
of the North Sea and SW parts of the Baltic Sea point to
human impact as an important factor in the process of
vegetation transformation, while the regional climate type
and climatic changes were also contributing in an
essential way to these processes.
Analyses of pollen data from the Polish lowlands show
the eastward continuation of the Fagus versus Carpinus
history. The pollen diagram from Kołczewo on Wolin
Island (Fig. 7), at the outlet of the Odra River into the
Baltic Sea (Latałowa 1989, 1992b; Ralska-Jasiewiczowa
and Latałowa 1996), reveals the occurrence of deciduous
forests with abundant oak and hazel up to ca. 2,900 b.p.
However, the hazel already shows its first distinct
depression after 3,300 b.p. The Early Bronze, and then
the Late Bronze (Lusatian) peoples settled in the area,
impeding the spread of Carpinus and Fagus, both already
present in the region—Carpinus from before 3,000 b.p.,
and Fagus appearing slightly later (ca. 2,900 b.p.). The
Subatlantic change of climate at ca. 2,500 b.p. accelerated
the expansion of Fagus which lasted through the Migration period until Medieval times. Carpinus never played
any significant role in the region.
The successive pollen diagrams from sites distributed
to the east show the gradual change in the Fagus/
241
Carpinus relationship: the pollen diagram from Żurawiec
(Fig. 7) situated in the middle Baltic coastal zone
(Latałowa 1989, 1995; Ralska-Jasiewiczowa and Latałowa 1996) documents the rapid expansion of Carpinus
during the Migration period, after the devastation of
forests by cultures previously settled there ceased. This
very rapid expansion closely preceded the invasion of
Fagus. Such a sequence of events was most probably
caused by the gradual extension of the cool, humid
climate eastwards, as suggested by Latałowa (1995).
At the following sites, the first from the eastern part of
the Baltic coastal zone (Puszcza Darżlubska, Latałowa
1982, 1989; Ralska-Jasiewiczowa and Latałowa 1996),
and the next located to the south in the West-Pomeranian
Lake Districts (Lake Mały Suszek, Miotk-Szpiganowicz
1992; Ralska-Jasiewiczowa and Latałowa 1996; Fig. 7),
the influence of marine climate is distinctly weaker. In
both cases Carpinus begins to rise around 3,000 b.p.,
preceding the development of the Lusatian culture. At
Puszcza Darżlubska Carpinus increases slightly, together
with a slight rise in very low Fagus values at the
breakdown of this culture after 2,500 b.p., and then
reaches a maximum at both sites during the Migration
period. Fagus increases a little again, but never assumes a
major role in these regions.
In areas of stronger continental climate influence, such
as the southern lake districts of the Wielkopolska region
(Poznań-Gniezno region, Lake Skrzetuszewskie, Tobolski
and Okuniewska-Nowaczyk 1989; Tobolski 1990, 1991),
the south-eastern margins of the lakelands at Płock Basin
in central Poland (Lake Gościa˛ż, Ralska-Jasiewiczowa et
al. 1998), and the western part of the Mazurian Lake
Districts (Woryty, Pawlikowski et al. 1982; RalskaJasiewiczowa and Latałowa 1996; Fig. 7), Fagus completely loses its forest-forming ability. The pollen data
from the latter three sites will be described together,
because the changes they demonstrate are very similar.
The first Carpinus expansion develops in all the three
profiles between ca. 3,700 and 3,400 b.p., and coincides
with the Corylus fall at the end of the Neolithic. At Lake
Skrzetuszewskie the Carpinus maximum is enormous (up
to ca. 40% of total pollen), and lasts several hundreds of
years. In the Wielkopolska Lake District area, a region of
very fertile soils, Carpinus became the most common tree
(Tobolski 1990, 1991). Settlement activities at that time,
as shown by the anthropogenic pollen indicators, were not
very intensive in the region in question. At Lake Gościa˛ż,
the first Carpinus expansion developed at a similar time
as at the Skrzetuszewskie Lake (3,700–3,500 b.p.), but its
maximum spread was less marked (slightly exceeding
20%) and lasted no more than 200–300 years. The Early
to Late Bronze (Lusatian) cultures had already started to
clear the hornbeam-dominated woods there by about
3,200 b.p., and these clearances lasted, as illustrated by
the record from the varve sequence, for ca. 1,000 years
overall. At Woryty the first rise in Carpinus pollen values
was slightly delayed compared with the latter two
lakeland sites, and was still smaller (ca. 10%). The young
hornbeam stands must have been cleared quite early by
the Late Bronze populations arriving and settling in the
lake’s immediate surroundings (Da˛browski 1981). The
following, rather short woodland regeneration phase
occurred at Lake Gościa˛ż and at Woryty between 2,300
and 2,100 b.p. This was the consequence of the successional processes which followed the retreat of the
Lusatian culture, through lake water-level rise and
paludification of the lake surroundings which started
after 2,500 b.p. In both cases the restoration of hornbeam
woods was preceded by the spread of pioneer birch
stands. At Lake Skrzetuszewskie the maximum in settlement indicators following the first huge culmination of
Carpinus is dated at 2,700 b.p., and the second Carpinus
maximum at 2,460 b.p. Thus, the expansion of Lusatian
settlers seems to have been much shorter here (if these
dates are correct).
The next deforestation of the regenerated hornbeam
woods seems to have been by the populations of the
Roman period after 2,000 b.p. The wood devastation,
although lasting a much shorter time, must have been
intense. The last expansion of hornbeam-dominated
woods in our area very clearly resulted from events
connected with the Migration period. The dates of ca.
1,600–1,500 b.p. nearly everywhere mark the beginning
of hornbeam spread (at Lake Skrzetuszewskie, it is dated
at 1,800 b.p.), but the duration of the spread is highly
dependent on the local history of human settlement and
economy.
The Fagus and Carpinus successions illustrated on the
isopollen maps for Poland (cf. Appendix) reveal successional distribution on a broader scale, including the
southern areas of the country and tree migration routes.
Fagus maps demonstrate a very consistent migration
pattern (cf. Appendix). At around 4,000 b.p., beech
entered the Polish mountains from the SE and SW,
spreading gradually over the uplands. Its later migration
from the NW along the seacoast evidently developed in
close connection with the Subatlantic climate change,
only after 2,500 b.p. The maximum Fagus distribution
had been reached between 1,700 and 1,400 b.p. Around
1,000 b.p., beech representation in the forests of NW
Poland decreased substantially.
Carpinus is the most problematic taxon for mapping
(cf. Appendix) because of its very fast reaction to changes
in settlement, which are often non-synchronous. Its ability
to spread rapidly gives a chaotic impression on the maps
but, in fact, there is some consistency in the pattern
formed: coming from the SE (Bieszczady Mts.) around
4,000 b.p., Carpinus migrates very fast in a NW direction
and around 3,300 b.p., just before the expansion of
Lusatian culture, establishes its first, very broad centre in
central-west Poland (Wielkopolska). The only areas with
a less-intense spread of hornbeam remain the peri-Baltic
and northern lake district zones. This migration and
expansion pattern is in contrast to that of well-known,
older reconstructions, e.g. Firbas (1949, p. 263, Fig. 36).
Between 2,900 and 2,500 b.p., the areas dominated by
hornbeam shrink gradually due to the development of
Lusatian settlement. The decline of this culture after
242
Fig. 8 Isopollen maps for Ulmus
2,500 b.p. is reflected in some renewal of Carpinus
woods, at first rather patchy (2,400 b.p.), but gradually
covering nearly the whole country at values of 5–7%. In
the south-western areas of Dolny Śla˛sk (Lower Silesia) up
to the Wielkopolska lake districts and lowlands, the
hornbeam percentages are still higher at that time. A brief
setback caused by the increase of economic activities
during the Roman period (1,800 b.p.) is recorded in
eastern Poland, partly in the Carpathians, their foothills,
the uplands and in the central coastal zone. On the other
hand, the Migration period (1,400 b.p.) was the most
advantageous time for Carpinus. Its expansion was very
strong in most parts of the country, decreasing gradually
from the uplands of S Poland and Polesie Lubelskie
towards the SE, to values below 5% in the central
Carpathians and their foothills. The last map shows the
decrease in Carpinus pollen percentages dating back to
the earliest period of the Polish State.
243
Fig. 9 Isopollen maps for Corylus
Conclusions
The transformation of forest cover during the transition
between the mesocratic and oligocratic phases of the
Holocene (ca. 5,000–3,000 b.p.) was driven to a great
extent by man. However, the later general change towards
a more maritime climate (from ca. 2,500 b.p.) with higher
humidity, lower temperatures, and milder seasonal contrasts made an essential contribution to the histories of
late-migrating trees, especially to the extension of Fagus
in the NW territories of Poland. Regional settlement
activities were combined with, and strongly dependent on,
the regional climate and its changes and, in this respect,
the climate was also indirectly responsible for successive
human population expansions, contractions and changes
in activity, influencing the development and reduction of
woodland cover and its composition.
Appendix
The Appendix shows isopollen maps for Poland: Fig. 8,
Ulmus; Fig. 9, Corylus; Fig. 10, Fagus; and Fig. 11,
Carpinus, at individually selected time slices. These maps
have been based on data of the following authors:
M. Ralska-Jasiewiczowa1, Dorota Nalepka1, Zofia
Balwierz2, Krystyna Bałaga3, Anna Filbrandt-Czaja4,
Wojciech Granoszewski1, Krystyna Harmata5, Krzysztof
Krupiński6, Mirosława Kupryjanowicz7, Małgorzata Latałowa8, Jacek Madeja5, Ewa Madeyska1, Mirosław
Makohonienko9, Kazimiera Mamakowa1, Krystyna
Milecka9, Grażyna Miotk-Szpiganowicz10, Agnieszka
Noryśkiewicz11, Bożena Noryśkiewicz12, Małgorzata
Nita13, Andrzej Obidowicz1, Iwona Okuniewska-Nowaczyk14, Kazimierz Szczepanek5, Kazimierz Tobolski9,
Agnieszka Wacnik1, Adam Walanus15, Krystyna Wasylikowa1, Joanna Zachowicz10
1. W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences,
Lubicz 46, 31-512 Krakw, Poland
2. Department of Geomorphology, Łdź University, Narulowiera
88, 90-139 Łdź, Poland
3. Department of Physical Geography and Palaeogeography,
Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033
Lublin, Poland
4. Institute of Biology and Environment Protection Nicholas
Copernicus University, Gagarina 9, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
5. Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian University, Lubicz 46, 31-512
Krakw, Poland
244
Fig. 10 Isopollen maps for Fagus
6. Polish Geological Institute, Rakowiecka 4, 00-975 Warszawa,
Poland
7. Institute of Biology, Białystok University, Świerkowa 20b,
Białystok, Poland
8. Laboratory of Palaeoecology and Archaeobotany, Department
of Plant Ecology and Nature Protection, Gdańsk University,
Legionw 9, 80-441 Gdańsk, Poland
9. Quaternary Research Institute, Adam Mickiewicz University,
Fredry 10, 61-701 Poznań, Poland
10. Polish Geological Institute, Sea Geology Branch, Kościerska 5,
80-328 Gdańsk, Poland
11. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Nicholas Copernicus
University, Podmurna 9/11, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
12. Institute of Geography, Nicholas Copernicus University,
Fredry 6/8, 87-100 Toruń, Poland
13. Earth Science Faculty, University of Silesia, Be˛dzińska 60, 41200 Sosnowiec, Poland
14. Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Poznań Branch, Polish
Academy of Sciences, Zwierzyniecka 20, 60-814 Poznań,
Poland
15. Institute of Archaeology, Rzeszw University, 36-007 Krasne
32a, Poland
245
Fig. 11 Isopollen maps for Carpinus
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