Comparison of paleobotanical and biomarker records of mountain peatland and forest ecosystem dynamics over the last 2600 years in central Germany

As peatlands are a major terrestrial sink in the global carbon cycle, gaining an understanding of their development and changes throughout time is essential in order to predict their future carbon budget and potentially mitigate the adverse outcomes of climate change. With this aim to understand peat development, many studies have investigated the paleoecological dynamics by analyzing various proxies, including pollen, macrofossil, elemental, and biomarker analyses. However, as each of these proxies is known to have its own benefits and limitations, examining them in parallel allows for a deeper understanding of these paleoecological dynamics at the peatland and a systematic comparison of the power of these individual proxies. In this study, we therefore analyzed peat cores from a peatland in Germany (Beerberg, Thuringia) to (a) characterize the vegetation dynamics over the course of the peatland development during the late Holocene and (b) evaluate to what extent the inclusion of multiple proxies, specifically pollen, plant macrofossils, and biomarkers, contributes to a deeper understanding of those dynamics and interaction among factors. We found that, despite a major shift in the regional forest composition from primarily beech to spruce as well as many indicators of human impact in the region, the local plant population in the Beerberg area remained stable over time following the initial phase of peatland development up until the last couple of centuries. Therefore, little variation could be derived from the paleobotanical data alone. The combination of pollen and macrofossil analyses with the elemental and biomarker analyses enabled further understanding of the site development as these proxies added valuable additional information, including the occurrence of climatic variations, such as the Little Ice Age, and more recent disturbances, such as drainage

Znaczenie wspólnych badań historycznych i paleoekologicznych nad wpływem człowieka na środowisko. Przykład ze stanowiska Kazanie we wschodniej Wielkopolsce

The aim of the article is to present the potential of interdisciplinary research on the human impact on the environment in the past on the example of a site in Greater Poland (Wielkopolska). It uses high-resolution palaeoecological analyses of peat archives from the Kazanie peat bog as well as archaeological and historical materials reflecting the settlement and economic activity of the inhabitants of Pobiedziska and surrounding villages throughout last 1200 years.Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie potencjału interdyscyplinarnych badań nad wpływem człowieka na środowisko w przeszłości na przykładzie Wielkopolski. Zostaną w nim wykorzystane wysokorozdzielcze analizy paleoekologiczne źródeł przyrodniczych wydobytych z torfowiska Kazanie oraz materiały archeologiczne i historyczne obrazujące osadnictwo i aktywność gospodarczą mieszkańców Pobiedzisk i okolicznych wsi w ciągu ostatnich 1200 lat

Znaczenie wysokorozdzielczych wielowskaźnikowych (multi-proxy) badań paleoekologicznych dla geografii historycznej i historii gospodarczej

The article presents the importance of palaeoecology for the study of economic history, historical geography and environmental history. The text introduces the methodological possibilities of palaeoecology. We pay attention to the unused potential of high resolution palaeoecology. By using natural archives (sediments of lakes and peatlands), we are able to trace the history of changes in nature. We can reconstruct history and better understand the changes in Poland’s ecosystems and its economic development.Artykuł prezentuje znaczenie paleoekologii dla badań historii gospodarczej, geografii historycznej i historii środowiskowej. Praca przybliża możliwości metodyczne paleoekologii. Zwracamy uwagę na niewykorzystany dotąd potencjał wysokorozdzielczej paleoekologii. Wykorzystując naturalne archiwa (osady jezior i torfowisk), jesteśmy w stanie prześledzić historię przemian przyrody, możemy zrekonstruować historię i lepiej zrozumieć zmiany ekosystemów Polski oraz jej rozwój ekonomiczny

Palinologia

Palinologi

The importance of collaborative historical and palaeoecological research on human impact on the environment : the case of the Kazanie site in Eastern Greater Poland (Eastern Wielkopolska)

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie potencjału interdyscyplinarnych badań nad wpływem człowieka na środowisko w przeszłości na przykładzie Wielkopolski. Zostaną w nim wykorzystane wysokorozdzielcze analizy paleoekologiczne źródeł przyrodniczych wydobytych z torfowiska Kazanie oraz materiały archeologiczne i historyczne obrazujące osadnictwo i aktywność gospodarczą mieszkańców Pobiedzisk i okolicznych wsi w ciągu ostatnich 1200 lat.The aim of the article is to present the potential of interdisciplinary research on the human impact on the environment in the past on theexample of a site in Greater Poland (Wielko-polska). It uses high-resolution palaeoecological analyses of peat archives from the Kazanie peat bog as well as archaeological and historical materi-als refl ecting the settlement and economic activity of the inhabitants of Pobiedziska and surrounding villages throughout last 1200 years

The importance of high-resolution multi-proxy paleoecological research for historical geography and economic history

Artykuł prezentuje znaczenie paleoekologii dla badań historii gospodarczej, geografii historycznej i historii środowiskowej. Praca przybliża możliwości metodyczne paleoekologii. Zwracamy uwagę na niewykorzystany dotąd potencjał wysokorozdzielczej paleoekologii. Wykorzystując naturalne archiwa (osady jezior i torfowisk), jesteśmy w stanie prześledzić historię przemian przyrody, możemy zrekonstruować historię i lepiej zrozumieć zmiany ekosystemów Polski oraz jej rozwój ekonomicznyThe article presents the importanceof palaeoecology for the study of economic history, historical geography and environmental history. The text introduces the methodological possibilities of palaeoecology. We pay attention to the unused potential of high resolution palaeoecol-ogy. By using natural archives (sediments of lakes and peatlands), we are able to trace the history of changes in nature. We can reconstruct history and better understand the changes in Poland’s ecosys-tems and its economic development

Paleobotanical and biomarker records over 2600 years from Beerberg peatland (Central Germany)

The late Holocene development of a raised ombrotrophic peat bog in the Thuringian Forest in Central Germany was investigated using pollen, plant macrofossils, lipid biomarker, elemental, and radiocarbon analyses. In October 2019, a 3.4 m core was recovered from the Beerberg peatland located in the Vessertal-Thuringian Forest Biosphere Reserve. Radiocarbon dating and a resulting age-depth model indicated that the age of the peatland is ca. 2600 yr BP. The purpose of the study was twofold: establishing a paleovegetation record with a reliable chronology for the Thuringian Forest and comparing the results of the pollen and plant macrofossil analyses to that of the lipid biomarker analysis to determine what additional insight the biomarkers could provide. Along with the counting of pollen and plant macrofossils, the carbon and nitrogen concentrations and their stable isotope values were measured from the bulk samples via elemental analyzer, and the absolute concentrations of n-alkanes, n-alkanols, and n-fatty acids were measured by gas chromatography flame ionization detection. The radiocarbon dates were measured by Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. Modern plant samples were also collected from the peatland during sampling, separated into leaf, stem, and root tissue as much as was possible, and the absolute concentrations of the n-alkanes, n-alkanols, and n-fatty acids were measured for each plant part