The results of palynological investigations as the evidence of development of the Rzucewo Culture neolithic settlement on the coast of the Puck Lagoon

W okolicy Cypla Rzucewskiego, na zachodnim brzegu Zalewu Puckiego, jest zlokalizowane najbardziej znane stanowisko neolitycznej kultury rzucewskiej, na którym od wielu lat są prowadzone badania archeologiczne, od kilku lat również badania palinologiczne. Materiał do badań palinologicznych stanowiły osady organiczne występujące w strefie brzegowej obecnej laguny, jak i próbki osadów pobrane bezpośrednio z wykopów archeologicznych.Wyniki zarówno badań palinologicznych, jak i archeologicznych wskazały na ślady osadnictwa wcześniejsze niż kultura rzucewska. Ta wcześniejsza faza, związana z osadnictwem preneolitycznym, jest datowana palinologicznie na koniec okresu atlantyckiego. Teren badań zajmowały wówczas torfowiska i jeziora, co decydowało o tym, że głównym zajęciem ludzi było rybołówstwo. Prowadzona na niewielką skalę hodowla bydła była zajęciem dodatkowym.Osadnictwo kultury rzucewskiej, datowane archeologicznie na 4400-3700 lat BP, rozwijało się w czasie, gdy na obszar obecnego Zalewu Puckiego transgredowało morze. Jednak i w tym przypadku wyniki badań palinologicznych wskazują, że zarówno hodowla, jak i uprawa roli były zajęciami mniejszej rangi. Głównymi zajęciami gospodarczymi było rybołówstwo i polowanie na foki. Taki typ gospodarki, przypominający bardziej gospodarkę mezolityczną niż neolityczną, słabo zaznacza się na diagramach pyłkowych

Environmental change in the Jasień Lake trough as revealed by palynology and Cladocera faunal change

Na obszarze rynny jeziora Jasień zlokalizowano cztery stanowiska, dla których wykonano analizę palinologiczną i analizę szczątków Cladocera. Celem badań było odtworzenie przemian środowiska przyrodniczego na tym terenie. Rdzenie, z których pobrano próby do analiz, składały się głównie z osadów typu gytia i torf. Próbki do analiz wykonywano według standardowych procedur. Do obróbki danych liczbowych wykorzystywano program POLPAL. Otrzymane wyniki palinologiczne umożliwiły odtworzenie historii roślinności badanego terenu począwszy od okresu borealnego, a analiza szczątków Cladocera dostarczyła informacji o fazach rozwoju części zbiornika jeziornego Obrowo Duże.In order to reconstruct the environmental history of the Jasień Lake trough, pollen analysis and an analysis of Cladocera remains have been simultaneously carried out. Sediments for pollen research have been collected in the bay section of the Jasień Lake and in the Obrowo Małe peat bog. Cladocera remains have been sampled in two sites within a peat bog adjacent to the Obrowe Duże Lake. Preparation of samples for both analyses followed standard procedures. Numerical data have been elaborated using the POLPAL software. The results of the palynological study have allowed to decipher vegetation history since the Boreal period. The peat bog of Obrowo Małe began to form at the onset of the Atlantic period. Cladocera remains yielded information about phases of water body evolution in the part of the Obrowo Duże Lake, which subject to silting transformed into a low-level valley bog, and then into a transitional peat bog. Pollen and Cladocera analyses have been carried out on material collected at dissimilar sites, which practically excludes the possibility of correlation of results and allowed one only to reconstruct the major hydrological changes, common for the entire region. In the latest Holocene, in the Jasień Lake trough a trend towards water level decrease is observed due to both climatic and human impact. Further changes included the rise of trophic level in the lake and vegetation succession onto the shallower parts of the lake

Review and reinterpretation of the pollen and diatom data from the deposits of the Southern Baltic lagoons

According to their origin, geomorphology and hydrology, the fresh/brackish-water bays and coastal lakes of the Southern Baltic coast can be treated as lagoons. They developed at the time of and as a result of the Atlantic (Litorina) transgression of the Southern Baltica. There are many publications about the origin and evolution of the lagoons and lakes along the Polish coast of the Southern Baltic (e.g. Przybyłowska-Lange, 1973a, b, 1974, 1979, 1981; Zaborowska, 1977; Zachowicz, 1977, 1985; Wypych, 1980a, b; Zachowicz et al., 1982; Bogaczewicz-Adamczak, Miotk, 1985a, b; Dąbrowski et al., 1985; Zachowicz, Zaborowska, 1985; Borówka et al., 2001a, b, 2002). Nevertheless, the origin of the lagoons has not been fully explained. In the light of present-day information the results of earliest investigations often need to be reinterpreted. The aim of this work was the correlation of the published and unpublished pollen and diatom diagrams from Late Pleistocene and Holocene sediments of the Southern Baltic lagoons, and their relation with radiocarbon dating. The pollen and diatom diagrams from the area of north-east Germany and the Curonian Lagoon (Kabailiene., 1999; Jahns, 2000; Kaiser et al., 2000; Endtmann, 2002; Bitinas et al., 2002) have been used for comparison. For the palynological sites, the local pollen assemblage zones (L PAZ) have been identified according to Janczyk-Kopikowa (1987). Comparison of the biostratigraphical data allowed us to define the approach time of the formation of the lagoons in their present-day position on the coast as well as to determine the periods of an accelerated sea-level rise and increased frequency of storm surges (so-called marine transgression phases) when the investigated areas had been under the direct influence of the sea. Such influences are visible about 7000, 6000, 5000 and 4000 years BP. This period of marine influences, about 1000-year long, corresponds very well to the same period of climate oscillations mentioned by Stuiver and Braziunas (1993), Stuiver et al. (1995) and Chapman and Shackelton (2000). The influence of the sea in the Post-Litorina period was associated mainly with the inflow of sea water through more or less developed barriers, so they are not synchronous

Palaeogeographical significance of the Eemian biogenic sediments at Bór site (Warta River valley, Central Poland)

An investigated area is located in the middle reach of the WartaRiver valley. During drillings in the Bór site organic deposits such as detritous calcareous gyttja and calcareous detritous gyttja has been documented in a depth between 14,9 and 16,6 m. The organic deposits are covered by mineral, mostly sandy deposits. The accumulation took place in the small lake formed as an abandoned channel. Palynological analysis led to conclusion that biogenic accumulation began at the end of Wartanian and took place at least to the Eemian Interglacial optimum. Results of palynological, Cladocera and geochemical analysis inform about water level changes and increasing of trophy status of the reservoir. Presence of Mesozoic substratum very close to the palaeolake bottom influenced significantly chemical features of the organic deposits. As Eemian organic deposits are uncommon in the Warta River valley, the Bór site seems important for palaeogeographical reconstructions of the Warta River valley during Eemian Interglacial

A critical review and reinterpretation of bio-, litho- and seismostratigraphic data of the Southern Baltic deposits

The aim of this study was the reinterpretation of the published and unpublished Late-Pleistocene and Holocene pollen and diatom diagrams of deposits from the sedimentary basins of the Southern Baltic Sea and the correlation of the distinguished biostratigraphic units with lithological parameters, seismostratigraphic units. Chronostratigraphic subdivision of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene was also made. To facilitate the correlation and reinterpretation of the results of biostratigraphic (palynological and diatom) analyses, new unified and simplified diagrams were drawn using the POLPAL software. Such diagrams were constructed for all the sites under comparison, even for those of no numerical data. In such cases, the published diagrams were scanned and their percentage values were the basis for new diagrams. A review and reinterpretation of biostratigraphic data show an almost complete lack of palynological documentation and diatom diagrams for the Late Pleistocene period and poor documentation for the Early Holocene. Middle and Late Holocene Baltic muds have the best biostratigraphic documentation and radiocarbon dating, which greatly facilitates their location on the geological time scale. Among the Southern Baltic postglacial sediments three lithostratigraphic units were identified. They differ in their lithological features reflecting the conditions prevalent in the sedimentary basin during deposition. It should be noted that these units meet no formal criteria for distinguishing lithostratigraphic units. Similarly, within the Late Pleistocene and Holocene sediments of Southern Baltic deep-water basins, three main seismostratigraphic complexes have been identified. The integrated analysis of seismoacoustic profiles, lithological profiles of cores and reinterpretated biostratigraphic data allow a correlation of the bio-, litho- and seismostratigraphic units with chronostratigraphic units and Baltic evolutionary phases

Last millennium palaeoenvironmental changes from a Baltic bog (Poland) inferred from stable isotopes, pollen, plant macrofossils and testate amoebae

The Baltic coast of Northern Poland is a region of considerable potential interest for paleoclimatic studies because this region is under the influence of both oceanic and continental climates and that these two influences have likely changed through time. Also unlike many more intensively studied regions of Europe human impact was more limited until the 19th century. We present a multiproxy high-resolution record from Stążki mire, an ombrotrophic mire located in northern Poland 35 km from the Baltic sea coast. We combined four proxies from the peat: testate amoebae, stable isotopes (δ13C) of Sphagnum stems, pollen, and plant macrofossils supported by dendroecological data to assess the palaeoenvironmental changes that took place during the last millennium. The general aim of this study was to test if a range of proxies (testate amoebae, pollen, plant macrofossils and tree rings) could allow inferring a climatic signal from a peat monolith despite the considerable anthropogenic impact on the Pomerania landscape since the Early Medieval period. Combining internal (e.g. macrofossils and testate amoebae) and external (pollen) signals is key to distinguishing human from climatic signals in palaeoenvironmental studies of peatlands. Our more specific aims were to: a) reconstruct the last millennium palaeoenvironment in a Baltic raised bog and its surroundings, b) identify the major wet-dry shifts and correlate those events with climate change and human impact, c) assess the resilience of the Baltic bog ecosystem following human impact. We noted two disturbance periods in the history of the mire. The two major disturbances in the history of the mire were dry periods [(I) 1100-1500 AD and (II) 1650-1900 (2005) AD]. These are reflected in all indicators and can be interpreted as the mixture of climate impact and human activities. However, the pollen record shows little evidence of human indicators during the first dry shift. The second disturbance can be related to local peat exploitation of the mire and then in the 20th century with limited artificial drainage. From 1500 AD all proxies show that the water table abruptly rose in the mire. The beginning of this shift occurred during the Little Ice Age and therefore it is likely a climatic signal. Alternatively, this wet shift could have been interpreted as a re-wetting mire surface after peat burning, but this interpretation is rejected because there is no evidence of major local fire in the macrofossil record. The macrofossil data shows that Sphagnum fuscum dominated the pristine mire vegetation but then declined and finally disappeared. This pattern is comparable with the timing of extinction of Sphagnum austinii in Western Europe. This study illustrated the value of palynological analysis of peat archives (especially for last millennium) to assess the magnitude of anthropogenic land-use changes. For example the comparison of Fagus (beech) and Carpinus (hornbeam) history with the palaeohydrological record allowed us to exclude climate change as the most important factor for the decline and expansion of these tree species. This study is the first direct comparison of testate amoeba and stable isotope data