Carpinus betulus pollen accumulation rates in Roztocze (SE Poland) in relation to presence of Carpinus in Ferdynandovian pollen diagrams

Carpinus pollen has been recorded in fossil pollen diagrams of different interglacials. In case of the Ferdynandovian pollen sequence it is of particular importance to know if scattered presence of Carpinus pollen at the decline of Ferdynandovian 1 interglacial represents long distance transport of pollen or small isolated Carpinus populations. The study aims to trace the pollen-vegetation relationship in Roztocze (SE Poland) using Tauber-style pollen traps to understand better the pattern of Carpinus pollen dispersal and deposition. High and low pollen deposition years were recorded for Carpinus betulus in the period 1998–2010. Deposition was extremely high in 2002. Average annual pollen accumulation rate was calculated at 1348 grains cm -2 year -1, which was 4.1% of total pollen spectrum. The study confirms that the earlier pollen presence/absence threshold values of about 5% for the presence of Carpinus trees in vegetation (Huntley & Birks 1983) were too high. The pollen monitoring data from Roztocze support the opinion of Ralska-Jasiewiczowa et al. (2004) that low values of about 0.5% may reflect the presence of Carpinus trees in the forests. These data, in comparison to the scattered Carpinus pollen grains in the last part of the Ferdynandovian 1 interglacial seem to indicate that single trees of this genus may nave occurred in the vegetation at the decline of interglacial optimum

Górski Szlak dla Alergików jako nowy produkt turystyczny Tatr

Among the tourist services offered in Poland for a group of people with allergies, which increases rapidly, there are no listings related to the practice of hiking. The aim of this article is to offer a tourist walking trail in the Tatras for allergy sufferers, which combines active holidays with avoidance of allergens and comfort of being in the clear air above the upper forest limit. The trail has been designed in three variants, taking into account the physical condition of potential users. Its routes run along existing, popular trails in the Tatra National Park.Wśród usług turystycznych oferowanych w Polsce wzrastającej dynamicznie grupie alergików brakuje ofert związanych z uprawianiem turystyki pieszej. Celem artykułu jest propozycja turystycznego szlaku pieszego w Tatrach dla osób cierpiących na alergie wziewne, który łączy aktywny wypoczynek z unikaniem alergenów i komfortem przebywania w czystym powietrzu powyżej górnej granicy lasu. Szlak zaprojektowano w trzech wariantach, uwzględniając kondycję fizyczną potencjalnych użytkowników. Jego trasy biegną wzdłuż istniejących, popularnych szlaków na terenie Tatrzańskiego Parku Narodowego.

Nowe dane paleobotaniczne z profilu Ferdynandów 2011 na stanowisku stratotypowym

The new drilling, made in 2011 in the Ferdynandovian interglacial stratotype site in Ferdynandów near Kock (E Poland) allows to carry out high resolution palaeobotanical analyses (including palynological and plant macrofossils ones). The results of the analyses are presented and interpreted against the background of the earlier partition of the ferdynandovian succession (acc. to Janczyk-Kopikowa 1975). A particular attention was paid to the similarity of succession derived from the profile Ferdynandów 2011 with those from neighboring sites in Łuków and Zdany. Very clearly it outlines the division of the three analyzed profiles of the ferdynandovian succession into two distinct interglacials separated by a sediment section bearing the record of the succession typically glacial with its stadial-interstadial oscillations. In the light of the new data from the Ferdynandów 2011 profile, it is clear that the division which was first used by Mamakowa (1996), applies to all ferdynandovian successions in Poland, if only two warm periods were registered in them (formerly known as two climate optima). The warm units in the Ferdynandów 2011 succession correspond to climatostratigraphic units Ferdynandovian 1 and 2, and the cold unit – to Ferdynandovian 1/2 (Lindner et al. 2004). The whole ferdynandovian succession s.l. correlates with the Cromerian complex in the early Middle Pleistocene of Western Europe stratigraphy (Cromerian II Westerhoven and Cromerian III Rosmalen) and marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS) 13–15. The new geological and palaeobotanical data allowed to reconstruct the functioning of interglacial lake and its palaeogeographic context on the stratotype site and its evolution.Stanowiska z zapisem ferdynandowskiej sukcesji pyłkowej są rzadko spotykane, a zwłaszcza te z zapisem paleobotanicznym dwu okresów ciepłych i dzielącego je ochłodzenia. Na tym tle, na szczególną uwagę zasługuje obszar Południowego Podlasia, na którym zostało rozpoznanych 8 stanowisk z osadami interglacjału ferdynandowskiego. Są one udokumentowane badaniami palinologicznymi (Żarski i in. 2009a; Ryc. 1). Na tym obszarze zlokalizowane jest również stanowisko stratotypowe Ferdynandów B z 1963 roku, dla którego opisano w 1981 roku nową wówczas sukcesję pyłkową, określoną jako sukcesja ferdynandowska (Janczyk-Kopikowa i in. 1991; Mojski, 1985; Janczyk-Kopikowa 1991; Rzechowski 1996)

New methods applied to interpretations of pollen data in the Holocene - selected examples from the last decade

The results of palynological analyses of the Holocene deposits and modern pollen deposition in Poland and Finland are used to illustrate the progress in pollen analysis - the main palaeoecological method. The increased potential of modern palaeoecology for reconstruction of vegetation and for drawing conclusions on other environmental variables (climate, water conditions, landscape, anthropogenic disturbances) is demonstrated. Pollen analysis - develops at present interpretive tools for precise reconstruction of the structure and composition of vegetation and climate conditions. The progress consists in the quantitative presentation of pollenvegetation-climate relationships based on the examination of modern pollen deposition. The application of numerical analyses to pollen data allows correlating pollen spectrum features with the landscape/vegetation type. Special attention is paid to the Holocene vegetation changes of the transitional zone between boreal forest and tundra in the areas subjected to weak anthropopression (e.g. Lapland), which reflect climatic changes. Databases of modern pollen analogues are based on analysis of samples of surface mosses and contents of Tauber traps. These traps are used in Poland in investigations conducted as a part of the Pollen Monitoring Programme (http://pmp.oulu.fi). The correlation of Tauber-trap data with aerobiological ones contributes to understanding of the relationship between pollen production and climate elements. Additionally, the precise C 14 dating allows a near-annual resolution in fossil deposits to be obtained more frequently. Due to time scales comprising hundreds of years, pollen analysis can provide means to resolve questions inaccessible for direct observation

Environmental Conditions of Settlement of the Danubian Communities in the Northern Foreland of the Sandomierz Upland

The article raises the issue of the nature, intensity and environmental conditions of the settlement processes occurring on the borderline of the loessic Sandomierz Upland and the sandy-clay areas of the Iłża Foothills, between the end of 6th and the beginning of the 4th millennia BC. The results of previously conducted research confirm the high settlement activity in these areas, throughout the period of development of the Danubian cultural groups. The obtained data document the phenomenon of the formation and functioning of the early-agricultural settlement centres in upland areas, located outside the range of compact loess cover, i.e. within ecological and landscape zones that diverge from the basic preferences of the Danubian communities, inhabiting the upland areas of the upper Vistula basin

The origin of pine pollen grains captured from air at Calypsobyen, Svalbard

Spitsbergen is the largest island in the Svalbard Archipelago (Norway) that has been permanently populated. The harsh Arctic climate prevents development of large vascular plants such as trees. A two-year aerobiological survey was conducted within the framework of two consecutive polar expeditions (2014 and 2015) in Spitsbergen (Calypsobyen, Bellsund). The air quality was measured continuously from June/July to August using a 7-day volumetric air sampler, Tauber trap and moss specimens. Collected air samples and gravimetric pollen deposits were processed following transfer to sterile laboratory conditions and analyzed with the aid of light microscopy. Days when pine pollen grains were detected in the air were selected for further analysis. Clusters of back-trajectories, computed using the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model in combination with ArcGIS software as well as the Flextra trajectory model, showed the movement of air masses to the sampling location at Hornsund, and thus indicated the likely origin of pollen grains. The GlobCover 2009 and CORINE Land Cover 2012 datasets were employed to establish the distribution of coniferous forests in the areas of interest. Conclusions were drawn based on the analyses of the circulation of air masses, using visualization of global weather conditions forecast to supercomputers. For the first time we have demonstrated that pine pollen grains occurring in pine-free Spitsbergen, could originate from numerous locations, including Scandinavia, Iceland, Siberia and northern Canada. Pollen grains were transported via air masses for distances exceeding ~2000 km. Both air samples and gravimetric pollen deposits revealed the same pattern of Pinus pollen distribution

Patterns in recent and Holocene pollen accumulation rates across Europe - the Pollen Monitoring Programme Database as a tool for vegetation reconstruction

The collection of modern, spatially extensive pollen data is important for the interpretation of fossil pollen assemblages and the reconstruction of past vegetation communities in space and time. Modern datasets are readily available for percentage data but lacking for pollen accumulation rates (PARs). Filling this gap has been the motivation of the pollen monitoring network, whose contributors monitored pollen deposition in modified Tauber traps for several years or decades across Europe. Here we present this monitoring dataset consisting of 351 trap locations with a total of 2742 annual samples covering the period from 1981 to 2017. This dataset shows that total PAR is influenced by forest cover and climate parameters, which determine pollen productivity and correlate with latitude. Treeless vegetation produced PAR values of at least 140 grains cm−2 yr−1. Tree PAR increased by at least 400 grains cm−2 yr−1 with each 10 % increase in forest cover. Pollen traps situated beyond 200 km of the distribution of a given tree species still collect occasional pollen grains of that species. The threshold of this long-distance transport differs for individual species and is generally below 60 grains cm−2 yr−1. Comparisons between modern and fossil PAR from the same regions show similar values. For temperate taxa, modern analogues for fossil PARs are generally found downslope or southward of the fossil sites. While we do not find modern situations comparable to fossil PAR values of some taxa (e.g. Corylus), CO2 fertilization and land use may cause high modern PARs that are not documented in the fossil record. The modern data are now publicly available in the Neotoma Paleoecology Database and aid interpretations of fossil PAR data.publishedVersio

Patterns in recent and Holocene pollen accumulation rates across Europe - the Pollen Monitoring Programme Database as a tool for vegetation reconstruction

The collection of modern, spatially extensive pollen data is important for the interpretation of fossil pollen assemblages and the reconstruction of past vegetation communities in space and time. Modern datasets are readily available for percentage data but lacking for pollen accumulation rates (PARs). Filling this gap has been the motivation of the pollen monitoring network, whose contributors monitored pollen deposition in modified Tauber traps for several years or decades across Europe. Here we present this monitoring dataset consisting of 351 trap locations with a total of 2742 annual samples covering the period from 1981 to 2017. This dataset shows that total PAR is influenced by forest cover and climate parameters, which determine pollen productivity and correlate with latitude. Treeless vegetation produced PAR values of at least 140 grains cm(-2) yr(-1). Tree PAR increased by at least 400 grains cm(-2) yr(-1) with each 10% increase in forest cover. Pollen traps situated beyond 200 km of the distribution of a given tree species still collect occasional pollen grains of that species. The threshold of this long-distance transport differs for individual species and is generally below 60 grains cm(-2) yr(-1). Comparisons between modern and fossil PAR from the same regions show similar values. For temperate taxa, modern analogues for fossil PARs are generally found downslope or southward of the fossil sites. While we do not find modern situations comparable to fossil PAR values of some taxa (e.g. Corylus), CO2 fertilization and land use may cause high modern PARs that are not documented in the fossil record. The modern data are now publicly available in the Neotoma Paleoecology Database and aid interpretations of fossil PAR data

Pollen-based vegetation and climate reconstruction of the Ferdynandovian sequence from Łuków (eastern Poland)

Early middle Pleistocene deposits from Łukow, correlated with the Cromerian complex, represent rare bi-partite Ferdynandovian pollen sequence encompassing two interglacial warmings (F1 and F2) separated by F1/2 cooling/glaciation and related to MIS 15-13. The paper presents pollen-based palaeoecological and palaeoclimate investigations in which plant climate indicators were applied. Additionally modern pollen dataset from the Roztocze region was used to evaluate vegetation history in terms of forest communities and presence and abundance of tree taxa sensitive to air temperature and humidity. Climate changes derived from pollen data indicate strong oceanic features of the climate of the first interglacial (F1) resembling those typical for the beginning of the Eemian, followed by cooling (F 1/2) with plant communities typical of the Pleistocene steppetundra, which undoubtedly indicate strong continentality, and subsequent return of more oceanic climate (F2) with mean remperature of the warmest month exceeding 18°C. Both pollen succession and climate changes recorded in the Łukow sediments correlate well with other bi-partite successions known from eastern part of European Lowlands