Regional and local vegetation reconstructions-applications for revealing biodiversity dynamics

Abstract

International audienceHow has land use and land cover changed on different temporal and spatial scales, and how have these changes influenced biodiversity during the last 3000 years? Our working hypothesis is that biodiversity is favoured by variations in intensity and frequency of human activities such as clearing of forests, increased grazing and abandonment caused by population reduction due to e.g. epidemics or wars. To test the hypothesis, itis crucial to obtain records of vegetation changes with detailed time resolution and, moreover, to be able to set the spatial scale.Our study area is located in Småland in southern Sweden, and high resolution pollen analyses of sediment cores from large and small lakes are used for quantitative reconstruction of past land cover. Here we present our project and the primary methods that will be used. We also present some preliminary results and the following steps in the project