Late Holocene transformations of lower montane forest in the Beskid Wyspowy Mountains (Western Carpathians, Central Europe): a case study from Mount Mogielica

Abstract

This article presents a reconstruction of Late Holocene vegetation changes within the lower montane forest zone in the Beskid Wyspowy Mountains (Western Carpathians, Central Europe). Pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, loss on ignition, and microscopic charcoal analyses were applied to a profile collected from the deposits of the rich fen which developed in the landslide depression. The results reveal that during the period between ca. 4800 ± 70 and 4160 ± 60 cal. BP, Picea abies dominated in the local forests. Between ca. 4800 ± 70 and 4660 ± 60 cal. BP, Acer was an important component in local woodlands, which distinguishes the study site from others in the Western Carpathians. At ca. 4100 ± 60 cal. BP, forests dominated by Abies alba and Fagus sylvatica expanded. Nowadays, this type of vegetation is characteristic of the lower montane zone in the Polish Western Carpathians. This expansion was probably a consequence of environmental disturbances related to the cold and wet ‘4.2 ka BP’ event. The spread of these forests was preceded by a short episode of expansion of Tilia (Tilia cordata and/or Tilia platyphyllos) which was a very local event. The area of the Beskid Wyspowy Mountains provided suitable habitats for the occurrence of T. baccata, which has not been recorded in pollen data spanning the Middle and beginning of the Late Holocene from this mountain range. A significant increase in the percentages of Kretzschmaria deusta, a parasitic fungus, reveals that A. alba–F. sylvatica forests provided an optimal habitat for such species during the period from 4070 ± 60 to 47 cal. BP. Since ca. 2640 ± 110 cal. BP, pollen of pioneer trees, such as Pinus sylvestris and Betula, as well as human activity indicators (Cerealia type and Plantago lanceolata) have become more frequent. Nonetheless, it is highly probable that this section of deposits also includes the presence of one or more sedimentary gaps.