Mid-to late-Holocene paleovegetation change in vicinity of Lake Tuzla (Kayseri), Central Anatolia, Turkey

Abstract

This study carried out in Lake Tuzla in northeast Cappadocia (Central Anatolia- Kayseri-Palas Plain) aimed primarily to determine changes in paleovegetation of mid-to late-Holocene in the vicinity of Lake Tuzla and factors affecting these changes. A secondary objective was to determine paleoenvironmental conditions during the settlement period of Kültepe (Karum-Kanis), an important archaeological site in the region. Fossil pollen analysis was carried out on a sediment core 337 cm long representing the period from the present day extending back to 5080 ± 30 years. Changes in paleoclimatic conditions and paleovegetation were identified. From changes in the vegetation, the climatic changes determined were dry in the periods 3200-3000 BP, 2050–1450 BP, and 1120-850 BP; and humidity in the periods 1400-1115 BP and 1400–1700 BP. Alterations to the vegetation structure between 3230 and 1155 BP reveal the effects of the Beyşehir Occupation Phase (BOP). According to Lake Tuzla data, the effect of BOP was relatively less than that of Lake Nar. After the end of BOP, pine forests grew in the area around Lake Tuzla. The vegetation consisted of Pinus and Quercus in AP (arboreal pollen) and Artemisia, Amaranthaceae and Poaceae in NAP (non-arboreal pollen). The density of Artemisia, Amaranthaceae and Poaceae taxa suggests that steppe vegetation was dominant in the surroundings of Lake Tuzla.