The development of vegetation on the western slopes of the Bohemian-Moravian Uplands during the late holocene period: A study based on pollen and macroscopic analyses

Abstract

The paper presents the results of pollen and macroscopic analyses of three peat deposits in the surroundings of Lestina (near Světla nad Sazavou) on the western slopes of Bohemian-Moravian Uplands. On the basis of the results obtained, a reconstruction of forest covers was made and the representation of various woody plants in the forests from the Sub-boreal period to the present was evaluated. Beech-fir forests were found to have prevailed in the area before the beginning of colonization, andPicea excelsa is shown to have originally occurred at 450–500 m altitudo. The results of macroscopic analyses were used for the reconstruction of the vegetation of peat deposits. The findings of historical investigations of the forests were taken into consideration and the conclusions of geobotanical reconstruction mapping were compared with the results obtained.