The late Quaternary environmental history of Bátorliget, N.E. Hungary

Abstract

A sedimentary sequence extending back into the last glacial has been obtained from Bátorliget marsh in N.E. Hungary. Reconstruction of the environmental history of the region using the techniques of pollen analysis, molluscan analysis and geochemistry has revealed an important late Quaternary refugium. During the last glacial, a refugium for temperate flora and fauna existed within a landscape dominated by coniferous forest predominantly made up of Pinus and Picea. The lateglacial/postglacial transition at 10,000 yr B.P. resulted in a dramatic shift from coniferous (but also including Betula) woodland to deciduous woodland. Following the lateglacial/postglacial transition, a highly diverse woodland became established in the early postglacial, accompanied by an equally diverse molluscan assemblage. This diversity remained throughout the early postglacial although the types present within the woodland changed a number of times. At c. 7000 yr B.P. anthropogenic disturbance resulted in the destruction of the mixed forest and the development of agricultural land. The importance of this region as a refugial area both in the lateglacial and early postglacial is discussed and the influence that it had on the postglacial development of the fauna and flora of northeastern Hungary is reviewed.