Vegetation history and human impact during the last 300 years recorded in a German peat deposit

Abstract

A peat core from the Barschpfuhl kettlehole mire in north-east Germany was analysed for multiproxy indicators (plant macrofossils, pollen/non-pollen microfossils, testate amoebae, colorimetric humification, carbon/nitrogen ratios, bulk density, loss on ignition), to investigate the effects of climate change and human impact on vegetation and peat accumulation during the last c. 300 years. 14C wiggle-match dating was applied for high-precision dating. Testate amoebae assemblages were used to reconstruct past water table depths and compared with other proxies and instrumental climate data from the mid-18th century onwards. The mire hydrology of this relatively small bog was heavily influenced by forestry changes in the area. The climate signal was therefore obscured. Afforestation with fast-growing conifers and drainage for agricultural purposes resulted in a lowering of the water level, changes in trophic status, changes in mire surface vegetation and increased decomposition of the peat. Variations in the openness and cultivated land indicators in the pollen data of Barschpfuhl reflect regional population density and land use changes.