Zur Vegetations- und Siedlungsgeschichte des Frankenwaldes

Abstract

Summary Five small bogs (580—720 m above sea-level) have been investigated by means of pollen analysis. The diagrams refer to a low age of the sediments. Changes of the main species of which the forests are composed correspond distinctly with those in the trend of the cereal curves. Using radiocarbon measurements was impossible because the low thick of the peat layers and their rooting. Therefore special attention has been paid to the history of settlement. The western part of the area under investigation was populated in the 11th/12th centuries. The surrounding of Lobenstein was developed during the 13th and 14th centuries, with the southern part, however, having first settlements at a later date (since the 16th century). This opening of the forests during the mediaeval time is distinctly reflected by the single pollen diagrams. Therefore not only good possibilities for their dating are offered but also for comprehending the influence of man on the more recent development of vegetation. The first stage of the spring fens is characterized by the predominance of elder and ferns in the vegetation of the centre and of lime and hazel at the fringe of the spring fen. With the transition to organic sedimentation the tree species composing the regional forests are more distinctly reflected by their pollen grains than before. The western part of the area under investigation was mainly covered by montan beech forests, whereas in the south eastern part beech, fir and spruce were represented more or less equally. The region marking the transition to the lee of the Thuringian Schiefergebirge was mainly occupied by forests consisting of pine and spruce with a fair representation of oak as well. Later these regional differences of natural origin were almost eliminated by the intensive forestry.