We present a paleoenvironmental reconstruction for the mountain fringe between the South-Eastern Alps and the Northern Dinarides (NE-Italy/W-Slovenia) during the Last Glacial Maximum. We focused on a ...new sedimentary and paleoecological archive spanning the LGM acme, located in an aggrading, permanently flooded and ponded plain, dammed by an active fluvioglacial megafan. The ecosystem reconstruction, based on two high resolution pollen records, is supported by a rich plant macrofossil flora and constrained by a robust radiocarbon chronology between 26 and 22calka BP. We show evidence for persistence of boreal trees and of different open boreal forest types throughout the LGM at the south-eastern mountain fringe of the Alps and the Northern Dinarides. Fire frequency is responsible for high, oscillating forest openness. The paleobotanical record is discussed in the light of the ecogeographic diversity of the region. A belt formed by Swiss stone pine, larch and dwarf mountain pine on limestone bedrock, and accompanied by Spruce in the floodplain, extended uphill, while proximal outwash plain supported Scots pine and dwarf mountain pine. These differences arise from groundwater regimes rather than from local climate variability. A steep moisture gradient from the semiarid pedoclimatic regime prevailing in the Adriatic alluvial plain to the forested mountain fringe is related to the orographic rainout triggered by southern air circulation. Mesophytic broad-leaved forest trees did not withstand the LGM temperature extremes in zonal ecosystems at the Alpine–Dinaric fringe; however, the fossil evidence suggests a number of microrefugia in karstic and thermal spring habitats of the northern Adriatic.
•Paleoenvironmental reconstruction at Alps–Dinarides fringe during the Last Glacial Maximum•Relationships between regional geological frame, sedimentary environments, and forest history•Persistence of trees and of different types of open boreal forest throughout the LGM
Desiccated seeds were used in order to evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively the weed vegetation present in traditional Central-European agricultural landscape of the second half of the 19 ...super(th) century. More than seven thousand seeds were excavated from 100 kg of loam, chaff and straw that had been used as building material of cob cottages in NE Slovenia. About 7100 of these were wild plants, while only 126 belonged to cultivated/escaped species (cereals excluded). The diaspores belonged to 89 taxa and most of them were attributed to plant species from disturbed habitats (weeds and ruderals). A comparison with current conservation status of species found in the region showed that some of the weeds, such as Agrostemma githago, Anthemis cotula, Centaurea cyanus, Kickxia elatine, Papaver dubium and Ranunculus arvensis, are nowadays rare and threatened species. On the other hand, some weeds or ruderals that are very common nowadays were not found in the material. One species, Paronychia cephalotes, was found, which has not been recorded before on Slovenian territory. The plant material stored in the construction material of the cottage, gives us insight into the vegetation assemblages of arable land before the development of more intensive tillage and cultivation in the second half of the 20 super(th) century, which dramatically changed the Central-European agricultural landscape.
This article presents various botanical disciplines that can contribute to the recognition of palaeoeconomic and palaeoecologic conditions within a certain archaeological environment and time. A ...short historical review of palaeobotanical investigations in Slovenia is also rendered. By way of example, select palaeobotanical investigations providing archaeologically significant results are concisely summarized.
In the area of the Lake of Plitvice two core holes were drilled to a depth of 8 m. Palynological analyses show Holocene forest vegetation, namely the climax Abieti-Fagetum . Initial postglacial ...forest phases which preceded the Abieti-Fagetum are not represented in the pollen diagram. Hence the conclusion can be drawn that the vegetation, as shown in the diagrams, starts as late as the end of the Boreal period, i. e. at bout 8000-7000 years B. P. The short-term dominance of Abies at the top of the diagrams may coincide with a similar rise of Abies at Ljubljansko barje, contemporary to Eneolithic settlement. At this time interval, 8000-4000 y. B. P. both pollen diagrams can be dated. Thereby also a direct indication is provided as to the time and the extent of the growth of the barrier and the rise of the water-level of Proscansko jezero.
Radiocarbon measurements confirmed the age of peat samples from two cores taken near Lake Prosce in the Plitvice National Park, previously dated on the basis of pollen analyses. Palynological and ...radiocarbon analyses helped to reconstruct the history of peat bogs and tufa barriers of Lake Prosce. The vegetation sequences as well as tufa growth in Holocene are discussed in some detail.
This work describes experimental palynological investigations of forest soils in the Pohorje Mts. All samples proved to be successful. It was demonstrated, as the most important result, that the ...constituents of the mixed oak forest phase were recently eliminated from these forests. As a consequence, this led to heavy disturbances in the regeneration process of forests degraded by man. Furthermore, the development of the climax beech and beech-fir forests is influenced by the interruption of natural succession phases.
