Records of past climate variability and associated vegetation response exist in various regions throughout Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). To date, there has been no coherent synthesis of the existing palaeo-records. During an INTIMATE meeting (Cluj Napoca, Romania) focused on identifying CEE paleo-records, it was decided to address this gap by presenting the palaeo-community with a compilation of high-quality climatic and vegetation records for the past 60-8 kyrs. The compilation should also serve as a reference point for the use in the modelling community working towards the INTIMATE project goals, and in data-model inter-comparison studies. This paper is therefore a compilation of up to date, best available quantitative and semi-quantitative records of past climate and biotic response from CEE covering this period. It first presents the proxy and archive used. Speleothems and loess mainly provide the evidences available for the 60-20 ka interval, whereas pollen records provide the main source of information for the Lateglacial and Holocene. It then examines the temporal and spatial patterns of climate variability inferred from different proxies, the temporal and spatial magnitude of the vegetation responses inferred from pollen records and highlights differences and similarities between proxies and sub-regions and the possible mechanisms behind this variability. Finally, it identifies weakness in the proxies and archives and their geographical distribution. This exercise also provides an opportunity to reflect on the status of research in the area and to identify future critical areas and subjects of research.

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An understanding of contemporary and likely future biodiversity requires knowledge of how past human societies have shaped diversity patterns. Here, we use long-term pollen data sets extending from lowlands to subalpine environment in the Carpathian region (Romania) with the aim of exploring the relationship between landscape openness, anthropogenic disturbance, elevation and vegetation richness over the Holocene. We found that landscape openness represents a significant driver of pollen richness: The more open sites from mid (440-750 m) and high elevations (1550-1850 m) showed on average greater diversity than more forested upland sites (1050-1360 m). For the first time, our results show pollen richness patterns along elevation gradients that remain constant over the Holocene. Although significant only over the last 3000 cal. yr BP, these elevational patterns become accentuated with stronger evidence of anthropogenic impact. We also found a strong link between diversity change and major land use strategies of prehistoric societies, demonstrating the potential of pollen richness to be used as a tool to depict the ecological impact of human disturbance on diversity. Most distinct episodes of enhanced floristic richness are evident during the Roman Period (2000 cal. yr BP), and over the last 500 cal. yr BP. Recent anthropogenic activity negatively impacted diversity in mountainous areas mainly through plantations; the lack of sites in agriculture landscapes however limits our inference for this type of setting. The maintenance of habitat diversity is key to maintaining high levels of diversity. While there is temporal consistency in the diversity pattern in records from similar climate and vegetation settings, comparison of diversity from different vegetation assemblages and levels landscapes openness should be interpreted cautiously.

Ioana Perşoiu: Pove�a-Pove�a-va med temperaturo �raka in dinamiko ledu v ledeni jami Scărişoara, Romunija Članek obravnava povezavo med zunanjo in jamsko temperaturo zraka ter dinamiko ledu v ledeni jami Scărişoara (Romunija). Geotermična toplota in zunanja klima sta glavna dejavnika temperature zraka v jamah, pomemben vpliv na jamsko klimo pa ima tudi nastajanje in taljenje ledu. Jeseni in pozimi dotok hladnega zraka s površja jamo ohlaja, kar povzroča kopičenje ledu. Poleti je proces obrnjen; taljenje ledu predstavlja toplotni ponor, ki vzdržuje temperaturo jamskega zraka v bližini ledišča. Taljenje torej pomembno vpliva tudi na temperaturo nepoledenelih delov jame, oziroma temperaturo, pri kateri potekajo nekateri procesi (npr. izločanje sige). Slednje lahko bistveno vpliva na pravilnost rekonstrukcije paleoklimatskih parametrov iz kapnikov. Ključne besede: jamska klima, temperatura zraka, dinamika ledu, ledena jama Scărişoara, Romunija. This paper examines the short-term relations established between external and cave air temperature in Scărişoara Ice Cave (Romania) and the role they play upon ice genesis and mass balance changes. Geothermal heat and external climate are the main drivers of the cave's air temperature, but the ice forming and ablation processes modulate its spatial and temporal characteristics. In the winter half-year, cold air inflow leads to the overcooling of the cave atmosphere and walls and ice formation; while in summer, melting of ice acts as strong thermal sink, keeping the air temperature at 0 °C. In autumn and winter, dynamic cooling of the cave atmosphere leads to ice buildup, whereas in summer, the causality is overturned, the cave air temperature being controlled by the melting ice. The existence of a net heat sink in the cave (melting ice in summer in this case), leads to the overcooling of the non-glaciated parts of the cave as well, a phenomenon that can hamper paleoclimatic reconstructions based on stable isotope studies in speleothems.

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