This study investigated the Grabia River valley mire in central Poland to reconstruct its palaeoenvironmental conditions from the Younger Dryas to the present. We analysed sedimentological, biological and geochemical data from the palaeo-oxbow lake and valley mire to identify the principal hydrological trends, especially episodes of high water level. During the Lateglacial and Holocene, the Grabia River had a meandering channel, and its hydraulic parameters and the channel dimensions changed in response to climatic oscillations and vegetation development. We identified phases of high flood intensity and high groundwater level that correlate with regional and supraregional climatic events. The frequency and timing of palaeohydroclimatic oscillations show strong similarities to records from other sites in Poland and the rest of Europe. We show that various analytical methods, namely, pollen, plant macrofossils, Cladocera, Chironomidae, sedimentological, geochemical and radiocarbon data, can be effective tools for reconstructing past hydroclimatic changes in palaeo-oxbow lakes and investigating the effects of past climate changes on river environments. The high sensitivity of the biota, especially Cladocera, to changes in water level permits the reconstruction of palaeoecological changes, especially flood episodes that occurred in the river valley. In particular, the increase in the proportion of sediment-associated Cladocera and pelagic taxa was closely correlated with floods. Through comparisons with the palaeobiological data, geochemical data allowed the identification of humid phases within the fen associated with a rising groundwater table, direct fluvial activity (floods) and alluvial deposition. We also discuss the limitations of palaeohydrological reconstructions based on these proxies, especially on fossil aquatic invertebrates.

The _ Zabieniec kettle hole is the first peatland in central Poland analyzed quantitatively with four biotic proxies (plant macrofossils, pollen, testate amoebae and chironomids) to reconstruct the past environmental change. Palaeoecological data were supported by historical and archaeological records. We focused on autogenic vegetation change and human impact in relation to climatic effects. The aims of our study were (a) to describe the development history of the mire during the last 2,000 years, (b) to date and reconstruct the anthropogenic land-use changes and (c) to discuss a possible climatic signal in the peat archive. The combination of proxies revealed dramatic shifts that took place in the peatland since the Roman Period.

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This paper presents a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the Wilczków fen (central Poland). The fen developed in an inactive valley at the onset of the Holocene (~11 ka BP) and peat accumulation lasted until 5.7 ka BP. Multi‐proxy reconstructions were made on the basis of palaeobotanical, cladoceran, chironomid, beetle and geochemical analyses. A Kohonen self‐organizing map (SOM, unsupervised artificial neural network) of the biotic sequence distinguished four stages of fen history. Stage X1 (11.0–10.7 ka BP) was relatively wet and cool. Organic matter started to accumulate but the habitat conditions remained unstable. Moss, sedge and fern communities then developed. Sedimentary changes reveal an intensive groundwater supply at that time. Numerous and diverse chironomid and cladoceran subfossils indicate nearly permanent aquatic conditions. During stage Y1 (10.6–9.2 ka BP) conditions were dry and the upper peat layer desiccated. Cladocera nearly disappeared whereas chironomids were represented by semi‐terrestrial and predatory (Tanypodinae) species. Conditions started to be more reducing. All the remaining samples belonged to the interweaving stages X2 and Y2. Stage Y2 (mostly 9.1–7.3 and 6.0–5.7 ka BP) was also dry but humidity increased towards the top. Oxidizing conditions occurred and the pH became more alkaline, favouring Cladium mariscus. The basin received mostly allochthonous matter input at that time. Stage X2 (mostly 6.8–6.1 ka BP) was humid and warm. The groundwater supply remained low but there was an increase in precipitation, changing local conditions to ombrotrophic. Species‐rich chironomid and cladoceran communities were associated with temporary pools. Finally, conditions returned to those characteristic of stage Y2. The presented reconstruction documents long‐term abiotic and biotic changes determined by water supply, including groundwater outflow, which have rarely been detected at a multi‐proxy scale. We show that inactivated valley fens are sensitive to climate‐driven hydrological fluctuations. Kohonen neural networks appear to be a promising method for analysing variability in multi‐proxy data.

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In the middle section, the Warta River valley runs through the Adamów graben. Th e graben was characterized by subsidence since the end of the Paleogene and favoured accumulation during the Neogene and the Quaternary. Th e Quaternary deposits consist of several till horizons separated mainly by a series of fl uvioglacial sand and a thick series of glaciolacustrine sediments. Th e research was concentrated on three upper levels of tills and selected series of sand available in Koźmin and Koźmin-Północ "Adamów" opencast mines. Th e lithological, petrographical features and long-axis azimuth of pebbles were analyzed. Th e results showed that the lower till could be dated to the Elsterian, middle till to the Wartanian, and the upper till is probably also Wartanian. Glaciolacustrine deposits which fi lled the erosional form and appeared in the middle till correlate with the end of the Wartanian.

Esta obra, editada por José María Infante Bonfiglio y María Eugenia Flores Treviño, recoge doce trabajos de investigación presentados en el VI Coloquio Internacional del Programa EDICE (Estudios sobre el Discurso de la Cortesía en Español), celebrado en 2011 en Monterrey (México). Dichos trabajos aparecen organizados en tres partes, dedicadas respectivamente a estudios sobre imagen y (des)cortesía, actos de habla y (des)cortesía y atenuación.Los autores cuyas investigaciones integran este libro asumen que la (des) cortesía varía de una cultura a otra, y, por tanto, se basan en postulados teóricos de pragmática sociocultural. En este sentido, adquieren gran importancia las nociones de Bravo (otros trabajos), quien enriqueció las categorías analíticas básicas antecedentes de carácter universalista, dando cuenta de la importancia de los factores de variación sociocultural en los estudios de (des)cortesía.Al inicio, los editores ofrecen una reflexión sobre ciertas deficiencias tanto formales como conceptuales prototípicas en estudios de esta índole, tales como la falta de consenso entre los investigadores en cuanto a la metodología y la terminología empleadas. Se defiende la necesidad de contemplar la concepción que se tiene de determinados valores culturales a la hora de abordar los estudios sobre (des)cortesía. Asimismo, critican el hecho de que la mayoría de los estudiosos se aferren excesivamente a las teorías de autores precedentes para avalar sus investigaciones. Esta crítica se centra en aquellos trabajos fundamentados en los postulados universalistas de Brown y Levinson (1987), los cuales no pueden sostenerse, según los autores, si se examinan los avances de la teoría social de las últimas décadas (p. 11).La primera parte de la obra se abre con un trabajo de Carmen Curcó Cobos, en el que se defiende la postura contraria. Esta autora aboga por el conservadurismo metodológico. Sin dejar de otorgar importancia a la consideración de valores culturales, apuesta por no abandonar la clásica noción de imagen pública. Seguidamente, hace un recorrido bibliográfico por trabajos de autores -9786072703285