Comprehensive Palaeobotanical Studies of Lacustrine-Peat Bog Sediments from the Mazovian/ Holsteinian Interglacial at the Site of Nowiny Żukowskie (Se Poland) – Preliminary Study

Abstract

The environmental variability during the Mazovian/Holsteinian interglacial is better understood thanks to the results of multidisciplinary palaeobotanical studies. The perfectly preserved and abundant material from Nowiny Żukowskie in SE Poland has been the subject of numerous palaeobotanical analyses. The results both of initial pollen analysis and of the examination of plant macroremains provide a detailed view of changes in the palaeoenvironment of this area during the Mazovian/Holsteinian interglacial. Originally, the water basin was mostly the habitat of plants indicative of low trophy. The frequent occurence of swamp plants evidences a change in hydrological and climatic conditions consistent with the intra-interglacial climatic oscillation. In the subsequent part of the optimum, an expansion of swamps with Aracites interglacialis and Dulichium arundinaceum was recorded. The development of a peat bog overgrown by i.a. Sphagnum sp., Eriophorum vaginatum, and Andromeda polifolia was also observed. The growth of swamp and peat vegetation resulted in the nearly complete disappearance of aquatic vegetation, apart from species typical of the climatic optimum of the Mazovian/Holsteinian interglacial: Brasenia borysthenica and Aldrovanda dokturovskyi. The close of the interglacial was marked by the intensive development of peat bog and swamp communities with Carex rostrata, Menyanthes trifoliata, and A. interglacialis. The intensive increase in the number of A. interglacialis during the period described as the “birch oscillation” supports the hypothesis of noticeable changes in hydrological conditions at that time. The end of the described period is typified by a deterioration of climatic conditions, indicated by the increase in values for Betula humilis, B. nana, and Juniperus communis.

East–West European Middle Pleistocene correlation – the contribution of the first British record of Aracites interglacialis Wieliczk.

“…It is worth noting that Velichkevich et al (2004) (Hrynowiecka & Szymczyk 2011). Of course, this story may be site-specific, but it is interesting to note that the timing of the presence of Aracites interglacialis at Gilson is also in the latter part of the interglacial cycle.…”

Past, present and future suitable areas for the relict tree Pterocarya fraxinifolia (Juglandaceae): Integrating fossil records, niche modeling, and phylogeography for conservation

“…Along with ice sheet expansion, Pterocarya disappeared from most of the areas in Europe during the Pleistocene. From the Middle Pleistocene, fossil records of pollen grains became rare in Europe and macroremains were found only in some southern European localities (Follieri 1958;Hrynowiecka and Szymczyk 2011;Magri et al 2017;Martinetto 2015;Suc et al 2018). The positive results between ENM and fossil records suggest that the first great contraction for Pterocarya occurred during the Middle Pleistocene.…”

How to resolve Pleistocene stratigraphic problems by different methods? A case study from eastern Poland

“…The iso lated plant re mains were de ter mined to spe cies level, as far as was pos si ble, con sid er ing the con di tion of the pre served ma te rial (cf. Hrynowiecka and Szymczyk, 2011;Stachowicz-Rybka, 2011). Sam ples from depths of 105, 120, 125 cm and 140-145 cm, were bar ren or con tained only sin gle un iden ti fi able frag ments of plant tis sues.…”

“…A dis tinct sign of its Mid dle Pleisto cene age is also the oc cur rence of Pterocarya and Az ol la, which did not oc cur in the Eemian and the Ho lo cene. The pat tern of veg e ta tion de vel op ment in the lake is also sim i lar to that recorded in the plant macrofossils of lakes else where in central-east ern Po land dur ing the Mazovian Inter gla cial (cf., among oth ers, Hrynowiecka and Szymczyk, 2011).…”