Long-term human impact as registered in an upland pollen profile from the southern Black Forest, south-western Germany

Abstract

Abstract.A detailed, HC-dated, pollen profile from Steerenmoos, a raised bog in the uplands of the southern Black Forest (Schwarzwald) is presented. The Late-glacial and early Holoeene vegetation history conforms to the known pattern of forest dynamics for that region. At ca. 6100 cal. B.P., Abies replaced the mixed oak forest, which is in contrast to adjacer~t regions where Fagus spread before Abies. From the Subboreal onwards, Fagus expanded and slowly largely replaced Abies. The mire developed from a fen to a raised bog. The mountain pine (Pinus mugo ssp. rotundata) on the present-day bog surface is a result of medieval burning, Cereal pollen are first recorded in the Neolithic (7600 cal. B.P.) and there is a closed curve for Plantago lanceolata a good indicator of human impact -since the Bronze Age (4000 cal. B.P.). On the basis of the cereal pollen record nine human impact phases (HIP) are described. HIP 1 and 2, which are short, date to ca. 7600 and 6700 cal. B.P., respectively, in a mixed oak forest context and are characterized by declines in Corylus, Tilia, Ulmus and by Salix (but no major deforestation) and peaks in charcoal and loss-on-ignition curves. HIP 3 and 4, which are short and weak, date to ca. 6000 and 5300 cal. B.P., respectively, and occur in the context of an Abies alba forest. The Bronze Age and Iron Age HiPs 5-7 are more intense and of longer duration than the Neolithic phases and result in a decline in Abies and an increase in Fagus. The early.medieval HIP 8, although rather weak, probably finds expression also in an archaeological artefact, namely a dug-out boat from the near-by Schluchsee. Finally, the late Medieval HIP 9 resulted in a major transformation in the landscape. It is argued that the earlier HIPs are not a reflection of distant events in the lowland valleys of the Rhine, Danube or Neckar but reflect more or less local developments.

Geography determines genetic relationships between species of mountain pine (Pinus mugo complex) in western Europe

“…mugo pollen representation than at present, suggesting an early range‐wide post‐glacial expansion starting about 13,000 yr bp (Burga, 1988; Ramil‐Rego et al. , 1998; Rösch, 2000; Gil García et al. , 2002; Cheddadi et al.…”

Prehistoric human impact in the mountains of Bohemia. Do pollen and archaeological data support the traditional scenario of a prehistoric “wilderness”?

“…As in the Bohemian Forest, finds of cereal pollen from the Neolithic up until the Middle Ages are similarly infrequent in the pollen diagram from the Black Forest in Germany, where it was interpreted as local production. One of the main arguments for such an interpretation is that cereals yield a very low amount of pollen when harvested by hand, and that modern harvesting technology using combines results in pollen dispersal that is incomparable with the prehistoric situation (Rösch, 2000). Even though this argument sounds sensible and we prefer it, it must also be admitted that long-distance pollen transport, including the pollen of cereals, has been observed, especially at high elevations (Markgraf, 1980;Hicks et al, 2001;Court-Picon et al, 2005) and cannot be completely ruled out from interpretations.…”

“…Disputable is the Neolithic human impact and even cereal cultivation interpreted from the pollen data from the Black Forest in Germany, for which solitary occurrences of cereal pollen form the main argument. In the same region, however, the human impact during the Bronze Age and Hallstatt period is signified by the simultaneous occurrence of several anthropogenic indicators, and is therefore more credible (Rösch, 2000).…”

“…Therefore, the possibility to detect non-intensive and/or insular human impact in pollen diagrams from forested landscapes becomes extremely limited. Besides the real scarcity of settlements, this could explain why the occurrence of anthropogenic pollen indicators, almost exclusively of herbs, is mostly very rare in pollen diagrams from mountains before the High Middle Ages (e.g., Rösch, 2000;Speranza et al, 2000;Rybníček and Rybníčková, 2008).…”

Palynology and natural environment in the Pannonian to Holocene sediments of the Early Medieval centre Pohansko near Břeclav (Czech Republic)

“…Cereal-type pollen was found in parts of Central Europe sporadically and known from the pre-Neolithic period, according to Lang (1994). The first cereal pollen found in the Neolithic (7600 cal BP) was in south-west Germany (Rösch, 2000). The possibility of the pre-Neolithic origin of Cereals in Central Europe is discussed by Behre (2007) and Kalis et al (2003).…”