Quantitative reconstructions of changes in regional openness in north-central Europe reveal new insights into old questions

Nielsen, Anne Birgitte; Giesecke, Thomas; Theuerkauf, Martin; Feeser, Ingo; Behre, Karl-Ernst; Beug, Hans-Jürgen; Chen, Su-Hwa; Christiansen, Jörg; Dörfler, Walter; Endtmann, Elisabeth; Jahns, Susanne; Klerk, Pim de; Kühl, Norbert; Latałowa, Małgorzata; Odgaard, Bent Vad; Rasmussen, Peter; Stockholm, Jette Raal; Voigt, Rainer; Wiethold, Julian; Wolters, Steffen

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.05.011

Cited by 114 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…However, some plant taxa that may be related to bog vegetation, such as Calluna vulgaris and Cyperaceae, tend to be slightly overestimated in some time windows when pollen data from small bogs are used, as also found by Nielsen et al (2012). For example, Calluna values are higher for bogs than for lakes at 0.05 and 0.2 k in both vegetation zones, and Cyperaceae values are higher for bogs than for lakes at 0.2 and 0.5 k in the hemiboreal zone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…All these results together suggest that the number of sites is more important than the type of site and the distance between the large and small sites. Nielsen et al (2012) also found a low explanatory power for the variable ''mean basin size'' using the results from an RDA application on REVEALS reconstructions from small sites across northern Germany and Denmark for the time window 7500-8000 cal BP. Further, for all runs (RUNS 1 and 2-5), the tri-plots of the RDA analyses show that the variable ''number of sites'' is positively correlated to the variable ''bog'' and negatively correlated to the variable ''lake'', which implies that the number of site is an important variable for small bogs, but not necessarily for small lakes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nielsen and Odgaard 2010;Cui et al 2013Cui et al , 2014Mazier et al 2015;Hultberg et al 2015), (ii) the study of regional spatio-temporal land-cover/landscape dynamics over the past millennia (e.g. Marquer et al 2014;Fyfe et al 2013;Nielsen et al 2012;Trondman 2014), (iii) the evaluation of anthropogenic land-cover change scenarios (ALCCs) (Gaillard et al 2010) and (iv) the study of land cover-climate interactions in the past (Strandberg et al 2014). Recently, Pirzamanbein et al (2014) developed a set of statistical models to create spatially continuous maps of past land cover by combining (i) pollen-based REVEALS ''point estimates'' of past land cover and (ii) spatially continuous estimates of past land cover, obtained by merging simulated potential vegetation (using the LPJ-GUESS model; Smith et al 2001) with an anthropogenic land-cover change scenario (KK10; Kaplan et al 2009).…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The REVEALS model was developed to reconstruct past vegetation composition in percentage cover at a scale of 100 by 100 km using pollen data from large lakes. It has been tested with numerous simulations (Sugita 2007a) and empirical studies in southern Sweden (Hellman et al 2008a, b), on the Swiss Plateau (Soepboer et al 2010), in Denmark (Nielsen et al 2012) and in northern America (N Michigan and NW Wisconsin; Sugita et al 2010). All the empirical studies except one-NW Wisconsin where pollen records from small forest hollows were the only data available-used pollen data from large lakes.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are pollen records from small sites appropriate for REVEALS model-based quantitative reconstructions of past regional vegetation? An empirical test in southern Sweden

Trondman

Gaillard

Sugita

et al. 2015

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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In this paper we test the performance of the Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites (REVEALS) model using pollen records from multiple small sites. We use Holocene pollen records from large and small sites in southern Sweden to identify what is/are the most significant variable(s) affecting the REVEALS-based reconstructions, i.e. type of site (lakes and/or bogs), number of sites, site size, site location in relation to vegetation zones, and/or distance between small sites and large sites. To achieve this objective we grouped the small sites according to (i) the two major modern vegetation zones of the study region, and (ii) the distance between the small sites and large lakes, i.e. small sites within 50, 100, 150, or 200 km of the large lakes. The REVEALS-based reconstructions were performed using 24 pollen taxa. Redundancy analysis was performed on the results from all REVEALS-model runs using the groups within (i) and (ii) separately, and on the results from all runs using the groups within (ii) together. The explanatory power and significance of the variables were identified using forward selection and Monte Carlo permutation tests. The results show that (a) although the REVEALS model was designed for pollen data from large lakes, it also performs well with pollen data from multiple small sites in reconstructing the percentage cover of groups of plant taxa (e.g. open land taxa, summer-green trees, evergreen trees) or individual plant taxa; however, in the case of this study area, the reconstruction of the percentage cover of Calluna vulgaris, Cyperaceae, and Betula may be problematic when using small bogs; (b) standard errors of multiple small-site REVEALS estimates will generally be larger than those obtained using pollen records from large lakes, and they will decrease with increasing size of pollen counts and increasing number of small sites; (c) small lakes are better to use than small bogs if the total number of small sites is low; and (d) the size of small sites and the distance between them do not play a major role, but the distance between the small sites and landscape/vegetation boundaries is a determinant factor for the accuracy of the vegetation reconstructions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Are pollen records from small sites appropriate for REVEALS model-based quantitative reconstructions of past regional vegetation? An empirical test in southern Sweden

Trondman

Gaillard

Sugita

et al. 2015

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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show abstract

“…So far, estimates achieved from this approach are found to be representative of the vegetation in Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia and Norway (Hellman et al 2008;Nielsen and Odgaard 2010;Soepboer et al 2010;Fredh 2012;Cui et al 2013;Overballe-Petersen et al 2013;Poska et al 2014;Hjelle et al 2015), and it has been applied to reconstruct vegetation cover on different spatial scales (e.g. Nielsen et al 2012;Fyfe et al 2013;Cui et al 2014;Marquer et al 2014;Hultberg et al 2015;Trondman et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From deciduous forest to open landscape: application of new approaches to help understand cultural landscape development in western Norway

Mehl

Hjelle

2015

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Development of the cultural landscape in a village situated by the inner fjords of western Norway is investigated by pollen analysis and quantitative reconstruction methods. Pollen samples from lake sediments and a soil profile were analysed and represent different spatial scales. The Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm (LRA) is applied to a large and a small lake to convert pollen percentages from the small lake into estimated local vegetation cover in selected time periods starting from 2800 cal BC (Middle Neolithic A). This reconstruction shows that estimated forest cover has fluctuated through time, and changes in openness related to human impact are distinct from the Early Bronze Age (1800-1200 cal BC). Pollen analyses from the soil profile indicate forest clearances from the Late Neolithic (2300-1800 cal BC). Gradual intensification of farming is recognized in both pollen diagrams throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages with increasing openness and spatial differentiation in land-use practices. Presence of pollen of cereals and flax record the cultivation of these plants from the Iron Age, and intensification of land-use may have caused erosion and re-sedimentation in the lake in medieval times. To identify a possible landscape in the past, HUMPOL software has been used with the Late Neolithic as a case study. The LRA-based estimates of forest cover are supported by the HUMPOL simulations, but several solutions to the Late Neolithic landscape pattern exist. The results clearly demonstrate how implementation of LRA and HUMPOL improve the understanding of cultural landscape development.

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Human Impact on Vegetation

Fyfe¹

2023

Handbook of Archaeological Sciences

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Quantitative reconstructions of changes in regional openness in north-central Europe reveal new insights into old questions

Cited by 114 publications

References 70 publications

Are pollen records from small sites appropriate for REVEALS model-based quantitative reconstructions of past regional vegetation? An empirical test in southern Sweden

Are pollen records from small sites appropriate for REVEALS model-based quantitative reconstructions of past regional vegetation? An empirical test in southern Sweden

From deciduous forest to open landscape: application of new approaches to help understand cultural landscape development in western Norway

Human Impact on Vegetation

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