The late Quaternary vegetational history of northwest Greece

Abstract

SUMMARYGramousti lake atid Rezina tnarsh are stnall basins, of similar size, 20 km apart but at contrasting heights of 285 and 1800 m. Comparison of the palaeoecological and sedimentary sequences from the two sites indicates that in the early postglacial, there was distinct altitudinal zonation of the vegetation. In the mountains, a dense mixed woodland containing at least sixteen different tree taxa became established whereas the lowland vegetation consisted of an open oak woodland which was much less diverse. It is suggested that the differences seen between the two sites is evidence for the existence of a montane refugium for temperate tree taxa during the lateglacial. The great contrast over such a small spatial distance suggests that refugia were prohably small pockets of vegetation in micro-environmentally favourable locations, for example, the more humid mountains. Throughout the first 5000 yr of the postglacial, the contrast in vegetation around the two sites persisted and it was not until c. 6000 BP that the 'warm-stage' refugium in the mountains became reduced in diversity and density. Finally, the onset of anthropogenic disturbance at c. 4000 BP resulted in the total depletion of the montane forest and the dominance of a herbaceous vegetation at both sites.

Palynology and Mediterranean vegetation history

“…The Pindos mountain ridge separates the Greek peninsula into different climatic regions: a western "maritime" region, with significantly higher precipitation, and an eastern typical Mediterranean one. In addition, pollen records confirm a north-south climatic trend by documenting the occurrence of mixed deciduous oak forests alternating with mountainous conifer and later beech forests in the northern areas and enhanced schlerophyllous evergreen vegetation in the south (Bottema 1974;Willis 1992;Jahns 1993;Kouli & al. 2012).…”

Fifty years of Quaternary pollen analysis in Fennoscandia 1954–2004

“…Bradshaw & Holmqvist 1999), and improved difference diagrams (e.g. Jacobson 1979, Gaudreau et al 1989, Willis 1992.…”

Surveying the Changing Landscapes of Late-to-Post-Pleistocene Epirus (NW Greece)

“…The presence of this species in the area during the second millennium BC can be related to a broader vegetation phase of the pollen record of Epirus, initiated at around 5000 BP and characterised by the steep increase of Carpinus [3,11,12]. This plant taxon is greatly favoured by open canopy and grazing animals; its presence in the Holocene vegetation can be a result of both natural factors (soils, species competition and slow pace of re-expansion after the Pleistocene) and human activities.…”