A pollen diagram from a site in the Esbjerg area, western Denmark, is used for reconstruction of the Holocene vegetational
and environmental history there. During the Atlantic there was a parallel development of the landscape to that of other areas
in Jylland (Jutland). From the late Neolithic onwards the development took its own course related to the approaching North
Sea, which periodically inundated parts of the Esbjerg area. The record reflects landscape development in a formerly marine
valley where sediments seem to be missing from parts of the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age. Consequently the landscape
development during these times is only reflected in glimpses in the vegetation record, which shows gradually more open woodland
and increasing human impact. During the late part of the Iron Age, Viking period and Middle Ages, the woodland was diverse
in taxa but became increasingly open, finally reaching a stage during which there may have been too little wood even for daily
use. At the same time the use of the land intensified. During the Sub-Atlantic, the Esbjerg area offered good natural resources
with extensive grazing areas in the marine marshes in addition to good possibilities for farming and use of the woodland on
higher ground, but devastating floods occurred.