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An Atlas of Past and Present Pollen Maps for Europe: 0-13000 Years Ago, and The Overlay Maps.
... Three main areas have been traditionally defined as sources of post-glacial tree expansion in Europe, i.e. Italy, the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkans (Huntley and Birks, 1983;Bennett et al., 1991). However, previous studies based on plant macrofossils and potential glacial tree distribution (e.g. ...
... Upper and lower boundaries for the value ranges of migration rates were derived from 185 different empirical studies based on the method employed for their estimation. Pollen-based estimates of maximum rates of spread for common European tree taxa were first summarized by Huntley and Birks (1983). Giesecke et al. (2017) revisited these estimates by correcting for the uneven distributions of pollen diagrams using interpolated maps of pollen percentages and threshold values to reduce the risk of false presence. ...
... Competitors in model simulations are Betula pendula (or B. pubescens in the case of the simulated spread of B. pendula) and boreal/temperate grasses (see Sect. 2.3). a = Estimates of maximum migration rates by Giesecke and Brewer (2018) with pollen analysis corrected by phylogeographic studies. b = Estimates of 210 maximum migration rates by Huntley and Birks (1983) with pollen analysis. c = Estimates of maximum migration rates by Feurdean et al. (2013) with fossil records, assuming spread from southern refugia (40-45º N latitude). ...
The prediction of species geographic redistribution under climate change (i.e. range shifts) has been addressed by both experimental and modelling approaches and can be used to inform efficient policy measures on the functioning and services of future ecosystems. Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs) are considered state-of-the art tools to understand and quantify the spatio-temporal dynamics of ecosystems at large scales and their response to changing environments. They can explicitly include local vegetation dynamics relevant to migration (establishment, growth, seed production), species-specific dispersal abilities and the competitive interactions with other species in the new environment. However, the inclusion of more detailed mechanistic formulations of range shift processes may also widen the overall uncertainty of the model. Thus, a quantification of these uncertainties is needed to evaluate and improve our confidence in the model predictions. In this study, we present an efficient assessment of parameter and model uncertainties combining low-cost analyses in successive steps: local sensitivity analysis, exploration of the performance landscape at extreme parameter values, and inclusion of relevant ecological processes in the model structure. This approach was tested on the newly-implemented migration module of the state-of-the-art DGVM, LPJ-GM 1.0. Estimates of post-glacial migration rates obtained from pollen and macrofossil records of dominant European tree taxa were used to test the model performance. The results indicate higher sensitivity of migration rates to parameters associated with the dispersal kernel (dispersal distances and kernel shape) compared to plant traits (germination rate and maximum fecundity) and highlight the importance of representing rare long-distance dispersal events via fat-tailed kernels. Overall, the successful parametrization and model selection of LPJ-GM will allow simulating plant migration with a more mechanistic approach at larger spatial and temporal scales, thus improving our efforts to understand past vegetation dynamics and predict future range shifts in a context of global change.
... Production of pollen profiles for an individual site, the correlation of pollen profiles from several sites within a region and the construction of pollen isochrone maps based on the pollen stratigraphic changes, are all techniques that have been used to investigate the pattern and timing of tree spreading across Europe during the earlier Holocene [1,2]. Maps based on ages for pollen zone boundaries [3,4], particularly the first arrival (the empirical limit) or the point at which a pollen curve rises to sustained higher values (the rational limit), have proven invaluable in understanding the progressive reforestation of the landscape after glaciation, as tree populations responded to climate amelioration [5][6][7][8][9][10][11] and expanded from refugia [12][13][14] to which they had withdrawn during the glacial period. ...
... From the context of Britain and Ireland, these refugia were mostly in southern Europe and distant [4], but it is possible that small refugia existed in southern England [15,16] and so of immediate relevance to the Irish Sea area and therefore to the subject of this paper, the Isle of Man. Such isochrone maps have been produced for Ireland [17], for Britain and Ireland as a whole [18,19] and also, for example, for Finland [20], and for Western Europe [1], as well as for North America [21]. However, such tools for reconstructing vegetation changes are only as good as the data upon which they are based, and the existence of many well-dated pollen profiles from which to model spatial changes in tree populations is a fundamental requirement. ...
The Isle of Man is a large island which lies in the middle of the northern Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland and, because of its insularity and size, has an impoverished flora compared with the two main islands. This has been the case throughout the postglacial and warrants the island’s description as a separate phytogeographic province. We have considered Holocene tree pollen data from seventeen sites on the island which together preserve a vegetation history that spans the six thousand years of the early and mid-postglacial from the end of the Lateglacial at 11,700 cal. BP to the mid-Holocene Ulmus decline at ca. 5800 cal. BP. Radiocarbon dating of the rational limits of the pollen curves for the main tree taxa has allowed an appraisal of the timing of each one’s expansion to become a significant component of the island’s woodland, and comparison with the dates of their expansion on the adjacent regions of Britain and Ireland. The radiocarbon dates show that, although some variability exists probably due to local factors, there is considerable concordance between the timings of major pollen zone boundaries in Britain and Ireland around the northern Irish Sea. On the Isle of Man the expansions of both Juniperus and Betula were delayed by several centuries compared to the British/Irish data, however the timing of the expansions of Corylus, Ulmus, Quercus, Pinus and Alnus on the Isle of Man all appear closely comparable to the ages for these pollen stratigraphic events in north Wales, northwest England, southwest Scotland and eastern Ireland, as are those for the Ulmus decline. It is likely that local pedological and edaphic factors on the island account for the differences in the first Holocene millennium, while regional climatic factors governed the timings for the rest of the expansions of tree taxa across the wider region, including the Isle of Man. Disturbance, including by human agency, was important at the site scale and perhaps triggered early tree expansion in some places, including Quercus, Ulmus and Alnus. Insularity seems not to have been a significant factor in the expansion of the major forest trees.
... These species commonly bare nuts that are dispersed by barochory and zoochory, which means that seed dispersal is mostly limited to within 20 m of parent trees (Wagner et al., 2010). However, pollen analysis has indicated the migration rate of up to 120-300 m year À1 (Bennett, 1985;Huntley & Birks, 1989;Tsukada, 1982), suggesting the important role that birds play in long-distance seed dispersal ("jump dispersal" sensu Webb, 1987). ...
... The northward and upward range expansions of F. grandifolia (Bose et al., 2017) and F. sylvatica (Peñuelas et al., 2007) were hence interpreted as the responses to the recent trend of global warming. However, the pollen analyses indicated that the northward expansion of F. crenata in Hokkaido since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) was exceptionally slow (20 m year À1 ; Kito & Takimoto, 1999) compared with F. crenata in Honshu (120 m year À1 ; Tsukada, 1982), F. grandifolia in North America (150-200 m year À1 ; Bennett, 1985) and F. sylvatica in Europe (200-300 m year À1 ; Huntley & Birks, 1989). This suggests that the migration of F. crenata in Hokkaido has long been lagged behind the warming trend since the LGM and that its distribution has not reached equilibrium with the current climate. ...
Fagus crenata, a dominant tree species in cool‐temperate deciduous broad‐leaved forest of Japan, is continuously distributed northward to the Kuromatsunai lowland of Hokkaido, beyond which its distribution is patchy and isolated. We analyzed stand dynamics over 15 years (2006–2021) in a plot (0.75 ha) including one such outlying population of F. crenata. At the stand level over 15 years, stem density decreased, but aboveground biomass increased. The dominance of F. crenata consistently increased in stem density and aboveground biomass. Change in the relationship between stem density and mean stem mass indicated a successional nature of the stand undergoing self‐thinning. Increasing F. crenata dominance and the associated compositional shift was due to the higher growth rates and lower mortality of F. crenata compared to other tree species. Judging from tree‐ring analysis, the oldest F. crenata tree in the plot established in 1821, but the density of F. crenata remained low till ca. 1895. The stand started to be affected by persistent disturbance since ca. 1895, with the waves of tree establishment and growth release both peaking at ca. 1930–1960. The F. crenata population mirrored the pattern of the stand, with more pronounced increases during these waves. We suggest that the long‐lasting episode of tree establishment and growth release over ca. 1930–1960 was caused by human disturbance, most likely selective logging for fuelwood. The results support the “northward expansion” hypothesis, implying that F. crenata potentially can become dominant beyond the current northern limit of continuous distribution and that disturbance facilitates the range expansion. We studied forest stand dynamics over 15 years including a northern outlying population of Fagus crenata. Increasing F. crenata dominance and the associated compositional shift was due to the higher growth rates and lower mortality of F. crenata than other tree species.
... Corylus avellana reaches peak abundance early on in the vegetation succession from open scrub to woodland, tending to become overtopped within 100 years (Huntley & Birks, 1983). Pure stands of C. ...
... In Greece and Italy, Gentili et al. (2008) (Huntley & Birks, 1983;Mitchell, 2006), although Hazel scrub dominated large areas of western Scotland for around a thousand years (Birks, 1989). Correlation of this pollen evidence with chloroplast DNA variation points to postglacial dispersal from refugia in southwest France, as well as an independent local dispersal in Italy and the Balkans (Boccacci & Botta, 2009;Palmé & Vendramin, 2002). ...
1. This account presents information on all aspects of the biology of Corylus avellana L. (Hazel) that are relevant to understanding its ecological characteristics and behaviour. The main topics are presented within the standard framework of the Biological Flora of Britain and Ireland: distribution, habitat, communities, responses to biotic factors, responses to environment, structure and physiology, phenology, floral and seed characters, herbivores and disease, history and conservation. 2. Wild C. avellana in Britain and Ireland grows in a wide climatic and ecological range, in a broad suite of vegetation communities, particularly woodlands, at all latitudes and from 0—650m asl. It supports a large number of faunal and fungal associates. The developing plant sends up basal shoots every spring from the peripheral parts of its underground stool, which gives it a structural regenerative advantage over cohabitant woody species. 3. The flowers and pollen of C. avellana are adapted for wind‐pollination, yet honeybees have been observed to gather its pollen. The pollen and fruit of C. avellana are a cause of allergic reactions in sensitive people, with previous exposure to Birch pollen a strong predictor of the food allergy. 4. C. avellana is native to Europe and western Asia, and was one of the first plant species to recolonise Europe after the last gIacial period. By the time of its cultivation in the Roman empire, regional human‐selected lineages of C. avellana were already developing, with independent domestication in the western and eastern Mediterranean. 5. C. avellana is a genetically diverse taxon with effective gene flow across populations, presenting a continuum of wild to domesticated plants. Its nuts and involucres show a wide morphological variability, with hundreds of cultivars and forms proposed. The taxon Corylus maxima Mill. is sympatric and fully fertile with C. avellana, yet rarely self‐sown and their hybrid is little recorded in Britain and Ireland. Independent molecular studies have concluded that specimens of C. maxima cluster with C. avellana. 6. Hazelnuts are globally one of the most important nut crops, currently with 70% of traded nuts being grown in Türkiye, followed by Italy and Azerbaijan.
... According to Huntley and Birks (1983), Carpinus pollen values >5% indicates its presence in a region, and >10% indicate its abundance in local forest communities. However, studies detailing pollen-vegetation relationships also indicate that Carpinus pollen tends to be slightly overestimated in the pollen record (Mazier et al., 2008). ...
... Thus, based on the regional evidence, we suggest that episodes of Carpinus expansion into north-eastern Poland were driven by cooler and wetter conditions. However, this contradicts its recent ecological and reproductive requirements, that is, higher summer temperatures and a longer growing season (Huntley and Birks, 1983). The lack of a clear visual correlation between abrupt climate change and increases in Carpinus betulus prior to 1650 AD at Lake Kolje is surprising, because our study site is located at the species eastern-most distribution limit, similar to other regional sites such as Mechacz Wielki bog, Jaczno bog, Linówek Lake. ...
Long-term ecological studies can provide useful information on forest ecosystem resilience against past climatic change and human caused disturbances. Here, we present a high-resolution 2200-year-long record of forest development in north-eastern Poland, Suwalki region, using paleobotanical proxies (pollen, plant macrofossils, and charcoal). We show that the pollen abundance of deciduous trees was higher than that of coniferous trees, indicating a near pristine state until 900 AD and a semi-natural forest state until 1500 AD. After 1500 AD, the proportion of coniferous tree taxa surpassed that of deciduous trees and have since remained the dominant forest component. The 17th century experienced massive deforestation coupled with a new phase of human colonization in the area that led to the continued and significant decline of deciduous tree cover, for example, Carpinus, Quercus, and Tilia. Cooling associated with the Little Ice Age may have played a role in Picea’s expansion in this area after 1450 AD. Despite significant climatic shifts associated with the warmer Roman Period or Medieval Climate Anomaly and colder Migration Period, as well as a more sustained human impact, Quercus remained a stable forest component until 1500 AD. The stability of Quercus is an important aspect for forest management strategies as future projections suggest warmer conditions and increased frequency of climate extremes will impact forest composition and structure. Our long-term data suggest that forests in the Suwałki region should contain more abundant deciduous tree species, that is, Quercus, whereas conifer cover should be reduced. We also show clear regional differences in the forest development in the Suwałki region, highlighting the importance of local hydrology, geomorphology, and degrees of human activity on the forest composition.
... Other factors influencing the pollen-vegetation relationship are the type of the accumulation basin (lake or bog) and its size, wind speed and direction, and local to regional-scale plant composition. This makes wider usage of existing country to continental scale isopollen maps (Huntley and Birks, 1983;Brewer et al., 2017;Birks, 2019) as proxies of land-cover difficult. The Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm and its two models REVEALS and LOVE (Sugita, 2007a,b) is to date the only way to translate pollen assemblages into cover of single plant taxa (species, genus, family and groups of those). ...
... Similar general trends in past vegetation change have been inferred from pollen records expressed in pollen percentages or pollen accumulation rates in numerous studies, or using other methods such as biomization and the modern analogue technique (Huntley and Birks, 1983;Davis et al., 2015;Fyfe et al., 2015;Kuneš et al., 2015). However, these reconstructions either do not reconstruct the cover of individual plant taxa or land-cover units, or reconstruct exclusively woodland cover (or its mirror in percentage cover, open land cover (all grasses, herbs, and low shrubs). ...
Realistic and accurate reconstructions of past vegetation cover are necessary to study past environmental changes. This is important since the effects of human land-use changes (e.g. agriculture, deforestation and afforestation/reforestation) on biodiversity and climate are still under debate. Over the last decade, development, validation, and application of pollen-vegetation relationship models have made it possible to estimate plant abundance from fossil pollen data at both local and regional scales. In particular, the REVEALS model has been applied to produce datasets of past regional plant cover at 1° spatial resolution at large subcontinental scales (North America, Europe, and China). However, such reconstructions are spatially discontinuous due to the discrete and irregular geographical distribution of sites (lakes and peat bogs) from which fossil pollen records have been produced. Therefore, spatial statistical models have been developed to create continuous maps of past plant cover using the REVEALS-based land cover estimates. In this paper, we present the first continuous time series of spatially complete maps of past plant cover across Europe during the Holocene (25 time windows covering the period from 11.7 k BP to present). We use a spatial-statistical model for compositional data to interpolate REVEALS-based estimates of three major land-cover types (LCTs), i.e., evergreen trees, summer-green trees and open land (grasses, herbs and low shrubs); producing spatially complete maps of the past coverage of these three LCTs. The spatial model uses four auxiliary data sets—latitude, longitude, elevation, and independent scenarios of past anthropogenic land-cover change based on per-capita land-use estimates (“standard” KK10 scenarios)—to improve model performance for areas with complex topography or few observations. We evaluate the resulting reconstructions for selected time windows using present day maps from the European Forest Institute, cross validate, and compare the results with earlier pollen-based spatially-continuous estimates for five selected time windows, i.e., 100 BP-present, 350–100 BP, 700–350 BP, 3.2–2.7 k BP, and 6.2–5.7 k BP. The evaluations suggest that the statistical model provides robust spatial reconstructions. From the maps we observe the broad change in the land-cover of Europe from dominance of naturally open land and persisting remnants of continental ice in the Early Holocene to a high fraction of forest cover in the Mid Holocene, and anthropogenic deforestation in the Late Holocene. The temporal and spatial continuity is relevant for land-use, land-cover, and climate research.
... yr BP), birch-pine forest was an integral part of the environment based on the presence of macroremains and the proportion of Pinus pollen exceeding 50% of the total sum recorded in the sediments (Fig. 5). These results agree with the observations of Huntley and Birks (1983), which showed that >50% of Pinus pollen with less than 25% of Betula pollen indicates the local existence of pine. Salix inhabited more humid areas at the shores of the basins. ...
This study investigated the history of the development of six, paleo-lakes, which are at present filled with sediments, in a dune area in Central Poland, based on multiproxy paleoecological analyses and accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating. The aims of the paleoecological studies were: i) to determine the initial age of lakes development, ii) to reconstruct the local and regional plant succession, as well as iii) to reconstruct the environmental conditions during the initial stage of the development of lakes and peatlands. The obtained results indicated that: the former lakes in dune depressions were developed during the Bølling and Allerød when sparse vegetation allowed strong aeolian activity. Climate warming in Bølling led to the development of a denser plant cover, inhibition of sand transportation and the formation of mid-dune reservoirs with the accumulation of organic sediments. As indicated by 14 C dating, mid-dunes basins were formed between 14 686 ± 60 cal. yr BP and 13 421 ± 60 cal. yr BP. The results of the paleobotanical analysis suggested that the reservoirs were shallow, oligo-mesotrophic, inhabited by pioneer calcicole vascular plant species such as: Chara sp., Hippuris vulgaris, Potamogeton natans, Potamogeton fresii, Potamogeton alpinus and Potamogeton filiformis, and mosses such as: Pseudocalliergon tri-farium, Calliergon sp. and Calliergonella cordifolium. The area next to the reservoirs was covered with sparse pine forests combined with birch, which is typical of the Late Glacial period. The open areas were dominated by psammophilic and steppe vegetation, including Poaceae, Artemisia and Hippophae rhamnoides. Geochemical analysis revealed that Ca 2+ and Fe 3+ were in high concentrations, which could have influenced the presence of taxa preferring soil with high Ca 2+ content. The accumulation of calcium in sediments confirms that the reservoirs were fed by groundwater originating from the progressive degradation of permafrost associated with thermal changes.
... Moreover, during the Boreal chronozone, ferns were dominant, accompanied by a great proportion of peat mosses. At the same time, the alder value exceeded 11% in each sample (up to 20%), which indicated its local presence at the site [241][242][243]. This is very similar to the mire edge situation of today, in which Alnus glutinosa dominates with underground layers composed of ferns, mainly Athyrium filix-femina, Dryopteris carthusiana, Dryopteris filix-mas, and Dryopteris dilatate [68]. ...
The aim of this study was to reconstruct the vegetation changes, fire history and local landscape dynamics of central Croatia (the western part of southeastern Europe) from 9800 cal yr BP to the beginning of the Common Era. Pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs and charcoal were analyzed for the first time in the aforementioned area by modern palynological methods. Three different assemblage (sub)zones were identified: "Pinus-Fagus-Quercetum mixtum" (Preboreal), "Fagus-Corylus" (Boreal) and "Alnus-Fagus" (Atlantic, Subboreal and older Subatlantic). Additionally, the oldest observation (~9800 cal yr BP) of beech pollen for continental Croatia was confirmed by radi-ocarbon dating. Our results indicated a possibly milder climate with less extreme temperatures and higher precipitation during the Preboreal chronozone, alongside intensive flooding, a transition from a mosaic of wetland/wet grassland communities to alder carr during the Boreal, and an unusually long multi-thousand-year period, the annual presence of alder on the mire itself. An increase in the number of secondary anthropogenic indicators can be tracked from the 6th century BC to the beginning of the Common Era. Although regional vegetation changes are insufficiently clear, our results fill a gap in the interpretation of vegetation/palaeoenvironmental changes before the Common Era in in this part of Europe.
... 65% (Fig. 7). It is assumed that values > 50% indicate the dominance of pine in the composition of local forests (Huntley and Birks, 1983). The growth of both pine and birch in the immediate vicinity of a coring place was confirmed not only by significant pollen values but also by numerous finds of its macrofossils, starting from the Early Allerød (Fig. 8). ...
The vicinity of the Rozprza archaeological site (central Poland) has been the area of a series of palaeoecological studies tracking the environmental history of the Lucią˙ za River valley up to ca. 13,200 cal. BP. Numerous subfossil palaeomeanders of different sizes have been discovered in the valley floor. Here, we present the first
results of multiproxy research on the paleo-oxbow lake fill, one of the oldest in the region. The wide range of palaeoecological analyses resulted in reconstructions of vegetation history, climatic, hydrological and habitat changes. The studied oxbow was an aquatic ecosystem with diverse invertebrate fauna until the end of Younger
Dryas when it transformed into a limno-telmatic habitat. The sediment composition indicates active denudation processes and several episodes of turbulent hydrological conditions. Such an increased river activity could have caused flooding, resulting in an allochthonous matter supply to the oxbow lake in Late Vistulian. Environmental changes were strictly related to the regional features of the catchment, the transformation of soils, and the hydrogeological conditions. The chironomid- and pollen-inferred climatic reconstructions indicate periods of high and low continentality. The chironomid record indicates relatively cool summer conditions in the Allerød, especially ca. 13,000 cal. BP, possibly related to the Gerzensee Oscillation. On the other hand, a distinct increase of summer temperatures in Younger Dryas (up to 16 ◦C) was recorded. Such a situation was also confirmed in some other studies from the region, suggesting that it might be the effect of some specific, local palaeoclimatic conditions.
... Stephens et al., 2019;Li et al., 2020;Marquer et al., 2017). Pollen data mapping can provide insights into temporal and spatial vegetation changes at broad continental scales (Huntley and Birks, 1983;Huntley and Webb, 1988;Ren and Zhang, 1998;Ren and Beug, 2002). However, the quantification of past vegetation changes based on fossil pollen data is necessary to answer specific research questions on the relationship between plant cover and e.g. ...
We present the first gridded and temporally continuous quantitative
pollen-based plant-cover reconstruction for temperate and northern
subtropical China over the Holocene (11.7 ka to present) obtained by applying the
Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites (REVEALS) model.
The objective is to provide a dataset of pollen-based land cover for the
last ca. 12 millennia that is suitable for palaeoclimate modelling and for the evaluation
of simulated past vegetation cover from dynamic vegetation models and
anthropogenic land-cover change (ALCC) scenarios. The REVEALS reconstruction
was achieved using 94 selected pollen records from lakes and bogs at a
1∘ × 1∘ spatial scale and a temporal resolution
of 500 years between 11.7 and 0.7 ka and in three recent time windows
(0.7–0.35 ka, 0.35–0.1 ka, and 0.1 ka to present). The dataset
includes REVEALS estimates of cover and their standard errors (SEs) for 27
plant taxa in 75 1∘ × 1∘ grid cells distributed
within the study region. The 27 plant taxa were also grouped into 6 plant
functional types and 3 land-cover types (coniferous trees CT,
broadleaved trees BT, and C3 herbs/open land (C3H/OL)), and their REVEALS
estimates of cover and related SEs were calculated. We describe the protocol
used for the selection of pollen records and the REVEALS application (with
parameter settings) and explain the major rationales behind the protocol. As
an illustration, we present, for eight selected time windows, gridded maps of
the pollen-based REVEALS estimates of cover for the three land-cover types
(CT, BT, and C3H/OL). We then discuss the reliability and limitations of the
Chinese dataset of Holocene gridded REVEALS plant cover, and its current and
potential uses.
The dataset is available at the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center (TPDC;
Li, 2022; https://doi.org/10.11888/Paleoenv.tpdc.272292).
... Composite of all radiocarbon dates (old and new) of mountain birch, relative to the altitude of the present birch tree line (2010). Source: Kullman (2013).Contrary to prior common pollen-based belief (e.g.Huntley & Birks 1983;Giesecke & Bennett 2004;Seppä et al. 2009), Norway spruce (Picea abies) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) grew on early nunataks both in Sweden and Norway during the Late Glacial and early Holocene(Kullman 1996 b; 2002ba, 2017a,b, 2022Paus 2021;Paus et al. 2011). The highest recovery of spruce was close to the summit of Mt. ...
... In general, the order in which the major forest trees immigrated into the eastern Vale of Pickering and rose to high populations (the rational pollen limit) is in line with the conventional dated sequence recorded in pollen diagrams all over northern England [143][144][145][146][147][148] and beyond. The Corylus rise is a good example and as its timing in the eastern Vale seems broadly consistent around 9000 14 C BP, climate was probably an important driver. ...
Palaeolake Flixton, in the eastern Vale of Pickering in northeast Yorkshire, UK, existed as open water during the Lateglacial and early to mid-Holocene, until hydroseral succession and gradual terrestrialisation changed it to an area of fen and basin peatland by the later mid-Holocene. The environs of the lake were occupied by Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic people over thousands of years and many Early Mesolithic sites, in particular, have been found located along the ancient lake edge, including the paradigm site for the British Early Mesolithic at Star Carr, where occupation occurred over several centuries. We have analysed eleven sediment cores, distributed in most parts of the palaeolake area, for pollen and stratigraphic data with which to reconstruct lake development and vegetation history. These new diagrams augment earlier pollen studies from the western part of the lake, particularly in the Star Carr area and near other major Mesolithic sites around Seamer Carr. Especially informative are a long core from the deepest part of the lake; cores that document the Lateglacial as well as early Holocene times, and evidence for the later Mesolithic that helps to balance the high density of Late Mesolithic sites known from research in the adjacent uplands of the North York Moors. There are many records of charcoal in the deposits but, especially for the earliest examples, it is not always possible to tie them firmly to either human activity or natural causes. Overall, the new and previously existing diagrams provide evidence for the spatial reconstruction of vegetation history across this important wetland system, including (a) for the progression of natural community successions within the wetland and on the surrounding dryland (b) the influence of climate change in bringing about changes in woodland composition and (c) for discussion of the possibility of human manipulation of the vegetation in the Late Upper Palaeolithic, Early and Late Mesolithic. Results show that climate was the main driver of longer-term vegetation change. Centennial-scale, abrupt climate events caused significant vegetation reversals in the Lateglacial Interstadial. The Lateglacial vegetation was very similar throughout the lake hinterland, although some areas supported some scrubby shrub rather than being completely open. Immigration and spread of Holocene woodland taxa comprised the familiar tree succession common in northern England but the timings of the establishment and the abundance of some individual tree types varied considerably around the lake margins because of edaphic factors and the effects of fire, probably of human origin. Woodland successions away from proximity to the lake were similar to those recorded in the wider landscape of northern England and produced a dense, homogenous forest cover occasionally affected by fire.
... The key regions where species persisted over both glacial and interglacial periods are three southern European peninsulas (Iberian, Apennine and Balkan; Bennett et al., 1991;Hewitt, 1999;Huntley & Birks, 1983;Taberlet et al., 1998;Tzedakis, 1993Tzedakis, , 2004. However, it has become clear over time that some temperate species survived in refugia located also north of these (Bhagwat & Willis, 2008;Magri et al., 2006;Schmitt & Varga, 2012;Stewart et al., 2010). ...
Aim: Were postglacial recolonizations facilitated by persistence close to the colonized areas rather than by dispersal ability allowing for colonization from distant sources? This question is particularly relevant for organisms with low active dispersal abilities and lacking specialized propagules. Here we identified glacial refugia of four Central European land snail species, including one for which a northern glacial refugium in the region was indicated by indirectly dated fossils. Location: Central Europe and the Balkans. Taxon: Pulmonate land snails: Monachoides incarnatus (Hygromiidae) and Helix poma-tia, Helix thessalica and Caucasotachea vindobonensis (Helicidae). Methods: We used continuous phylogeographic analysis of mitochondrial sequence data to trace the origin of postglacially expanding lineages. We assessed the credibility of results from our focal species, M. incarnatus, by comparison to three other broadly sympatric land snail species. In addition, we performed direct radiocarbon dating of fossil shells to verify the presumed glacial presence of M. incarnatus on the territories of Czechia and Slovakia and to test the reliability of the available fossil data. Results: In three of the four species, the molecular data supported refugia located south of the Pannonian Basin, from the southeastern Alps to the southwestern Carpathians, but not more northerly. The direct radiocarbon dating resulted in younger dates than previously assumed. However, the molecular data also revealed unexpected, yet substantial postglacial southward expansions of M. incarnatus and C. vindobonensis into the Balkans. Main Conclusions: Neither the phylogeographic analyses nor the direct radiocarbon dating provided evidence for the glacial survival of studied land snail species in Central Europe. The refugia located adjacent to the Pannonian Basin were the most important source of postglacial expansions to Central Europe, but were also the source of the expansion southwards. Both climatic factors and biological interactions might explain why such southward expansions seem rather rare in Europe.
... Diversity and abundance of individual plant species in past vegetation are commonly determined by analysing pollen stratigraphy in sediment cores (Huntley and Birks 1983). To a lesser extent, plant macrofossils are also used for this purpose (Watts 1978). ...
Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. Disturbances can have multiple, often negative, effects on ecosystem services. Primary production is temporarily reduced by disturbances, while water and nutrient cycles are stimulated by disturbances. Consequently, the production of plant biomass (wood, animal fodder) may be temporarily decreased. In the context of climate regulation, disturbances reduce carbon storage (warming effect) but simultaneously increase albedo (cooling effect). Furthermore, disturbances reduce the protection function of forests against natural hazards. The way disturbances affect cultural services, such as the recreational function of ecosystems, depends on the subjective perception of people.KeywordsFire
Wind
Bark beetles
Drought
Supporting services
Provisioning services
Regulating services
Cultural services
... A first reason for such a clear contrast may be found in the bioclimatic differences between the two areas. Favourable local conditions may have advantaged the survival of Castanea and Juglans during the Last Glacial Maximum in the regions of the ancient Near East, especially towards the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, enhancing their early spontaneous spread during the Late-Glacial and Holocene periods (Huntley and Birks 1983;Aradhya, Potter, and Simon 2006;Krebs et al. 2019). Second, the eastern territories correspond to the areas of early development of the agricultural techniques, including arboriculture (Blockley and Pinhasi 2011;Borrell, Junno, and Barceló 2015). ...
The political and administrative unification process under the Roman Empire resulted not only in a progressive linguistic, religious, and cultural homogenisation of the concerned population, but also in the need of trade and exchanges for satisfying new dietary habits and markets. In this paper, we use palaeoecological pollen and macroremain records extracted from Neotoma online database and from scientific literature to analyse the contribution of the Romans in the distribution and cultivation history of Castanea sativa and Juglans regia, two tree species, which are usually considered highly connected with Romanisation. Our results highlight a substantial difference in the impact of the Romans on the history of the two species between the territories of the Western and Eastern Empire, where the Roman influence is much less evident. In the western territories, Juglans regia experienced a significant pre-Roman increase and spread, which was only partially intensified under Roman domination. Castanea sativa, on the contrary, benefited from a significant boost following the Roman conquest, especially in the mountain areas south of the Alps and in France. After the fall of the Roman Empire this led to the traditional medieval chestnut civilisation in which the chestnut tree became a main source of livelihood.
... During the Early and Middle Holocene, temperate Europe was dominated by natural deciduous forests (Huntley and Birks, 1983;Roberts et al., 2018). At that time, most lowland river systems in Northwestern Europe were stable environments, mainly affected by natural forces, resulting in low-energy multichannel rivers in swampy floodplains (Kalis et al., 2003;Notebaert and Verstraeten, 2010;Lespez et al., 2015;Brown et al., 2018). ...
Several methods to reconstruct past land cover are available which can be roughly divided into approaches based on pollen data and approaches based on (estimates of) historical human population. In this study, the REVEALS model and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) are applied to pollen sequences obtained from multiple alluvial floodplains located in the sandy and loamy regions of northeastern Belgium, thereby obtaining the first regional (semi-)quantitative estimates of Holocene landscape openness for this area. These estimates are subsequently compared to the two most widely-used scenarios for anthropogenic land cover change (ALCC): KK10 and HYDE.
In contrast with the two population-based ALCC scenarios, the pollen-based reconstructions are well in agreement and indicate considerable variability in past land cover, not only between the two regions but even between the individual catchments. This agreement implies that NMDS could serve as an alternative approach to provide insight in large amounts of pollen data in case not all required model parameters are available to run the REVEALS model. Moreover, NMDS can provide a better understanding of which taxa are related to a particular type of landscape. Taking into account such insights in the interpretation of the REVEALS model output might help to pinpoint the onset of significant human impact on the landscape more precisely. Given that alluvial sites often experienced early anthropogenic impact, including pollen data obtained from alluvial sites could not only improve the spatial coverage and accuracy of current pollen-based land cover reconstructions but could also improve our understanding of human transformation of the landscape, which can in turn contribute to an improvement of the ALCC scenarios.
... In particular, the late Quaternary history of Tilia in Europe has been a subject of few previous works. Lang (2003), on the basis of the "Atlas of past and present pollen maps for Europe" by Huntley and Birks (1983), draws a first outline of lime history. This work needs now an update, given the number of new pollen records published in the last forty years. ...
With the aim of reconstructing past distribution patterns of the genus Tilia in Europe from the Eemian interglacial to present, a number of over 2600 pollen and macrofossil records from the literature and from online databases have been examined. As for the Eemian, patterns inferred from pollen and supported by macrofossils reveal that Tilia was widespread and taxonomically diverse in Poland and adjacent regions, as well as in the East-European Plain, Britain, the Alpine region, and the Italian and Balkan Peninsulas. In the early Weichselian interstadials (MIS 5c and 5a) the range of lime was much reduced, but still with occurrences in the Baltic Countries, Poland and Ukraine, in addition to southern Europe. During the Last Glacial Maximum lime did not take part in the zonal ecosystems of Europe, but its lateglacial and postglacial spread reflects the multiple locations and taxonomical pattern of glacial refugia, which were not limited to southern and mid-altitude Europe, but also included micro- and cryptorefugia in NW France and possibly in the Baltic region and other regions. Lime spread rapidly over Europe in the Early Holocene, reaching its maximum diffusion around 7000 cal BP. Afterwards, Tilia declined and even disappeared in some areas at the northern and southern boundaries of its range. The generalist species T. cordata proved to be the most successful lime species under the pre-industrial Holocene climate, and likewise is found to be the most tolerant lime to increasing drought stress caused by Global Warming.
... For several species (e.g., Ranunculus brutius and A. trichocalycinum), altitudinal limits expand in the subalpine belt up to 2,140 m. The southern Apennines have been generally recognized as glacial refugia for F. sylvatica and the associated understory species community (Huntley and Birks, 1983). The recorded understory species of biogeographic interest suggest that the remnants and untouched F. sylvatica stand could have acted as refugia for narrow endemic species, Apennines endemic, south-eastern orophytes, and circumboreal species through the last glacial period. ...
Past anthropogenic disturbances lowered the altitudinal distribution of the Mediterranean Fagus sylvatica forests below 2,000 m a.s.l. Accordingly, our current understanding of the southern distribution range of F. sylvatica forests is restricted to managed stands below this elevation, neglecting relic forests growing above. This study has shed light on the structure and species assemblage of an unmanaged relict subalpine F. sylvatica stand growing within the core of its southernmost glacial refugia and at its highest species range elevation limit (2,140 m a.s.l.) in southern Apennines (Italy). Here, tree biometric attributes and understory species abundances were assessed in eight permanent plots systematically positioned from 1,650 to 2,130 m a.s.l. In the subalpine belt, F. sylvatica had formed a dense clonal stem population that was layered downward on the steepest slopes. The density and spatial aggregation of the stems were increased, while their stature and crown size were decreased. Above 2,000 m, changes in tree growth patterns, from upright single-stemmed to procumbent multi-stemmed, and canopy layer architecture, with crowns packed and closer to the floor, were allowed for the persistence of understory herbaceous species of biogeographic interest. Clonal layering represents an adaptive regeneration strategy for the subalpine belt environmental constraints not previously recognized in managed Mediterranean F. sylvatica forests. The clonal structure and unique species assemblage of this relic forest highlight the value of its inclusion in the priority areas networks, representing a long-term management strategy of emblematic glacial and microclimatic refugia.
... However, some species with exserted stamens (e.g. Calluna vugaris (L.) Hull., Erica umbellata L., E. vagans L., E. erigena R. Ross and E. australis L.) can have some anemophilous pollination and often have better pollen dispersal (Huntley and Birks, 1983). In our study, the association of Ericaceae with other local vegetation (bryophytes and ferns) characteristic of Pond L and the O samples taken in its drainage channel suggests that the majority of the heath pollen contribution in these sedimentary systems comes through water flows. ...
To determine whether modern pollen content in sediments from upland lake systems reflects the factual regional and extra-local vegetation composition, we analysed twenty-five samples focusing on aspects such as pond size and morphology, relative position in the catchment, local vegetation, canopy configuration and seasonality of the water table. The average pollen percentages of all sediment samples studied allows a fairly good reconstruction of the main vegetation units in the area, but major differences between the average samples obtained in each sedimentary system, and also between some samples taken from the same system are found. The main factors explaining those differences are the size of the pond, its tree canopy and the seasonality of the water table, which strongly determines the Ericaceae and Pinus percentages. A high-resolution multiproxy palaeoecological record from a small upland lake is re-evaluated in light of the new experimental evidence, and it is concluded that the interpretation of the importance of heathland and pinewoods in the Late Glacial landscape using pollen data may be magnified by the transport of both pollen types through water flows and their accumulation in the basin. Furthermore, anomalous Pinus pollen peaks occur in dry periods when the water table remains low. The sediment can also be depleted of some high-buoyancy pollen types (tetrads and saccate) when the water level is high and effluents are active. These effects may also be important in fluvio-marine systems in which Ericaceae and Pinus pollen are often overrepresented.
... sylvestris) and Juniperus (cf. communis) at the transition Allerød -Dryas 3 period (Firbas, 1949;Huntley and Birks, 1983;. ...
... Norway spruce likely spread from two late-glacial refugia, one in western Russia (region of Moscow) and one in the Alps and the Carpathians (Huntley and Birks, 1983), toward Fennoscandia (Russian population), and toward western and northern Europe (eastern European population), respectively (Björkman, 1996;Giesecke and Bennett, 2004;Seppä et al., 2009;Jansson et al., 2013;Giesecke et al., 2017). For the regions of Bavaria, southern Germany, and Bohemia, Czech Republic, first Holocene pollen of Norway spruce (and hereafter referred to as spruce) were recorded 10500 to 10000 years ago at high elevations (> 900 m asl), whereas the species appeared to be dominant in the forests at high-and mid-elevations (ca. ...
Spruce is the most cultivated tree species in modern forestry in Central Europe, since it has the ability to grow on many soil types with profitable biomass accumulation. However, even-aged and uniform spruce forests are affected by recurring droughts and associated biotic stressors leading to large-scale diebacks across Central Europe causing controversies among foresters and nature conservationists. We investigate the role of spruce in historical woodlands by using 15666 spruce timbers from historical buildings and on the basis of pollen-based land cover estimates using the REVEALS model from 157 pollen sites in southern Central Europe. Start and end dates of the spruce timber samples and their dendrological characteristics (age, growth rates and stem diameters) were used to obtain information on past forest structures. Tree rings and REVEALS estimates are combined at a spatial scale of 1° × 1° resolution, grouped in four sub-regions, and a temporal resolution of 100-year time windows starting from 1150 to 1850 CE. We found that spruce dominates the species assemblage of construction timber with almost 41% and that the harvest age varies little through time, whereas a declining trend in growth rates and stem diameters are observed toward times before modern forestry. Temporal and regional differences in spruce abundance and building activity were found highlighting periods of (i) land abandonment and forest expansion in the 14th century, (ii) increased wood consumption during the 16th century due to population increase and beginning industrial developments, (iii) a forest recovery during and after the Thirty years' war, and (iv) afforestation efforts from the 1650s onwards. Furthermore, this study shows that spruce was constantly present in the study area in most studied sub-regions for the last 800 years. We demonstrate the need of combining tree-ring and pollen data to identify spatiotemporal patterns in spruce abundance and utilization.
... Until the development of genetic studies at the end of the twentieth century, detecting refugium zones was mainly based on the analysis of plant remains, pollen, and macrofossils (macro-charcoal, seeds, fruits, leaves), preserved in sedimentary sequences (e.g. (Huntley and Birks 1983)). Nowadays, the combination of genetic (phylogeographic) and palaeoecological analyses in conjunction with species distribution models (SDM) has been generalised to robustly identify refugium zones, migration routes, and to estimate the speed of tree colonisation (Gavin et al. 2014). ...
The analysis of ancient pollen (and spores) preserved in sedimentary sequences is a classical approach used in paleoclimatology, paleoecology and archaeology since the beginning of the twentieth century. Yet, pollen analysis is the most powerful tool to reconstruct past vegetation changes affording more precise documentation of distribution, composition and land vegetation cover than geochemical tracers only providing the wet/dry-loving plants ratio through time. Ancient pollen from deep-sea cores has allowed the direct comparison of vegetation and atmospheric conditions on land with changes in ocean and ice sheet dynamics, identifying, for instance, a strong air-sea thermal contrast at orbital and millennial time scales in the European margin favouring moisture production and transport to northern hemisphere high latitudes and the last entering in glaciation. The study of ancient pollen along with plant macro remains and modern and ancient DNA has revealed the location of cryptic refugia for temperate and boreal trees during cold periods and reduced the original velocity estimations for tree migration highlighting the difficulty for certain trees to keep pace with the on-going climate change. Pollen-based vegetation changes are of most relevance to understand human evolution as past populations were tightly dependent on plant and animal resources. Repeated and strong savannah expansion in eastern Africa contemporaneous with the onset of large northern hemisphere glaciations provided enough animal resources that allowed hominin brain increase and the emergence of early Homo. In Europe, the successive and rapid steppe-dominated cold periods punctuating the last glacial period triggered repeated increases of ungulate biomass and human demography that may explain the increase and accumulation of innovations in Homo sapiens populations.KeywordsDeglaciationGlacial-interglacial climate changesGlaciationOrigin and evolution of Homo sapiensPast atmospheric CO2 concentrationRapid climate changesRefugium zones for trees
... The species is also studied for its interspecific crosses [7][8][9], which allow us to identify homeologous chromosomal regions and therefore, regions possibly harbouring adaptive traits within the Fagaceae family. Mattioni et al. [10] studied 31 chestnut populations from Eastern (Greece and Turkey) and Western Europe, to test for the hypothesised presence of refugia during the last glacial maximum based on pollen records [11] and for differences between the eastern and western gene pools, suggesting that, in general, human intervention played an important role in establishing the current genetic structure of sweet chestnut as suggested by Conedera et al. [4]. An important corollary of this is that all conservation strategies should consider all levels of biodiversity and, in particular, intraspecific genetic variation, a key factor for a species' ability to cope with environmental stress. ...
The sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) is an important species of European trees, studied for both ecological and economic reasons. Its cultivation in the Italian peninsula can be linked to the Roman period and has been documented, especially in the Tuscan region, for centuries. We sampled 131 grafted trees from three separate areas to determine the genetic variability between populations and assess genetic identity for different varieties of trees, which is useful for future breeding programs and propagation efforts. Molecular analyses were performed using eight microsatellite loci. A total of 98 alleles was detected with an average of 12.3 alleles per locus. We found high levels of genetic diversity within the varieties of the same area, ranging between He = 0.682–0.745. Of the eight loci, seven were found to be at Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. (FST values Differentiation between cultivation areas was significant between 0.052–0.147) with the two Southern Tuscan areas showing the closest relationship as also indicated by Bayesian inference of the population structure, which revealed the existence of three ancestral gene pools of origin. Demographic events were detected by a coalescent-based approximate Bayesian computation in two of the homogeneous clusters. This work is a step forward for the conservation of this iconic species, albeit at a regional level, as chestnut varieties have never received the full attention of breeders.
... Larch produces little pollen with limited dispersal abilities and poor preservation after falling from the catkin to the ground (Jankovská 2007). As a result, the larch fossil record is generally fragmented and even a single pollen grain of Larix is considered to be a reliable indicator of its local occurrence (Huntley & Birks 1983). In palynological taxonomy, the pollen of Larix decidua Mill. is morphologically identical with other species of the Larix genus. ...
... For long, a generally maintained "truth" was that spruce stands out as one of the latest immigrated trees to Sweden, following the Weichselian glacial phase (5,26,4,10,7,27). Accordingly, it was assumed to have spread gradually from east to west over northern Sweden during the past 4000 years, to reach the Scandes in the west only 2000-3000 years ago (6,38). ...
A megafossil wood remnant of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) was retrieved from a high-elevation nunatak in the southern Swedish Scandes. The site was nearly 600 m higher than the present-day treeline. These circumstances comply with analogous earlier recoveries, indicating presence of spruce at high elevations in the Scandes, several thousands of years prior to inferences made by pollen analysis. Radiocarbon-dating yielded a median age of 9300 cal a BP. This result adds firm detail and adheres to ongoing reappraisal of the structure and biodiversity of the late-glacial and early Holocene mountain landscape, in the light of growing megafossil and molecular genetic evidence.
... Szafer (1935) was the first to develop a pollen-derived analytical map of Poland's vegetation based on 152 sites (so-called iso-pollen maps). A more general and prominent work, an Atlas of Past and Present Pollen Maps for Europe, was published by Huntley and Birks (1983) and is still a valuable source for understanding vegetation change in the Holocene at the subcontinental scale. e European Pollen Database (created in 1992), North American Pollen Database (NAPD), and other sources serve as an effective tool for reconstructing the Quaternary vegetation of the Northern Hemisphere and its changes (Giesecke et al., 2014). ...
The dreams of Humboldt and many of his successors have not yet come true. Despite the great achievements of the last century, we still do not know the total number of vegetation types or the difference in the patterns of the distribution of diversity above and below the ground, we cannot predict all the effects of climate change on vegetation at the regional and global scale, we do not know the hidden and dark parts of species diversity in most ecosystems, nor are we able to make historical vegetation maps for many areas of the Earth. We also do not know the cultural contribution of many plant communities for the development of human populations and civilization, nor do we know the future recreational and therapeutical potential of vegetation (e.g., aromatherapy, ecotherapy). Geobotanical methods can effectively contribute to finding the answers to hot questions in current ecology.
Since there are so many gaps in our geobotanical knowledge and so many young researchers still speechless with delight when looking at endless steppes, lush rainforests, tall-herbs, or colorful meadows, there is no doubt that geobotany will be a thriving and developing discipline in the future. Its driving force is the passion of researchers and admiration for the beauty of various types of vegetation and their dynamics as well as awareness of the need to protect them for generations to come.
... temporal change in tree species in the French Massif Central over 430,000 years (de Beaulieu et al. 2006)), cross-continental spatial changes since the end of the last ice age (e.g. range shifts in European flora (Huntley and Birks 1983)) and detailed studies of rapid climate perturbations (e.g. Webb and Goodenough 2021). ...
Palaeoecology involves analysis of fossil and sub-fossil evidence preserved within sediments to understand past species distributions, habitats and ecosystems. However, while palaeoecological research is sometimes made relevant to contemporary ecology, especially to advance understanding of biogeographical theory or inform habitat-based conservation at specific sites, most ecologists do not routinely incorporate palaeoecological evidence into their work. Thus most cross-discipline links are palaeoecology → ecology rather than ecology → palaeoecology. This is likely due to lack of awareness and/or the misnomer that palaeoecology invariably relates to the “distant past” (thousands of years) rather than being applicable to the “recent past” (last ~ 100–200 years). Here, we highlight opportunities for greater integration of palaeoecology within contemporary ecological research, policy, and practice. We identify situations where palaeoecology has been, or could be, used to (1) quantify recent temporal change (e.g. population dynamics; predator–prey cycles); (2) “rewind” to a particular point in ecological time (e.g. setting restoration/rewilding targets; classifying cryptogenic species); (3) understand current ecological processes that are hard to study real-time (e.g. identifying keystone species; detecting ecological tipping points); (4) complement primary data and historical records to bridge knowledge gaps (e.g. informing reintroductions and bioindicator frameworks); (5) disentangle natural and anthropogenic processes (e.g. climate change); and (6) draw palaeoecological analogues (e.g. impacts of pests). We conclude that the possibilities for better uniting ecology and palaeoecology to form an emerging cross-boundary paradigm are as extensive as they are exciting: we urge ecologists to learn from the past and seek opportunities to extend, improve, and strengthen their work using palaeoecological data.
... Because of the different interpretations of percentage threshold values of regional importance 100 , which is aim-dependent and/or related to site-specific features, we focused on the last pollen percentage maximum value (during the past 1500 years) of hornbeam and beech optimum to approximate the start of the forest decline ( Supplementary Information; Fig. S2). We took into account sites where pollen percentage maxima exceeded 5%, i.e. values that suggesting the local presence of both taxa 33,101 . The declines of the taxa mentioned above were considered only when a decrease of arboreal pollen (AP) was observed, so that bias arising solely from the compositional change of tree taxa is avoided. ...
Human impact on Central European forests dates back thousands of years. In this study we reanalyzed 36 published pollen data sets with robust chronologies from Polish Lowlands to determine the patterns of large‑scale forest decline after the Migration Period (fourth to sixth century CE). The study revealed substantial heterogeneity in the old‑growth forest decline patterns. Using new high‑ resolution studies, we could better understand the timing of this transition related to increasing economic development. After the Migration Period, forest expansion continued until the seventh to ninth centuries cal. CE, when the dawn of Slavic culture resulted in large‑scale forest decline, especially in north‑western and north‑central Poland. Later, forest decline was recorded mainly in north‑eastern Poland and was related to Prussian settlements, including activities associated with the Teutonic Order, as well as with new settlements from the fourteenth century. The composite picture shows a varied spatio‑temporal forest loss and transition towards the present‑day, human activity dominated landscapes. However, some sites, such as in north‑eastern Poland, are characterized by a less abrupt critical transition. The pristine nature of the oak‑hornbeam forest had already been destroyed in Early Medieval times (eighth to ninth centuries cal. CE) and the potential for recovery was largely lost. Our study has confirmed previous assumptions that the decline of hornbeam across the Polish Lowlands may be an early indicator of local settlement processes, preceding severe forest loss, and establishment of permanent agriculture.
... Isopollen maps show that shrub and herbaceous vegetation was replaced by open woodland dominated by Pinus and Betula (e.g. Huntley and Birks, 1983;Rösch, 1993;Lang, 1994;Smettan, 2002;Theuerkauf et al., 2014). The early Holocene in the Ammer River Valley also experienced such an amelioration trend, as indicated by the dominance of Pinus with minor abundances of Betula and Corylus. ...
During the Early Holocene, climate was the major factor causing fires, but whether during the Mesolithic (~11.5–7.4 cal ka BP) people co‐shaped their environment by means of fire remains of debate. Few studies have tackled this question by linking high‐resolution multi‐proxy palaeoecological studies from near Mesolithic occupation sites. An Early Holocene sediment record from the Ammer Valley palaeo‐wetland in south‐west Germany was studied using pollen, micro‐ and macrocharcoal, and plant macroremains. Archaeological evidence from Early and Late Mesolithic sites of Rottenburg‐Siebenlinden allowed us to link this palaeoecological record with Mesolithic land use in the same catchment. Between 11.6 and 10.6 cal kabp,intensive wildfires reinforced the persistence of open and pioneer vegetation. A transition from a river‐dominated landscape towards a wetland with open stagnant waters at 10.6–9.5 cal ka bpmade the region attractive to hunter‐gatherers, providing various plant resources (incl. hazel). From 10.1 cal ka bponwards, Mesolithic communities may have shaped their environment by using fire as a tool to expand open areas, which were important for the implementation of their subsistence strategies. After 9.5 cal ka bp, human control over fires cannot be excluded as Mesolithic occupation phases chronologically coincide with frequent low‐intensity fires and vegetation disturbance.
... Our approach, thus, highlights the role of forests as climatic refugia based on their proven existence during the glacial times. Forests allowed the persistence of some old lineages that were dragged along with tree dispersals to track the most suitable environmental conditions during climatic changes, or transported through water courses in the case of riparian forests (Huntley and Birks 1983). In sum, our findings fit well with palynological records and also with putative refugia identified by Médail and Diadema (2009) in the Mediterranean Basin, where several mesophilous trees in relatively low altitudinal areas were proposed, notably in locally moist and warm sites such as valley bottoms and wetlands. ...
Climatic refugia have often been associated with hotspots of richness and endemism, and identified on the basis of molecular or paleobotanical information. Here, we apply a phylogenetic analysis to 18,000 plant communities distributed across the Pyrenees, a south European mountain range, to identify climatic refugia from imprints of relictuality inferred from species’ evolutionary distinctiveness (ED). We produced a genus-level phylogenetic tree to calculate the standardized mean ED value of plant communities (cED). Then, we explored which habitats concentrate the plant communities with the highest cED and the interrelated effect of past (long-term climatic stability) and present (topographic and spatial position) factors. Results show strong differences of cED among habitats: forests ranked first, followed by some open habitats like high altitude wetlands. Climate stability and roughness positively influenced cED. A weak negative association resulted between the two diversity measurements (richness and endemism rate) and also with cED. We propose that forests acted as “mobile refugia” during the glacial-interglacial periods, supported by paleoenvironmental reconstructions revealing continuous presence at regional scale of key broadleaved trees at that time. Azonal habitats like the endemic-poor humid communities at high elevation would have also played an important role as more permanent microrefugia. Our approach identifies a variety of habitats and plant assemblages that have successfully withstood past climate change in different ways, and therefore would hold an important evolutionary potential to cope with current climate change. Given their potential role in preserving biodiversity, they should be integrated in future conservation agendas.
... Oak gained importance as a forest-forming tree. For Quercus, a 5% pollen value is used to mark mass population expansion, and 2% pollen is used to mark local presence (Huntley and Birks, 1983). Oak is not a pioneer tree but rapidly encroaches on well-lit mature (50-90-year-old) pine forests (Bugała, 2006). ...
https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1eqqpB8ccuhYE
Reconstruction of fluvial style changes in the San River in the Subcarpathian Basins is based on geomorphological and sedimentological analyses. The time control of alluvial fills and temporal changes in the river channel are derived from radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating combined with independent pollen-based biochronostratigraphy. The results showed that the alluvial plain of the braided (BR) or braided-meandering (BR-M?) river was abandoned before 12,800 cal BP. Large meanders (LM) were cut off in the older part of the Younger Dryas (YD; ca. 12,600 cal BP), and in the younger part of this period (ca. 12,450 cal BP). The small meanders (SM) developed at the end of the YD and were abandoned at the onset of the Preboreal (PB; ca.11,550 cal BP). The erosion phase at the YD-PB transition, reported from many valleys in Central Europe, was not confirmed in the study area. The full cycle of San River channel transformation (BR (BR-M?) → LM → SM); was estimated to be approximately 1200 years. According to the palynological data, open pine forests with birch that survived from the end of the Allerød dominated the landscape of the river valley during the YD cooling and did not undergo major changes during the warming in the early PB. Therefore, we assume that the influence of vegetation changes in the San River channel pattern transformation was nonsignificant. The location of the studied palaeochannels in the floodbasin filled with silty clayey deposits may have influenced the formation of relatively narrow and deep channels, than that of much the wider and shallower meanders from the YD, situated several kilometres downstream of the surveyed sites.
... Le même processus assure aussi le déplacement de la forêt à plus grande échelle, notamment sa recon quête de l'espace quand elle a été éra diquée par des accidents climatiques (glaciations) ou par l'homme. Quand la hêtraie est remontée du sud de l'Europe à la Scandinavie au postgla ciaire, elle l'a fait en moins de 3 000 ans, soit à une vitesse de 1 km/an (HUNTLEY & BIRKS 1983). Cette pro gression a été possible parce que les eaux et les rivières, majoritairement orientées du sud au nord, transpor taient de nombreuses diaspores, mais surtout parce que la zone de combat était continuellement repoussée vers le nord, à mesure que l'amélioration du climat le permettait, par le travail des animaux disperse urs de graines. ...
... After the LGM (Last Glacial Maximum), about 11,000 years ago BP, they began their advance northwards after the climatic improvement that took place in the Holocene. This process had different phases and was subject to accelerations and slowdowns, but a general pattern is recognized in its advance from south to north (Huntley & Birks, 1983;Lang, 1994;Ferris et al., 1998;Petit et al., 2002). A first wave is formed by conifers, birches, aspen and willows. ...
Temperate Deciduous Forests occur almost exclusively in the northern hemisphere and thrive under temperate climate with cold winter and warm-humid summer. They covered a continuous belt during most of the Tertiary across the continent Laurasia occupying a large area in higher latitudes. With the cooling of the Earth's climate and the appearance of the subtropical aridity areas, in combination with the separation of North America from Eurasia, this continuous area split into the three mainly existing now: Eastern North America, Western Eurasia and Eastern Asia. The tree flora reveals the common origin of the three current areas and the events causing more or less severe extinctions during the cold periods of the Pleistocene, in combination with the mountain uplift did happen since the Miocene affected differently to them. The basic features of the deciduous trait and its likely origin are discussed, as well as the ecologic implications of such a trait. For further research, the current possibilities provided by available vegetation datasets (EVA, sPlot) opens the possibility of using a large mass of vegetation plots data involving most of the vascular flora of these forests to find out insights about their origin and evolution over time as well as their links with current or past environmental conditions.
... Walnut (Juglans regia L.) is a multipurpose species utilized for fruit, timber, colouring and medical compounds. Although it has probably been present in Europe since 5000 BC (Huntley and Birks 1983), its present distribution is mainly the result of human activity ( Figure 1) and walnut is one of the more manipulated agroforestry species. The selection and diffusion of the most valuable genotypes to improve and increase the quality and quantity of products can lead to reduced genetic variability, the loss of useful genes and genetic erosion. ...
Noble Hardwoods Network E u r o p e a n F o r e s t G e n e t i c R e s o u r c e s P r o g r a m m e (E U F O R G E N) ii NOBLE HARDWOODS NETWORK The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) is an independent international scientific organization that seeks to improve the well-being of present and future generations of people by enhancing conservation and the deployment of agricultural biodiversity on farms and in forests. It is one of 15 Future Harvest Centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association of public and private members who support efforts to mobilize cutting-edge science to reduce hunger and poverty, improve human nutrition and health, and protect the environment. IPGRI has its headquarters in Maccarese, near Rome, Italy, with offices in more than 20 other countries worldwide. The Institute operates through four programmes: Diversity for Livelihoods, Understanding and Managing Biodiversity, Global Partnerships, and Commodities for Livelihoods.
... In southern Italy, chestnut trees were introduced by the ancient Greeks about 5000 years ago. Later, the Romans spread this species in Europe (Hummer et al., 2014;Huntley and Birks, 1983;Bernetti, 1995;Krebs et al., 2004;Krebs et al., 2019;Roces-Diaz et al., 2018). ...
The only native species of the Castanea genus in Europe is Castanea sativa Mill., a widespread and important multipurpose tree species in the Mediterranean area that provides fruit, wood and shelter for hives. With the aim of expanding the knowledge of the genetic variability of the chestnut species (wild trees and varieties) and promoting the traceability of local products, an analysis based on 16 SSRs was carried out on 630 single trees from Italy and Spain. 319 unique genotypes were identified. A Bayesian approach combined with the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation method revealed the existence of two genetically distinct groups of chestnuts: Cluster 1 (Spain) and Cluster 2 (Italy), with a clear separation between the cultivars from (northern and southern) Spain and from Italy. The results also confirmed a common genetic structure between chestnut populations from southern Spain and southern Italy, which is the result of historical events and long-term human impact. The results showed no genetic differentiation between chestnut cultivars (grafted trees) and wild chestnut trees, probably as a consequence of the proximity of orchards and natural populations, which resulted in a gene flow between them.
... Mostly the term has been used for the most recent glaciation (Holderegger & Thiel-Egenter 2009). Originally, glacial refugia were identified with palaeoecological evidence (Huntley & Birks 1983;), but since around 1990 also phylogeographic studies has been used in the identification (Hewitt 1996(Hewitt , 1999Hewitt 2000;. Together with the fossil record they have showed that many extant populations of primarily temperate taxa are derived from southern refugia (Hewitt 1996;Taberlet et al. 1998;Hewitt 1999;Hewitt 2000;Jackson et al. 2000;Lacourse et al. 2005;Soltis et al. 2006). ...
Sammanfattning
Arters utbredningsområden är begränsade av fysiska barriärer, arters spridningsförmåga, abiotiska faktorer såsom klimat samt interaktioner mellan arter. Hur en art reagerar på miljöfaktorer och biotiska faktorer bestämmer dess abundans, utbredning och avgränsning av utbredning. Det finns fyra olika typer av respons på globala klimatförändringar. En population kan acklimatiseras, anpassas, migrera eller dö ut. Under ogynnsamma förhållanden kan populationer migrera och överleva i refugier med gynnsamma miljöförhållanden. Därefter kan de återvända till deras förra utbredningsområden när förhållandena återigen har blivit gynnsamma. Begreppet refugium har använts för storskaliga refugier såsom interglaciala och glaciala refugier (makrorefugier) samt för småskaliga refugier såsom mikrorefugier. Mikrorefugiers existens gynnas av att det lokala klimatet frikopplas från det regionala klimatet eftersom detta buffrar mot klimatförändringar. Sådan frikoppling sker mest sannolikt i heterogena landskap. När en art flyttar sitt utbredningsområde så kan nya refugier bildas vid den retirerande utbredningsgränsen. Makrorefugier kan bildas från artens huvudutbredningsområde om det minskar.
Summary
Species ranges are restricted in distribution by physical barriers, dispersal ability, abiotic factors such as climate and interspecific interactions. The responses of a species to environmental conditions and biotic factors determine its abundance, distribution and range limits. There are four possible responses for populations facing global climate change. They can acclimate, adapt, shift their ranges or go extinct. During unfavorable conditions populations may shift their ranges and survive in refugia with favorable environmental features. Thereafter they might be able to return to their former distribution when the conditions get favorable again. The term refugium has been used for large scale refugia such as interglacial and glacial refugia (macrorefugia), and for small scale refugia such as microrefugia. The existence of microrefugia is promoted by decoupling of the local climate from the regional climate because this buffers against climate change. Such decoupling is most likely to occur in heterogeneous landscapes. At a range shift, new microrefugia may arise at the eroding edge, while macrorefugia may form from a contracting main (continuous) range.
A Fejér megyei Sárrét területén vett 500 centiméteres bolygatatlan fúrásmintát 5-10 centiméterenként tártuk fel és az így kapott mintákból 41-et elemeztünk ki. Ezen minták segítségével 5 pollenzónát (LPAZ) különítettünk el, amelynek első két zónája a pleisztocén-holocén idején bekövetkező klímaváltozást tükrözi a területen. A pollenadatok alapján rekonstruáltuk az akkori vegetáció és klíma változását. Mivel nem állt módunkban, hogy radiokarbon kormeghatározást végezzünk, így az egyes zónák datálását korábbi palinológiai és malakológiai vizsgálatok alapján készült koradatok segítségével kíséreltük meg (SÜMEGI et al. 2007). A kutatás célja az ezen a területen az ezt megelőző kutatások kiegészítése, azok eredményeinek újabb adatsorokkal való alátámasztása. További célunk, hogy új fúrások segítségével részletesebb információkat nyerjünk a terület pleisztocén vegetációtörténetéről.
This article presents an updated list of annotated invasive trees and shrubs in Latvia. This list includes 178 taxa about which extensive information has been collected and analysed: family, first records in the area, native range, invasiveness status, vector of introduction, and species distribution in Latvia. In this article, the authors, for the first time in Latvia,
provided an invasiveness risk assessment and distinguished risk classes for trees and shrubs.
The methodology previously developed by E. Weber and D. Gut was used to assess the risk of
invasiveness. The most widely represented families in the list of invasive trees and shrubs are
Rosaceae (51 taxa or 28.65%) and Salicaceae (20 taxa or 11.24%). Having assessed the invasiveness status, two species (Acer negundo L. and Sorbaria sorbifolia (L.) A. Braun) were identified
as transformers, and 42 tree and shrub taxa were identified as invasive. After the assessment
of the invasiveness risk, the species were divided into three risk classes. The highest risk class
includes 32 taxa that are threatening or are likely to threaten natural habitats in Latvia in the
future. The results of this study can be used for further dendrological studies in relation to
global change and for practical nature conservation and landscape gardening
A distinguished team of Western European scholars has written an advanced, full-length physical geography designed to be a state-of-the-art evaluation of the physical environment of Western Europe, being both retrospective and prospective in its perception of environmental change. The unique natural and regional environments of Western Europe are discussed, as well as the physical geographic framework of the region. Particular emphasis is placed on the impact and responses of human society on the physical environment of the region which is characterized by a very high population density. As an enhanced reference work it will be of enduring value.
Large herbivores can influence the population dynamics of their forage plants. Feeding means a disturbance for the affected plants. Although in most cases herbivores consume only a relatively small fraction of the total phytomass, they influence the intra- and interspecific competition between plants. Whether and to what extent herbivores influence the forest–open land distribution has been subject of controversial discussion. Today, species diversity and population density of large herbivores in the temperate zone are lower than they were at the end of the last Ice Age. Therefore, stronger and more diverse influences of these species on the vegetation can be assumed before widespread human activity. This fact must be considered in the modern management of natural landscapes
.KeywordsBrowsingGrazingForest-grassland distributionConservation managementNatural landscapesRewildingUngulates
The distribution development of oak has significant effects on ecosystems and society. Long-term forest distribution studies can help to better understand the vegetation dynamics under climate change or human activities in the future. In this study, we integrated different methods (i.e., palaeoecology, phylogeography, and species distribution models) to investigate the likely locations of glacial refugia and the postglacial development of the main deciduous oak species (i.e., Quercus variabilis, Q. mongolica, Q. dentata, Q. aliena, Q. acutissima and Q. liaotungensis). The results indicated that mountains such as the Changbai, Qinling, and Dabie Mountains acted as the refugia in northern and central China during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The present Quercus in northern China could be the result of local dispersal during the postglacial period rather than only that of long-distance migration from south to north. Climate was the main influencing factor for oak migration, while human activities did not show much influence on this widespread genus. The topography acted as a buffer and made the mountains to act as refugia under a deteriorated climate. Compared with other main tree genera (e.g., Pinus and Betula), the refugia locations and migration routes of deciduous oak species were different because of their physiological differences. The individual migration dynamics of these three genera need to be considered when modelling their dynamics.
This study concerns human diet in the European stone-age, and how dental microwear analysis can be used to investigate Mesolithic diets and provide evidence for the introduction of agricultural foods in the Neolithic period. Teeth from 43 Mesolithic individuals are contrasted with 95 Neolithic people, under the lens of electron microscopy. It was found, with some exceptions, that Neolithic individuals have wider scratches than Mesolithic individuals. This difference, based on experiments presented herein, is likely due to the processing and consumption of cereals in the Neolithic period. Mesolithic diets consist of a range range of food resources, with microwear signals reiterating the primacy of local resources.
Pollen analysis is an exercise in seeing. The ultimate goal is to see into the past, to send down a periscope and view what went on. The metaphor of the periscope is too limited, however; a video recorder from high in space with resolution in places up to 10 m is more encompassing of what is possible. The images that are retrieved can be of high or low resolution temporally, spatially, taxonomically, and numerically, and they can illustrate local to global changes in plant populations, vegetation, climate, human activity, fire frequency, and plant diseases over decades to millennia. Because each of these entities or phenomena varies spatially and temporally, records of data covering a breadth of scales in space and time are needed. To obtain the highest quality images about a specific phenomenon requires an understanding of the sensing system that accumulated the data. How does the periscope or video recorder work and what are the scaling characteristics of the images that it registers? These characteristics include breadth of coverage, sampling resolution, and sampling density in time, space, and taxonomy. Actualistic and taphonomic studies of Quaternary data covering a variety of temporal and spatial scales have helped provide this understanding, and temporal resolution is just one concern in these studies.
A large proportion of the western marginal range for common ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) is located on the island of Ireland. However, the molecular diversity of common ash in Ireland has only been studied in a limited number of populations and using mainly non-standard chloroplast and nuclear simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. This has prevented direct comparisons with studies on the rest of the species’ range across Europe. Here, four chloroplast and six nuclear SSR markers were used to infer the genetic diversity from 347 trees sampled across 20 populations. Results confirmed that, like Britain, Ireland is dominated by one main haplotype (H04) which originates from an Iberian glacial refugium. The occurrence of a second, rarer haplotype (H13) that also occurs as a rare haplotype in Britain but nowhere else, suggests at least some post-glacial recolonisation from the east. Chloroplast allelic richness was similar to Norway, which constitutes the species’ northern marginal range, but lower than in Britain and the European average. Nuclear allelic richness was also comparable with Norway, but Irish common ash differed in a complete absence of sub-population structure and geographic variability at both the chloroplast and nuclear level. Analysis of nuclear genetic structure indicated that common ash in Ireland mainly comprises one genetic group which is likely part of a single, western European meta-population. However, a less frequent genetic cluster is hypothesised to represent a mix of non-native alleles from imported plantation ash. Finally, conservation recommendations and the consequences of a uniform and low genetic diversity are discussed in the context of ash dieback disease, which was present in all populations sampled here.
p>The origin, development, present status and conservation of the New Forest valley mires are investigated. Existing hypotheses of peat inception are tested and methodological problems are examined. A null model for peat inception has logical primacy over other causal hypotheses of mire origins and provides a framework for investigation. The proximate cause of valley mire formation is related to the present water regime. The stratigraphic record may be much simpler than the real history of New Forest mire communities.Methods of macrofossil analysis are critically reviewed and are developed for vegetative remains. Valley mire development is investigated from the Lateglacial. The direction of succession is differentiated within the mire system and most communities have a high probability of self-replacement. Discussion is extended to the theoretical basis of palaeoecology.Mire vegetation composition and the heathland transition are studied using ordination and classification techniques. The community types obtained are compared with other classificatory schemes. Although composition is closely related to environment, internal features of the vegetation are also important in determining the main gradients of floristic variation.The nature conservation significance of the valley mires is discussed, and the ecological characteristics used in evaluation are reviewed. Past and present management impacts are assessed. Grazing is important in maintaining the diversity of open mire communities, especially where Molinia is potentially dominant. The constraints on the grazing system are reviewed and it is concluded, from ecological and behavioural evidence, that the mires play an important role during limiting periods of the year. Drainage continues to damage the nature conservation interest of the mires - yet may be counter-productive or neutral in benefits.</p
Among the 100 kyr climatic cycles of the Late Pleistocene, Termination V (TV, ∼ 433–404 kyr BP), the fifth last deglaciation, stands out for its minimum in astronomical forcing associated paradoxically with maxima in sea level, Antarctic temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration. However, the driving mechanisms explaining TV remain only partially understood. For instance, climate models cannot fully represent the atmospheric CO2 variation observed in paleoclimate data. Aside from essential oceanic circulation processes, there is increasing evidence that terrestrial biosphere may have played a key role in the global carbon cycle. This study proposes a three-step integrated approach, combining regional and global vegetation records with modelling results, to unveil the evolution of terrestrial biosphere and its contribution to the carbon cycle during TV. First, we provide a new high-resolution (∼ 700 years) deep-sea pollen record from the Gulf of Cádiz (site U1386, 36∘49.680′ N; 7∘45.320′ W) for TV, which shows a moderate expansion of the Mediterranean forest. We then construct the first global forest pollen database for this period. Our compilation features distinct evolutions for different types of forest, highlighting a strong development of temperate and boreal forest which might have delayed the atmospheric CO2 increase during TV. Finally, the direct comparison of global simulated forests (iLOVECLIM model) to our pollen database reveals overall consistent temperate and boreal forest evolutions despite model biases, thereby supporting the hypothesis of a significant CO2 sequestration by middle and high-latitude forests of the Northern Hemisphere shortly after the onset of TV.
The thesis seeks to illuminate the character of later prehistoric woodlands on the Thames floodplain and their use by contemporary communities. This is achieved by the application of a two-pronged research agenda which examines both non-cultural and cultural waterlogged wood assemblages from east London. The non-cultural data is obtained from the mapping, recording and species identification of 1679 tree trunks, stumps and root systems preserved on the Thames foreshore at Erith in Kent. This research facilitates the characterisation of four temporally distinct woodlands dating from the Later Neolithic through to the Early Iron Age period. Application of ecological and forest stand dynamics models provides a detailed reconstruction of the prehistoric landscape including the species composition, density, canopy height and maturity of the floodplain woodlands. As such, the three-dimensional woodland reconstructions provide the tangible character of the wooded landscape within which prehistoric activity is contextualised. Bronze Age trackway assemblages from Beckton Nursery in Newham and the Thames foreshore at Erith are simultaneously examined. Morphological and tree-ring analysis illuminates the nature of prehistoric wood use on the Thames floodplain, including evidence for tree species selection, woodland management and various woodworking techniques. This information is then placed within the reconstructed wooded landscape to facilitate comparison of the two datasets. It is suggested that the targeting of specific timber resources on the floodplain and the introduction of woodland management regimes linked to animal husbandry characterised woodland use. Furthermore, the contextualisation of the trackway features within the reconstructed landscape enables wider suggestions pertaining to contemporary cultural perceptions of the wooded landscape and alternative interpretations of later prehistoric activity on the floodplain.
In general, the productivity of managed boreal forests in northern Europe is likely to increase in response to warming but the risks of abiotic and biotic damages will also increase. In forest production, the proper choice of tree species and their provenance are of primary importance. Towards the end of this century, the growth of Norway spruce is likely to decline on sand-rich moraines in southern boreal sites, making this species susceptible to an increasing number of insect attacks. Opportunities related to warming might only be realized if the increasing cutting potential is utilized. Regular management and harvest of timber and biomass provides opportunities to redirect the growth and development of forests to meet in a proper way the gradual change in climate. The increase in productivity is likely to exceed the losses in damages before 2050, beyond which risks are likely to increase more rapidly than opportunities.
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