scholarly journals Vegetation and land snail-based reconstruction of the paleoecological changes in the forest steppe eco-region of the Carpathian Basin during last glacial warming

2021 ◽  
pp. e01976
Author(s):  
Pál Sümegi ◽  
Dávid Molnár ◽  
Katalin Náfrádi ◽  
László Makó ◽  
Péter Cseh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Snail ◽  
Carpathian Basin ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Last Glacial

scholarly journals Do Sandy Grasslands along the Danube in the Carpathian Basin Preserve the Memory of Forest-Steppes?

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Károly Penksza ◽  
Dénes Saláta ◽  
Gergely Pápay ◽  
Norbert Péter ◽  
Zoltán Bajor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Carbon Content ◽  
Carpathian Basin ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Carbonate Content ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Organic Carbon Content ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Sandy Grasslands ◽  
Dominant Grass

Research highlights: In the present survey we examined the sandy grasslands appearing in the steppe-forest-steppe vegetation in the central part of the Carpathian Basin along the Danube. Background and objectives: We aimed to answer the following questions: Is it possible to build a picture of the past form of the vegetation through the examination of these vegetation units based on dominant grass taxa? Is Festuca wagneri an element of open grasslands or steppes? According to our hypothesis, these surveys can help reveal the original or secondary woody, shrubby patches through clarifying dominant taxa. Materials and Methods: We studied the grasslands in terms of coenology, putting great emphasis on the dominant Festuca taxa. Based on our preliminary surveys and literature, three vegetation types can be separated based on one single dominant Festuca taxon in each. The survey was conducted in four different locations in the Carpathian Basin. The cover of dominant grass species was used as an indicator value. The pedological background was also examined. Results: F. vaginata grassland is an open vegetation type based on its coenosystematic composition and ecological values. It grows in very weakly developed calcareous soil with sandy texture, with its lowest and highest organic carbon content ranging from 0.2% to 11.3% (0.2%), and the highest carbonate content (11.3%). Where the grasslands were disturbed, F. pseudovaginata and the recently discovered F. tomanii appeared. These taxa were also found in forest patches. The soil under F. pseudovaginata was more developed, in the surface horizon with higher organic carbon content (1.1%) and lower carbonate content (6.9%). The soil profile under F. wagneri developed the most, as the presence of deep and humus rich soil material from deflation and degradation showed. Conclusions: the dominant Festuca taxa of these vegetation types are good indicators of the changes in the vegetation and their ecological background.

Dust deposition and climate in the Carpathian Basin over an independently dated last glacial–interglacial cycle

2011 ◽  
Vol 30 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 662-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Stevens ◽  
Slobodan B. Marković ◽  
Michael Zech ◽  
Ulrich Hambach ◽  
Pal Sümegi
Keyword(s):  
Carpathian Basin ◽  
Dust Deposition ◽  
Last Glacial

Direct evidence of central European forest refugia during the last glacial period based on mollusc fossils

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 222-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Juřičková ◽  
Jitka Horáčková ◽  
Vojen Ložek
Keyword(s):  
Late Glacial ◽  
Glacial Refugia ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Snail Species ◽  
Glacial Period ◽  
Last Glacial Period ◽  
Central European ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
European Forest ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractAlthough there is evidence from molecular studies for the existence of central European last glacial refugia for temperate species, there is still a great lack of direct fossil records to confirm this theory. Here we bring such evidence in the form of fossil shells from twenty strictly forest land snail species, which were recorded in radiocarbon-dated late glacial or older mollusc assemblages of nine non-interrupted mollusc successions situated in the Western Carpathians, and one in the Bohemian Massif. We proposed that molluscs survived the last glacial period in central Europe in isolated small patches of broadleaf forest, which we unequivocally demonstrate for two sites of last glacial maximum age.

scholarly journals Assessment of the state of population gene pools of the slightly mobile animal species on the example of the land snail Bradybaena fruticum Müll. (Gastropoda, Pulmonata) based on the DNA markers

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard A. Snegin ◽  
Elena A. Snegina
Keyword(s):  
Population Size ◽  
Effective Population Size ◽  
Dna Markers ◽  
Allelic Diversity ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Shannon Index ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Gene Pools ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Industrial Enterprises

Using the polymorphic DNA markers (RAPD and ISSR), the genetic structure was examined and the viability of 26 populations of the terrestrial gastropod Bradybaena (Fruticicola) fruticum Müll., most of which lives in the south of the Central Russian Upland, was estimated. Samples from Romania, the Urals and Vyatka regions for comparison were taken. In total, 1153 individuals were examined. The level of expected heterozygosity averaged He = 0.208 ± 0.028, the Shannon index Ish = 0.320 ± 0.039. The lowered level of variability, both actual and theoretically expected (estimated by the methods of Chao1-bc and 1st order jackknife) in groups of anthropogenically disturbed biotopes inhabiting the zones of industrial enterprises is noted. The indices of the genetic disunity of the populations were Fst = 0.298, Gst = 0.254, and the level of the gene flow Nm = 0.708. The cluster analysis and the Mantel correlation coefficient Rm = –0.024 showed the absence of a reliable relationship between the geographic and genetic distance between populations, which indicates the violation of the isolation model by distance and confirms the thesis advanced earlier that the urbanized forest-steppe landscape disrupts the natural migration processes, leads to the strong isolation and of the genetic drift in populations of snails. At the same time, the observed phenomenon of increasing the degree of subdivision of populations against the background of a decrease in the allelic diversity noted by us in many groups of bush snail can be regarded as the shift of genetic equilibrium toward increasing interpopopulation diversity (according to Wright's model). The calculation of the effective population size with the help of the Slatkin model turned out to be the lowest of the background mollusks in the study area (Ne = 0.39-0.83). However, the level of the effective population size calculated with the subdivision index (Fst and Gst) was equal to 6.2 and 7.3, respectively, which is comparable with other species of mollusks.

scholarly journals Reconstruction of Microenvironmental Changes in the Kopasz Hill Loess Area at Tokaj (Hungary) Between 15 and 70 ka BP

Radiocarbon ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 855-863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pál Sümegi ◽  
Ede Hertelendi
Keyword(s):  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Glacial Period ◽  
Last Glacial Period ◽  
Loess Area ◽  
Steppe Vegetation ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Hill Area ◽  
The Last Glacial

We collected 11 Kopasz Hill loess profiles for paleoecological and geochronological analysis. The loess accumulation and development formed during the last (Weichselian) glacial period between 70 and 15 ka bp. We found that the majority of the loess profiles were composed of three typical loess strata and two well-developed paleosol horizons. Based on vertebrate remains, the lowest loess layer formed between 70–50 ka bp, during the first cool and dry climatic phase of the last glacial period, when forest steppe vegetation dominated in the Kopasz Hill area. On the surface of the lowermost layer, a paleosol developed between 50 and 40 ka bp as an indication of a more humid and warmer climatic phase. This paleosol layer was buried by a new loess layer that developed between 40 and 32 ka bp. The upper paleosol horizon developed between 32 and 26 ka bp. Molluscs preferring a mild climate were found in this layer, suggesting that this phase was wet and relatively temperate. A number of fired macrocharcoal remains can be found on the top of this paleosol layer. Charcoal samples from nine sites were dated by radiocarbon analyses. These results reflect the presence of a charcoal-rich horizon that developed 28–26 ka bp. Ca. 26 ka bp, loess formation resumed. We analyzed 14 samples from 6 sites by the 14C method. Based on 14C data, the uppermost part of loess profiles developed between 26 and 15 ka bp.

scholarly journals Future Climate Impacts in Woodland and Forest Steppe Based on Holocene Paleoclimatic Trends, Paleobotanical Change in Central Part of the Carpathian Basin (Hungary)

2013 ◽  
Vol 04 (06) ◽  
pp. 1187-1203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Náfrádi ◽  
Gusztáv Jakab ◽  
Pál Sümegi ◽  
Zoltán Szelepcsényi ◽  
Tünde Törőcsik
Keyword(s):  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Carpathian Basin ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Forest Steppe

scholarly journals Mitochondrial DNA diversity of the alpine newt (Ichthyosaura alpestris) in the Carpathian Basin: evidence for multiple cryptic lineages associated with Pleistocene refugia

2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-197
Author(s):  
Judit Vörös ◽  
Zoltán Varga ◽  
Iñigo Martínez-Solano ◽  
Krisztián Szabó
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Molecular Taxonomy ◽  
Haplotype Diversity ◽  
Carpathian Basin ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
High Haplotype Diversity ◽  
Central Eastern Europe ◽  
Intraspecific Taxonomy ◽  
Alpine Newt ◽  
Ichthyosaura Alpestris

The phylogeography and molecular taxonomy of the Alpine newt, Ichthyosaura alpestris, has been intensively studied in the past. However, previous studies did not include a comprehensive sampling from the Carpathian Basin, possibly a key region in the evolution of the species. We used a 1251 bp long fragment of the mitochondrial genome to infer the species’ evolutionary history in central-eastern Europe by assigning isolated Carpathian Basin populations from 6 regions to previously defined mtDNA lineages. We also revised the morphology-based intraspecific taxonomy of the species in the light of new genetic data. Alpine newt populations from the Carpathian Basin represented two different mitochondrial lineages. The Mátra, Bükk and Zemplén Mts populations can be assigned to the Western lineage of the nominotypical subspecies. Bakony and Őrség populations showed high haplotype diversity and formed a separate clade within the Western lineage, suggesting that the Carpathian Basin might have provided cryptic refugia for Alpine newt populations in their cold-continental forest-steppe landscapes during the younger Pleistocene. Newts from Apuseni Mts were related to the Eastern lineage but formed a distinct clade within this lineage. Considering the morphological and genetic differentiation of the Bakony and Őrség populations, consistent with a long independent evolutionary history, we propose these populations be referred to as Ichthyosaura alpestris bakonyiensis (Dely, 1964). We provide a redescription of this poorly known subspecies.

Malacological and palynological evidence of the Lower Pleistocene cold phase at the Carpathian Foothills (Southern Poland)

2012 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 492-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Stworzewicz ◽  
Wojciech Granoszewski ◽  
Antoni Wójcik
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Analysis ◽  
Land Snail ◽  
Cold Climate ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Depth Interval ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Bottom Part ◽  
The Core ◽  
Lower Pleistocene ◽  
Organic Remains

Early Pleistocene sediments bearing gastropod shells and pollen flora were found during coring at Jawornik (South Poland) at a depth interval of 54.30–39.00 m, beneath the oldest till of the Carpathians. Thirteen land-snail taxa identified in 55 samples of the core formed two molluscan assemblages. In the bottom part, typical cold-loving snails were found (e.g. Vallonia tenuilabris, Pupilla loessica, Vertigo genesii, Columella columella), whereas in the upper part only Semilimax kotulae was present. The succession of molluscan assemblages may suggest that at the site of deposition, after a phase of tundra, steppe-tundra or forest-steppe landscape with patches of wet habitats in cold climate, the climate became slightly milder but still cool, favourable to the spreading of boreal (coniferous) woodlands. Pollen analysis was performed only for the upper part of the profile. The pollen spectra, besides the Tertiary (Miocene) elements, contained sporomorphs common to the Tertiary and Quaternary floras. Among them, the highest percentages were noted for Pinus haploxylon t., P. diploxylon t., Picea, Quercus, Ericaceae, Betula, and Ulmus. The fact that the sediments with organic remains underlie the oldest Scandinavian till suggests that they are older than the oldest glacial unit of the South-Polish Complex (Narevian = Menapian, ~ 1.2 Ma).

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