Aspects from the evolution of past vegetation in Southern Transylvania (Sibiu region)

The article reviews the results obtained through the palynological study of sequences obtained from the Sibiu region and adjacent areas. The oldest Upper Pleistocene sequences we refer to seem to reflect snapshots from the Last Glacial Maximum. The history of the Late Glacial and Holocene vegetation here is broadly part of the succession known for the territory of Romania, in the Carpathians and the surrounding areas of medium and low altitudes. The dynamics of the main forest and grasses taxa were highlighted, influenced both by natural factors and, more recently, by human activity. The reference area is characterized by the domination of the forests during the interstadials and by open landscape of forested steppe during the cold, stadial periods.

Late Glacial and Holocene buried black soils in Emilia (northern Italy): genetic and paleoenvironmental insights

Purpose The existence of black horizons (BHs) is often highlighted in European soils, and in the Po River plain of northern Italy. Nevertheless, BH chronological frameworks and genetic models are still debated. The present study investigated the genesis of BHs in the eastern Po Plain where they are buried at various depths. Materials and methods Soil sequences were investigated with a multidisciplinary approach integrating geomorphologic, stratigraphic, pedologic, geochemical, isotopic, palynological, and radiometric analyses. Results and discussion The formation of the studied BHs was scattered over time from the Last Glacial Maximum to at least the middle Holocene. The new data indicate that BHs developed when the landscape was dominated by coniferous forest during conditions that were totally different from the current pedoclimatic setting. The recurrent presence of black particles indicates that this vegetation cover was systematically affected by fire episodes that induced soil degradation and mineralization processes of the original organic compounds, thus contributing to darkening of the upper soil horizons. Conclusions BH formation clearly coincided with cold time lapses. Evidence for repeated fire events (natural or human-induced?) provides insights for the controversial debate on early anthropogenic impacts on the environment.

Late Glacial and Holocene shore-level changes in the Aarhus Bugt area, Denmark

We propose a new relative shore-level curve for the Aarhus Bugt area, an embayment in eastern Jylland, Denmark, based on a compilation of published and new radiocarbon ages of organic material. Lakes existed in the area during the Late Glacial and Early Holocene. Lake level rose gradually until the region was inundated by the sea at c. 9000 cal. years BP. The relative sea level reached a high stand at about 6000 cal. years BP, when the local relative sea level was c. 3 m above present-day mean sea level. The Aarhus Bugt area was inundated by the sea later than the Limfjord area in northern Jylland, but earlier than the Lillebælt region in southern Denmark. The shore-level curves for these areas differ partly because the glacio-isostatic uplift was more pronounced in the Limfjord area than farther south and partly because the northern regions were inundated by the sea earlier than the southern areas.

Late Glacial and postglacial seismicity in the Northeastern Fennoscandian Shield: tectonic position and age of paleo-earthquakes near Murmansk

Earthquake-induced deformations located near Murmansk City were investigated for information on the age, tectonic position and spatial occurrence of paleo-earthquakes. The main earthquake-generating zone is identified to be the system of strike slip faults and reverse-oblique faults trending NNW along the Kola River valley. We used radiocarbon analysis and paleogeographic reconstructions and revealed three episodes of increased seismic activity: from 9500 to 10500 cal BP, from 892 to 1182 cal BP, and from 200 to 300 cal BP. Based on the peak ground velocity estimation method we suggest that an earthquakes with a maximum moment magnitude up to Mw ≈ 6.0–6.5 may have taken place in the studied area. The recorded location of seismogenic deformation near faults indicates area of strong Late Glacial and Holocene earthquakes occurring in the northern Kola Peninsula; this is also consistent with observations concerning the historical events of 1772 and 1873, which took place near the area.Combined with previous data on palaeoseismicity in Kola region, our studies indicate a longer lasting and more complex spatial and temporal history of postglacial seismicity in the Northeastern Fennoscandian Shield area. In contrast to the generally accepted opinion, strong seismic events occurred not only during the deglaciation period or immediately after it, but continued until the late Holocene and the last centuries. Glacial isostasy as a factor giving rise to stresses has become minimal by the present time, while the tectonic factor continues to be felt.

Mollusc successions reveal northward postglacial shifts of Alpine species ranges (Bohemian Massif, Czech Republic)

The Alps are an important hotspot of species diversity and endemism, as well as a presumed glacial refugium of several species’ groups including land snails. The recent ranges of Alpine endemics are well known, but their fluctuations during the postglacial period mirroring local climate changes are understudied. By analysing five Late Glacial and Holocene mollusc successions from two areas in the southernmost part of the Bohemian Massif (Czech Republic) situated about 100 km north of the Alps, we reveal details of these fluctuations. The Alpine endemic rocky dweller Chilostoma achates had reached the southern part of the Bohemian Massif already in the Late Glacial and disappeared in the Mid-Holocene canopy forest optimum. On the contrary, the northern boundaries of Alpine canopy forest epigeic snails extended further north than today at the turn of the Middle and Late-Holocene, pointing to a more favourable forest microclimate. The earliest known occurrences of several temperate canopy forest central European species, especially Causa holosericea and Discus perspectivus, imply the role of different areas in the Alps as their glacial refugia.