Quantitative reconstructions of changes in regional openness in north-central Europe reveal new insights into old questions
Resource
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 47, 131-149
Journal
Quaternary Science Reviews
Pages
131-149
Date Issued
2012
Date
2012
Author(s)
Nielsen, Anne Birgitte
Giesecke, Thomas
Theuerkauf, Martin
Feeser, Ingo
Behre, Karl-Ernst
Beug, Hans-Juergen
Chen, Su-Hwa
Christiansen, Joerg
Doerfler, Walter
Endtmann, Elisabeth
Jahns, Susanne
de Klerk, Pim
Kuehl, Norbert
Latalowa, Malgorzata
Odgaard, Bent Vad
Rasmussen, Peter
Stockholm, Jette Raal
Voigt, Ricarda
Wiethold, Julian
Wolters, Steffen
Abstract
By applying the recently developed model REVEALS (Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites) (Sugita, 2007) to pollen data from a large number of sites across Northern Germany and Denmark, we construct maps of regional patterns in landscape openness and in cover abundance of key plant taxa in the cultural landscape of north-central Europe for selected time slices in the Holocene. The results indicate that the pattern of landscape openness across the regions of northern Germany and Denmark prior to the introduction of agriculture was affected by soil conditions and degree of continentality. The 8.2 ka climate event did not lead to a general decrease in tree cover, although some changes in species composition were observed. The early phases of agriculture also had little effect on landscape openness at the regional scale, but later human impact lead to large scale deforestation and development of arable areas, grasslands and of heathlands in the north-western part of the region. The timing and degree of deforestation, and the weight between arable and grazing areas varied in space, partly due to differences in natural conditions, partly due to differences in cultural impact. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.
Subjects
Denmark; Holocene; Landscape openness; Northern Germany; Pollen analysis; REVEALS
Other Subjects
Agricultural robots; Deforestation; Denmark; Holocenes; Landscape openness; Northern Germany; Pollen analysis; REVEALS; Plants (botany); abundance; agricultural practice; anthropogenic effect; arable land; community dynamics; cultural landscape; deforestation; grassland; grazing; heathland; Holocene; landscape structure; palynology; quantitative analysis; reconstruction; soil profile; vegetation cover; Agriculture; Air Pollution; Deforestation; Denmark; Europe; Germany; Land Use; Denmark; Germany
Type
journal article
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