12 millennia of climatic and human induced vegetation changes in the lower san valley near Jarosław (se poland) in the light of Pollen analysis

Vegetation changes in the Lower San Valley near Jarosław are reconstructed from the Younger Dryas to the present time on the basis of palynological analysis of the peat core. The pollen profile came from a an old riverbed and was supplemented by radiocarbon datings. The Younger Dryas and early Preboreal vegetation was characterised by a high proportion of forest communities with pine (Pinus sylvestris and P. cembra) and birch (Betula), while patches of open area were dominated by the steppe with Artemisia. Climatic amelioration during the Preboreal chronozone led to the rapid spread of elm (Ulmus), which was probably a dominant taxon on the lowest terraces of the valley. Terrestrialization of the water body existing in the palaeomeaner and the subsequent beginning of peat accumulation caused a deterioration in pollen preservation. Hence, the interpretation of the profile section spanning the period between the Boreal and Subatlantic chronozones was seriously disturbed due to selective corrosion and the overrepresentation of Pinus sylvestris type and Filicales monolete sporomorphs. Between ca. 336 and 1152 AD fluctuations in woodland cover were recorded. Important components in those forests, despite the domination of Pinus sylvestris, were Quercus, Carpinus betulus, Fagus sylvatica and Abies alba. The first pollen grains of cereals (Cerealia type) were found before ca. 1605-1414 BC and may be attributed to the agricultural activity of the Neolithic and/or early Bronze tribes. Periods of strong deforestation caused by humans were probably related to the time when the Tarnobrzeska Group of the Lusatian Culture and the Przeworska Culture were active. The first groups of Slavs did not significantly influence the environment, but the subsequent development of those groups led to more visible deforestation, which was triggered after the establishment of Jarosław in the 11th century AD.