Abstract
The last 10,000 years, the Holocene warm period, were characterized by relatively stable temperature conditions in southwestern Bulgaria, which is documented in the altitude range of the alpine timberline and the variability of glaciers and moraines of the high mountains. The climate of the Modern Time Era (including the Little Ice Age period) can be described in higher resolution by means of the geoarchive Pinus heldreichii. The 500-year dendrology-based reconstruction of the temperature and precipitation course gives indications, although compared to other proxy-data it certainly needs further improvement and crosschecking. The present trends of global warming are clearly detectable in the Pirin region. But the climate change in the twentieth century was not as distinct as in other European regions nor considered global.
Keywords
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Alexandrov, V., Genev, M. (2003) Climate variability and change impact on water resources in Bulgaria. European Water, e-bulletin of EWRA: 20–25.
Allen JRM, 14 others (1999) Rapid environmental changes in southern Europe during the last glacial period. Nature 400:740–743
Blümel WD (2002) 20000 Jahre Klimawandel und Kulturgeschichte – von der Eiszeit in die Gegenwart. In: Wechselwirkungen – Jahrbuch aus Lehre und Forschung der Universität Stuttgart
Böhm R (2004) Systematische Rekonstruktion von zweieinhalb Jahrhundert instrumentellem Klima in der größeren Alpenregion – ein Statusbericht. In: Gamerith W, Messerli P, Meusburger P, Wanner H (eds) Alpenwelt – Gebirgswelten. Dt. Geographentag Bern 2003, Heidelberg, Bern, pp. 123–132
Bozilova E, Tonkov S (2000) Pollen from Lake Sedmo Rilsko reveals southeast European postglacial vegetation in the highest mountain area of the Balkans. New Phytol 148:315–325
Brown RD, Petkova N (2007) Snow cover variability in Bulgarian mountainous regions, 1931–2000. International Journal of Climatology:27(9):1215–1229
Bubenzer O, RadtkeU (2007) Natürliche Klimaänderungen im Laufe der Erdgeschichte. In: Endlicher, W., Gerstengarbe, F.-W. (Hrsg.): Der Klimawandel – Einblicke, Rückblicke und Ausblicke. Potsdam, pp 17–26
Casty C, Wanner H, Lutherbacher J, Esper J, Böhm R (2005) Temperature and precipitation variability in the European Alps since 1500. Int J Climatol 25(14):1855–1880
Chueca J, Julián A, López-Moreno JI (2007) Recent evolution (1981–2005) of the Maladeta glaciers, Pyrenees, Spain: extent and volume losses and their relation with climatic and topographic factors. J Glaciol 53(183):547–557
Fagan B (2000) The little ice age. Basic Books, New York
Gerstengarbe FW, Werner PC (2007) Der rezente Klimawandel. In: Endlicher W, Gerstengarbe F-W (Hrsg.): Der Klimawandel – Einblicke, Rückblicke und Ausblicke. Potsdam, pp 34–43
González Trueba JJ, Martín Moreno R, Martínez de Pisón E, Serrano E (2008) Little Ice Age glaciation and current glaciers in the Iberian Peninsula. Holocene 18:551–568
Grove AT (2001) The Little Ice Age and its geomorphological consequences in Mediterranean Europe. Clim Change 48:121–136
Grunewald K, Scheithauer J (2008a) Holocene climate and landscape history of the Pirin Mountains (Southwestern Bulgaria). Managing alpine future. In: Borsdorf A, Stötter J, Veulliet E (eds) Proceedings of the Innsbruck conference, IGF-Forschungsberichte, Band 2, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 15–17 Oct 2007, pp 305–312
Grunewald K, Scheithauer J (2008b) Untersuchungen an der alpinen Waldgrenze im Piringebirge (Bulgarien). Geo-Öko 29:1–32
Grunewald K, Scheithauer J (2008c) Klima- und Landschaftsgeschichte Südosteuropas. Rekonstruktion anhand von Geoarchiven im Piringebirge (Bulgarien). Beiträge zur Landschaftsforschung, Band 6. Rhombos Verlag, Berlin
Grunewald K, Scheithauer J, Monget J-M, Brown D (2009) Characterisation of contemporary local climate change in the mountains of southwestern Bulgaria. Clim Change 95(3–4):535–549. doi:10.1007/s10584-008-9508-8
Grunewald K, Scheithauer J (2010) Europe’s southernmost glaciers: response and adaptation to climate change. J Glaciol 56(195):129–142
Haug GH, Gunther D, Peterson LC, Sigman DM, Hughen KA, Aeschlimann B (2003) Climate and the collapse of the Maya civilization. Science 299:1731–1735
Hu FS, Slawinski D, Wright HE, Ito E, Johnson RG, Kelts KR, McEwan RF, Boedigheimer A (1999) Abrupt changes in North American climate during early Holocene times. Nature 400:437–440
Hughes PD (2007) Recent behaviour of the Debeli Namet glacier, Durmitor, Montenegro. Earth Surf Process Landforms 32:1593–1602
Körner C, Sarris D, Christodoulakis D (2005) Long-term increase in climatic dryness in the East-Mediterranean as evidenced for the island of Samos. Reg Environ Change 5:27–36
Laroque CP, Smith DJ (2003) Radial-growth forecasts for five high elevation conifer species on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. For Ecol Manage 183:313–325
Mayewsky P, Rohling E, Stager J, Karlèn W, Maasch KA, Meeker LD, Meyerson EA, Gasse F, Kreveld SV, Holgren K, Lee-Thorp J, Rosqvist G, Staubwasser M, Rack F, Schneider RR, Steig EJ (2004) Holocene climate variability. Quatern Res 62:243. doi:10.1016/j.yqres.2004.07.001
Petkova N, Koleva E, Alexandrov V (2004) Snow cover variability and change in mountaineous regions of Bulgaria, 1931–2000. Meteorol Z 13(1):19–23
Rahmstorf S, Schellnhuber HJ (2007) Der Klimawandel. Diagnose, Prognose, Therapie. Beck Verlag, München
Schweingruber F (1993) Jahrringe und Umwelt – Dendroökologie. Eidgenössische Forschungsanstalt für Wald. Schnee und Landschaft, Birmensdorf
Stefanova I, Bozilova E (1995) Studies on the Holocene history of vegetation in the northern Pirin Mts. (southwestern Bulgaria). Advances in Holocene Paleoecology in Bulgaria. Pensoft, Sofia, Moscow, pp 9–31
Stefanova I, Ognjanova-Rumenova N, Hofmann W, Ammann B (2003) Late Glacial and Holocene environmental history of the Pirin Mountains (SW Bulgaria): paleolimnological study of Lake Dalgato. J Paleolimnol 30:95–111
Todaro L, Andreu L, D’Alessandro CM, Gutirrez E, Cherubinic P, Saracino A (2007) Response of Pinus leucodermis to climate and anthropogenic activity in the National Park of Pollino (Basilicata, Southern Italy). Biol Conserv 137:507–519
Veit H (2002) Die Alpen – Geoökologie und Landschaftsentwicklung. UTB/Ulmer, Stuttgart
Wanner H (2007) Der Klimawandel in historischer Zeit. In: Endlicher W, Gerstengarbe FW (Hrsg.) Der Klimawandel – Einblicke, Rückblicke und Ausblicke. Potsdam, pp 27–33
Wanner H, Beer J, Bütikofer J et al (2008) Mid- to Late Holocene climate change: an overview. Quatern Sci Rev 27(19–20):1791–1828
Wilson R, Frank D, Topham J, Nicolussi K, Esper J (2005) Spatial reconstruction of summer temperatures in Central Europe for the last 500 years using annually resolved proxy records: problems and opportunities. Boreas 34:490–497
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Grunewald, K., Scheithauer, J. (2011). Specifics of the Regional Climate and Landscape History. In: Landscape Development and Climate Change in Southwest Bulgaria (Pirin Mountains). Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9959-4_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9959-4_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-9958-7
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-9959-4
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)