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Vegetational changes in the montane grassland zone of the High Bieszczady mountains (southeast Poland) during the last millennium—pollen records from deposits in hanging peat-bogs

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Abstract

The pollen analytical investigations of hanging peat bogs in the summit zone of the Polish east Carpathians show that the absence of the upper montane spruce zone in the western Bieszczady mountains is a phenomenon that has been historically stable at least for the last millennium and probably also in earlier times. At altitudes corresponding to the spruce zone in other parts of the Carpathians, dwarf beech woods form here a low-lying upper tree limit. The montane grassland zone occurring above this tree line did not result from human activities, although it has been extended by human activity. Besides, it is shown how far it is possible to reconstruct from a pollen diagram the differentiation of vegetation surrounding the site of profile collection located in the upper montane zone when the present-day local plant communities are well known, in spite of pollen from long distance transport always being present at the summits of mountain ranges.

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Acknowledgements

It is the pleasure of M. R.-J. to dedicate this paper to Brigitta Ammann, a very close friend and splendid professional colleague, on the occasion of her brilliant scientific career approaching its end, wishing her further continuation of her scientific activities.

We are very grateful to our colleagues D. Nalepka and W. Granoszewski for helping us with the collection of the peat profiles and for all the accompanying fieldwork done. We would like to thank also A. Obidowicz for performing the bryological analyses. Our sincere thanks go also to W.O. van der Knaap for his care in improving our English. This project was financially supported by the State Committee for Scientific Research (KBN), grant No. 4136/PO4/2000/18.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, PL 31-512, Kraków, Poland

    Magdalena Ralska-Jasiewiczowa & Ewa Madeyska

  2. Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian University, Kopernika 31, PL 31-501, Kraków, Poland

    Marta Mierzeńska

Authors
  1. Magdalena Ralska-Jasiewiczowa
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  2. Ewa Madeyska
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  3. Marta Mierzeńska
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Correspondence to Magdalena Ralska-Jasiewiczowa.

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Communicated by Pim van der Knaap

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Ralska-Jasiewiczowa, M., Madeyska, E. & Mierzeńska, M. Vegetational changes in the montane grassland zone of the High Bieszczady mountains (southeast Poland) during the last millennium—pollen records from deposits in hanging peat-bogs. Veget Hist Archaeobot 15, 391–401 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-006-0057-7

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