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Holocene forest development in the central Scandes Mountains, Sweden

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Abstract

Pollen analyses of sediment cores from two small lakes within the boreal forest in the central Scandes Mountains help to elucidate the Holocene forest dynamics of the region. Analyses of pore/pollen grain diameter ratios of Alnus grains indicate the early Holocene presence of Alnus glutinosa in the study area. The results are discussed in conjunction with available pollen records to evaluate the importance of thermophilous trees during the early Holocene and to deduce the regional spread of Picea abies. Corylus avellana, Alnus glutinosa and Ulmus glabra were probably common constituents of the early Holocene forest. Tilia cordata may have occurred there as a rare tree. Pollen stratigraphies from the region do not indicate the occurrence of Quercus robur. The regional spread of Picea abies can be separated into two phases: a mid-Holocene establishment or first expansion of small outpost populations and a late-Holocene population expansion. The mid-Holocene shift in vegetation composition may have been caused by changes in the westerly airflow.

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Acknowledgements

I thank S. Fontana for participation in all fieldwork and K. Bennett for comments on the manuscript and help with the English language. I also appreciated the comments and suggestions of H.H. Birks and B. Odgaard. Field trips and radiocarbon analyses were financed by grants from the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography

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  1. Palaeobiology, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, S-75236, Uppsala, Sweden

    Thomas Giesecke

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Giesecke, T. Holocene forest development in the central Scandes Mountains, Sweden. Veget Hist Archaeobot 14, 133–147 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-005-0070-2

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