Abstract
A 7.5 m sediment core from Lake Bolata, a small former coastal liman lake in northeastern Bulgaria, was analyzed for pollen and plant macrofossil content in attempt to trace the changes in the vegetation, human impact and the influence of the Black Sea during the last ca. 6,000 years. Lake Bolata started its existence when the rising Black Sea level reached the elevation of the bottom of the depression. By that time nearly all tree species were already present in this area with the exception of Carpinus orientalis. The comparison of the arrival time of oriental hornbeam at different sites along the Bulgarian Black Sea confirmed the reliability of the local radiocarbon chronology. For the period under study the vegetation of the region around the site can be described as a forest-steppe due to NAP values higher than 40% of the pollen sum. Forests on the slopes of the river canyon consisted of Quercus spp., Acer, Carpinus orientalis, Fraxinus ornus, Fagus and possibly Tilia. Riverine forests formed stands composed of Salix, Alnus, Ulmus, Fraxinus, Carpinus betulus and Vitis as a liana. The vegetation on the Cape Kaliakra plateau, bordering the canyon, was dominated by diverse herbs and most of these could be considered xerophytes. The oldest occupation period belongs to the Eneolithic, documented by the occurrences of Triticum-type pollen at 5570–5170 cal b.p. (3620–3220 b.c.). The next period of higher continuous Cerealia-type values corresponds to 3450–1830 cal b.p. (1500 b.c.–a.d. 120). The macrofossil record chiefly provides evidence about plant communities of aquatics and helophytes.
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Acknowledgements
The study area was visited several times for field work and the authors are thankful to Mr. Parvan Markov for his help during these trips. The late Prof. Stefan Kozuharov, Botanical Institute Sofia, provided useful information on the recent floristic composition. Dr. Anna Ganeva, Botanical Institute Sofia, kindly performed the identification of the moss remains. Dr. Anita Tosheva helped with the drawing of Fig. 1. The Editor-in-Chief and both anonymous reviewers provided useful comments and suggestions to improve the manuscript. Dr. John Daniell corrected the English of the text.
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Tonkov, S., Beug, HJ., Bozilova, E. et al. Palaeoecological studies at the Kaliakra area, northeastern Bulgarian Black Sea coast: 6000 years of natural and anthropogenic change. Veget Hist Archaeobot 20, 29–40 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-010-0244-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-010-0244-4