| 1. |
- Birks, H. John B., et al.
(författare)
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One hundred years of Quaternary pollen analysis 1916–2016
- 2018
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Ingår i: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0939-6314 .- 1617-6278. ; 27:2, s. 271-309
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We review the history of Quaternary pollen analysis from 1916 to the present-day, with particular emphasis on methodological and conceptual developments and on the early pioneers of the subject. The history is divided into three phases—the pioneer phase 1916–1950, the building phase 1951–1973, and the mature phase 1974–present-day. We also explore relevant studies prior to Lennart von Post’s seminal lecture in 1916 in Kristiania (Oslo) in an attempt to trace how the idea of Quaternary pollen analysis with quantitative pollen counting and stratigraphical pollen diagrams developed.
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| 2. |
- Fredh, Erik Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Farm establishment, abandonment and agricultural practices during the last 1,300 years : a case study from southern Sweden based on pollen records and the LOVE model
- 2019
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Ingår i: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0939-6314 .- 1617-6278. ; 28:5, s. 529-544
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the study was to identify changes in agricultural practices and periods of agricultural expansion and regression during the last 1,300 years in the South-Swedish Uplands. Sediments from the small lake of Skärpingsgölen (1.2 ha) were used to quantify land-cover at a local scale (c. 1 km radius) in 50-year intervals based on pollen analysis and the LOVE model (Local Vegetation Estimates). The results showed a dramatic change in land-cover, starting c. ad 1150, from a grazed, deciduous woodland, dominated by Corylus, Betula and Quercus, to a semi-open landscape dominated by Picea and open agricultural land. A hamlet, situated next to the lake, was probably established during the 12th century, abandoned during the late medieval crisis (late 14th century) and re-colonized during the 16th century. High values of Cannabis-type pollen (up to 10% of the pollen sum) suggest that hemp retting was carried out in the lake from the 13th to the 17th centuries, while elevated levels of microscopic charcoal indicate that slash-and-burn cultivation was practiced during the early 14th and the 16th–18th centuries. The LRA-based estimates of vegetation show that the modern landscape, dominated by managed coniferous woodlands, is very different from the landscape only 50–100 years ago. This type of study is useful for comparisons with historical and archaeological records, and provides sufficient temporal and spatial resolution to identify short-lived abandonments and shifts in agricultural practices.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Hultberg, Tove, et al.
(författare)
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Reconstruction of past landscape openness using the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm (LRA) applied on three local pollen sites in a southern Swedish biodiversity hotspot
- 2015
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Ingår i: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0939-6314 .- 1617-6278. ; 24:2, s. 253-266
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Hornso-Allgunnen area in south-eastern Sweden has been known as a biodiversity hotspot for insects for about a century and is considered to host the most species-rich insect fauna in northern Europe. Several hypotheses for the causes behind this biodiversity have been put forward, but never tested for more than small parts of the area. We analyse here the possible role of the area's vegetation-cover history, in particular vegetation openness. We use pollen data from three sites in the Hornso-Allgunnen area and apply the recently developed Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm (LRA) for quantitative reconstruction of past vegetation abundance at the local spatial scale. The study suggests that the area was dominated by diverse, relatively open forest during at least the last 3,000 years. Several tree taxa, such as Pinus, Betula and Quercus that were all suggested to be important for the present diversity, have a long continuity at the local spatial scale and were common until recently. Small proportions of anthropogenic pollen indicators were found, suggesting small-scale agriculture, which however did not considerably affect the area's overall tree species composition. We propose that fire was the main cause for the open character of the area's wooded landscape during the Holocene and, indirectly, an important agent behind the high insect diversity. However, the richness of insects was (and is) most likely also favoured by the long continuity of Quercus, and by the warm and dry local climate. The LRA provides a more realistic estimate of the taxa composition as compared to pollen percentages alone, both for arboreal and non-arboreal taxa. The differences between pollen percentages and LRA-estimates of plant abundance can be important to consider when causes behind high modern diversity are interpreted from fossil pollen records. Our results demonstrate the benefits of using the LRA along with traditional pollen percentages.
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| 5. |
- Josefsson, Torbjörn, et al.
(författare)
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Cereal cultivation from the Iron Age to historical times: evidence from inland and coastal settlements in northernmost Fennoscandia
- 2017
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Ingår i: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0939-6314 .- 1617-6278. ; 26, s. 259-276
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- For several decades researchers have debated when cereal cultivation was introduced to northernmost Europe. Most previous studies have concentrated on sites along the coast or close to major rivers; these are areas well-suited to agriculture and represent routes for people and knowledge transfer, but omit other vast areas suitable for cultivation and sedentary settlement. Here, we present strong evidence of permanent cultivation from ad 480 onwards at a settlement located at the 64th parallel North in northern Sweden, currently situated 30 km inland from the Gulf of Bothnia. This predates the beginning of permanent cultivation at sites along the present coastline mentioned here and in results from previous studies of places at approximately the same latitude. Our results are based on continuous finds of cereal pollen grains at certain sites, selected on the basis of archaeological records, old maps, plus past and present elevations above sea level. We highlight the importance of taking factors into account such as access to waterways, communication routes and coast displacement following land uplift when choosing study sites in order to pinpoint early cultivation and sedentary settlements. We suggest that these results have implications for attempts to resolve the question of the history of early agriculture in other parts of northern Fennoscandia.
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| 6. |
- Karlsson, Jon, et al.
(författare)
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Tracing a bog-iron bloomery furnace in an adjacent lake-sediment record in Ängersjö, central Sweden, using pollen and geochemical signals
- 2016
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Ingår i: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0939-6314 .- 1617-6278. ; 25:6, s. 569-581
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent studies of bloomery sites in Sweden indicate the amount of iron produced with this early low-technology smelter was greater than previously thought, which implies greater economic importance. Little is known about the history of bloomery technology, not least the timeframe over which individual bloomeries were operated, as well as their impact on the landscape because of resource consumption and pollution. In this study we performed pollen and geochemical analyses of the lake-sediment record from Rortjarnen, which is 120 m from the remains of a documented bloomery [one radiocarbon date: ad 1300-1435 (1 sigma)], in A"ngersjo, Halsingland. A surface-soil transect shows a limited geochemical signal only within 20 m of the bloomery, and the sediment pollen record provides little direct evidence of an active bloomery and is consistent with other studied sites in the area linked to forest grazing or cultivation. Instead, we find major changes in sediment geochemistry during ad 800-1200, centered on a unique peak in Pb at ad 1030-1060. These changes include, e.g., Si (biogenic) and P, together with changes in pollen (e.g., Betula, Picea, Cyperaceae), which together indicate disturbance in the forest and especially the adjoining fen. We attribute these changes to a period of bloomery-related activities predating the radiocarbon date of the charcoal from the bloomery, and suggest that date represents a late phase for the site.
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| 7. |
- Larsson, Mikael
(författare)
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Barley grain at Uppåkra, Sweden : evidence for selection in the Iron Age
- 2018
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Ingår i: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0939-6314 .- 1617-6278. ; 27:3, s. 419-435
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A metric analysis on hulled barley grain from the Iron Age regional centre of Uppåkra and surrounding sites in southern Sweden has identified a variation in the size of the grain found on these archaeological sites. Large, high-quality grain was found more frequently at Uppåkra when compared to sites in the surrounding area, where smaller grain was more frequent. The observed large grain found at Uppåkra was, however, restricted to only a few house contexts, including hall-buildings, while other contexts on the site, such as areas dedicated to craft production, had barley assemblages containing smaller grain, similar to the size range found on the surrounding sites. The intra-site variation between different contexts at Uppåkra points to a degree of sorting for larger grain and that this variation between grain assemblages was the result of selection after the crop processing was completed. The distribution of grain size at Uppåkra shows a pattern that indicates that the high-quality barley grain was indented for specific individuals or households. The different contexts at Uppåkra have together produced a record spanning the first millennium ad, representing almost the whole existence of the site. The evidence for selection of larger grain can be seen in the hall-buildings throughout most of the first millennium ad, although less prominently during the Late Roman Iron Age (ad 200–400), while during the Migration Period (ad 400–550) several houses on the main site Uppåkra had assemblages of large grain size. The distribution of grain size at the regional centre Uppåkra shows a pattern that indicates that the handling of large high-quality barley grain was part of a spatial organization, and such organization is similar to other functions observed on the site. The long-term record of grain size patterns across time shows that a structure for handling grain was already in place during the early phase of the settlement and that it remained for centuries. This study indicates that the affluence otherwise seen at the regional centre Uppåkra from an abundance of high-status objects, could also include agricultural wealth, with extensive access to high-quality grain.
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| 8. |
- Li, Furong, et al.
(författare)
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Relative pollen productivity estimates for major plant taxa of cultural landscapes in central eastern China
- 2017
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Ingår i: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. - : Springer. - 0939-6314 .- 1617-6278. ; 26:6, s. 587-605
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study we estimate relative pollen productivity (RPP) for plant taxa characteristic of human-induced vegetation in ancient cultural landscapes of the low mountain ranges of Shandong province in eastern temperate China. RPP estimates are required to achieve pollen-based reconstructions of Holocene plant cover using modelling approaches based on Prentice's and Sugita's theoretical background and models (REVEALS and LOVE). Pollen counts in moss samples and vegetation data from 36 sites were used in the Extended R-Value (ERV) model to estimate the relevant source area of pollen (RSAP) of moss polsters and RPP of major plant taxa. The best results were obtained with the ERV sub-model 3 and Prentice's taxon-specific method (using a Gaussian Plume dispersal model) to distance weight vegetation data. RSAP was estimated to 145 m using the maximum likelihood method. RPP was obtained for 18 taxa of which two taxa had unreliable RPP (Amaranthaceae/Chenopodiaceae and Vitex negundo). RPPs for Castanea, Cupressaceae, Robinia/Sophora, Aster/Anthemis-type, Cannabis/Humulus, Caryophyllaceae, Brassicaceae and Galium-type are the first ones for China. Trees, except Robinia/Sophora (RPP = 0.78 +/- 0.03) have larger RPPs than herbs other than Artemisia (RPP = 24.7 +/- 0.36). The RPPs for Quercus, Pinus and Artemisia are comparable with other RPPs obtained in China, the RPPs for Pinus, Quercus, Ulmus, Cyperaceae and Galium-type with the mean RPPs obtained in Europe, and RPP for Cupressaceae with that for Juniperus in Europe. The values for Aster/Anthemis-type, Caryophyllaceae, Asteraceae SF Cichorioideae and Juglans differ from the few RPPs available in China and/or Europe.
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| 9. |
- Mazier, Florence, et al.
(författare)
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Two hundred years of land-use change in the South Swedish Uplands: comparison of historical map-based estimates with a pollen-based reconstruction using the landscape reconstruction algorithm
- 2015
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Ingår i: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0939-6314 .- 1617-6278. ; 24:5, s. 555-570
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Long-term records of environmental history at decadal to millennial time-scales enable an assessment of ecosystem variability and responses to past anthropogenic disturbances and are fundamental for the development of environmental management strategies. This study examines the local variability of land-use history in the South Swedish Uplands over the last 200 years based on pollen records from three lake-sediment successions. Temporal changes in the proportional cover of 14 plant taxa were quantified as percentages using the landscape reconstruction algorithm (LRA). The LRA-based estimates of the extent of four land-use categories (cropland, meadows/grassland, wetland, outland/woodland) were compared to corresponding estimates based on historical maps and aerial photographs from ad 1769-1823, 1837-1895, 1946 and 2005. Although the LRA approach tends to overestimate grassland cover by 10-30 % for the two earliest time periods, the reconstructed vegetation composition is generally in good agreement with estimates based on the historical records. Subsequently, the LRA approach was used to reconstruct the 200-year history of local land-use dynamics at 20-year intervals around two small lakes. The qualitative assessment of difference approach, which requires fewer assumptions and parameters than LRA for objective evaluation of between-site differences in plant abundances, provides consistent results in general. Significant differences exist in the land-use history between the sites. Local catchment characteristics, such as soil conditions and wetland cover, appear important for the development of human impact on the landscape. Quantifications of past vegetation dynamics provide information on the amplitude, frequency and duration of the land-use changes and their effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and should be taken into account when nature conservation strategies are developed.
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| 10. |
- Nordlund, Christer, 1970-
(författare)
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Four points on Lennart von Post and the invention of "Pollen Statistics"
- 2018
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Ingår i: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. - : Springer. - 0939-6314 .- 1617-6278. ; 27, s. 311-317
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This essay is a contribution to the historiography of Lennart von Post and the early development of quantitative pollen analysis. Based on von Post’s own publications and source material from the archives of Stockholm University College, where he was appointed professor in 1929, the essay offers four points on von Post’s scientific identity and the collective work through which quantitative pollen analysis, or “pollen statistics”, came into being. The four points are, first, that von Post made his career as a geologist; second, that he framed pollen analysis as a means to tackle Quaternary geological issues; third, that his work benefitted from collective work, both in the field and in the laboratory; and fourth, that quantitative pollen analysis was not accepted without criticism, taking some years to break through beyond the Geological Survey, where von Post worked before he became professor.
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