The Holocene paleolimnology of Lake Sämbosjön,southwestern Sweden

The Holocence paleolimnology of Lake Sämbosjön is described using geochemical and diatom analyses. The objective of this study is the reconstruction of major changes in trophic state and productivity, and to interpret the major causative processes. The accumulation of organic matter indicates a relatively high productivity in early Holocene, and the diatom analysis indicates a relatively high trophic state and pH. A succeeding decrease in productivity and trophic state and lowering in pH is recorded from about 8000 BP. If lake development had been primarily edaphically conditioned, viz. determined by nutrient supply from catchment soils, such a progressive oligotrophication would represent the common development of temperate lakes. Between about 6000 BP and 4000 BP Lake Sämbosjön was characterized by relatively stable productivity and pH. From about 4000 BP the analyses reveal an increase again in trophic state, productivity, and in pH. This eutrophication, which continued throughout the late Holocene, was caused by an exceptionally strong human influence on the catchment of Lake Sämbosjön. The increased supply of nutrients from cleared and deforested catchment soils changed the trophic state and provided the basis for increased lake productivity.     

A multi-proxy holocene record of environmental change fromthe sediments of Skinny Lake, Iskut region, northern British Columbia,Canada

A stratigraphic record from a lake in the Central Plateau Regionof northern British Columbia reveals changes in environment and inferredclimate during the Holocene. Upon deglaciation (ca. 11500 BP), Skinny Lakebecame an embayment of an ice-dammed lake. High clastic sedimentationrates, an unstable landscape, and cool, possibly wet conditions likelypersisted until the early Holocene (ca. 9000 BP). From ca. 9000–8300 BPdeclining lake levels coupled with warm and dry conditions resulted in theformation of a prominent marl bed. A colonizing shrub and herb assemblagepersisted from 9000 BP until about 8300 BP when it was replaced by a spruce(Picea) and subalpine fir (Abieslasiocarpa) forest under slightly cooler and moister conditions. Themiddle Holocene was warmer-than-present, however, decreasingtemperature and increasing precipitation trends characterize the period fromca. 6000 BP–3000 BP. The transition to modern climate at 3000 BP isevident primarily in the lithostratigraphic record and corresponds with theinitiation of the Tiedemann glacial advance (ca. 3300 BP) in thesouth-coastal mountains of British Columbia. A significant change infossil pollen occurs at ca. 2400 BP and is characterised by an increase in pinepollen accompanied by decreases in alder (Alnus), spruceand fir. This also coincides with an increase in west-sourced exoticwestern hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and cedar type(Cupressaceae) pollen possibly transported by regional changes in air masscirculation patterns associated with Aleutian Low dynamics. This studydemonstrates that both lithostratigraphic and biotic proxies are helpful inreconstructing the timing and nature of climate change and that each may havevarying sensitivities to a particular type of change.     

Natural and human-induced environmental changes in Eastern Europe during the Holocene: a multi-proxy palaeolimnological study of a small Latvian lake in a humid temperate zone

This study uses the Holocene lake sediment of Lake ?ū?i (Latvia, Vidzeme Heights) for environmental reconstruction with multi-proxy records including lithology, computerised axial tomography scan, grain-size analysis, geochemistry, diatoms and macrofossils, supported by AMS radiocarbon dating. Numerical analyses (PCA; CONISS) reveal three main phases in the development of the lake. Response to the Lateglacial–Holocene transition in Lake ?ū?i took place around 11,300 cal. BP. Organogenic sedimentation started with distinctive 5-cm-thick peat layer and was followed by lacustrine sedimentation of carbonaceous gyttja. Several findings of the peat layer with similar dated age and position at different absolute altitudes indicate that lake basin was formed by glaciokarstic processes. In the Early Holocene (until around 8,500 cal. BP), the lake was shallow and holomictic, surrounded by unstable catchment with erosion and inflow events. Predominance of diatom species of Cyclotella and Tabellaria, large numbers of respiratory horns of phantom midge pupae (Chaoboridae), high Fe/Mn ratio, as well as the presence of laminated sediments indicates the transition to a dimictic and oligo-mesotrophic lake conditions with high water level, anoxia in the near-bottom and stable catchment in the Middle Holocene (8,500–2,000 cal. BP). This contrasts with many hydrologically sensitive lakes in Northern and Eastern Europe in which the water level fell several meters during this period. During the Late Holocene (from 2,000 cal. BP to the present), the lithological and biotic variables reveal major changes, such as the increase in erosion (coarser grain-size fraction) and eutrophication [diatoms Aulacoseira ambigua (Grun.) Sim., Stephanodiscus spp., Cyclostephanos dubius (Fricke) Round]. Characteristics of lake-catchment system during the Late Holocene reflect anthropogenic signal superimposed on the natural forcing factors. To date, the Late Quaternary palaeolimnological reconstructions using lake sediment has been limited in the Baltic region. Therefore, findings from Lake ?ū?i provide important information about environmental and climatic changes that took place in this part of Eastern Europe. This study shows that the relative importance of climate and local factors has varied over the time and it is essential to consider the lake basin topography, catchment size and land cover as potential dominant forcing factors for changes in sedimentary signal.     

History of a presently slightly acidic lake in northeastern Alberta,Canada as determined through analysis of the diatom record

The Holocene sedimentary diatom record from Otasan Lake, Alberta, has been analyzed to determine the development of this presently slightly acidic lake. The changes in the lake have been linked to the development of the Sphagnum-dominated catchment. Analysis of the stratigraphic data revealed four distinct zones. The lake record began ca. 8200 yrs BP with a benthic and alkaline diatom assemblage dominated by Ellerbeckia arenaria (Moore) Crawford. At ca. 7300 yrs BP planktonic species began to increase and dominate indicating increased water levels, decreased turbidity, and increased nutrient levels. Throughout the Holocene the peatland in the catchment encroached toward the modern lake margin and by ca. 5000 yrs BP lake acidity had changed sufficiently such that acidic diatom species dominated. Tabellaria flocculosa (Roth) Kütz.v. flocculosa Strain IIIp sensu Koppen dominated the record from ca. 5000 to ca. 3100 yrs BP. The lowest lake water pH was inferred for this zone. From ca. 3100 yrs BP to the present Fragilaria species, primarily F. construens v. venter (Ehr.) Hustedt, dominated the diatom assemblage. Diatom productivity and inferred pH were interpreted as stable. From correspondence analysis of the fossil samples, and from species assemblages, underlying gradients of pH, nutrient level, and water depth were inferred. The change from alkaline to slightly acidic conditions took place between ca. 8200 and ca. 5000 yrs BP. From ca. 3000 yrs BP to the present, lake water pH has remained fairly constant. Nutrient levels and water depth were inferred to have altered together. After ca. 8200 yrs BP, nutrients and water level began to increase until ca. 6000 yrs BP. Then, there was a gradual decline in these variables over the most acidic zone until ca. 3000 yrs BP, after which they, too, have remained fairly constant. Dominant Boreal Upland Vegetation was established by ca. 7200 yrs BP, and it was inferred that dominant climate patterns had been established at that time, but small changes in climate have occurred and the landscape in northeastern Alberta has only been stable for the last 3000 years.     

Holocene vegetation development in the catchment of Sägistalsee ( 1935 m asl), a small lake in the Swiss Alps

Pollen and plant macrofossils were analysed at Sägistalsee (1935 m asl), a small lake near timber-line in the Swiss Northern Alps. Open forests with Pinus cembra and Abies alba covered the catchment during the early Holocene (9000–6300 cal. BP), suggesting subcontinental climate conditions. After the expansion of Picea abies between 6300 and 6000 cal. BP the subalpine forest became denser and the tree-line reached its maximum elevation at around 2260 m asl. Charcoal fragments in the macrofossil record indicate the beginning of Late-Neolithic human impact at ca. 4400 cal. BP, followed by a extensive deforestation and lowering of the forest-limit in the catchment of Sägistalsee at 3700 cal. BP (Bronze Age). Continuous human activity, combined with a more oceanic climate during the later Holocene, led to the local extinction of Pinus cembra and Abies alba and favoured the mass expansion of Picea and Alnus viridis in the subalpine area of the Northern Alps. The periods before 6300 and after 3700 cal. BP are characterised by high erosion activity in the lake's catchment, whereas during the phase of dense Picea-Pinus cembra-Abies forests (6300–3700 cal. BP) soils were stable and sediment-accumulation rates in the lake were low. Due to decreasing land-use at higher altitudes during the Roman occupation and the Migration period, forests spread beween ca. 2000 and 1500 cal. BP, before human impact increased again in the early Middle Ages. Recent reforestation due to land-use changes in the 20th century is recorded in the top sediments. Pollen-inferred July temperature and annual precipitation suggest a trend to cooler and more oceanic climate starting at about 5500 cal. BP.     

Late Glacial and Holocene environmental history of the Pirin Mountains (SW Bulgaria): a paleolimnological study of Lake Dalgoto (2310 m)

Diatoms, Cladocera, and chironomids preserved in the sediments of Lake Dalgoto were studied to reconstruct the history of the lake ecosystem in the context of the vegetation history as represented by the pollen stratigraphy. Younger Dryas silty sediments at the base of the core are characterized by low diversity of aquatic organisms. The transition to the Holocene is indicated by a sharp change from silt to clay-gyttja. The migration and expansion of trees at lower elevations between 10200 and 8500 ¹⁴C-yr BP, along with higher diversities and concentrations of aquatic organisms and the decreased proportion of north-alpine diatoms, point to rapidly rising summer temperatures. After 6500 ¹⁴C-yr BP the expansion of Pinus mugo in the catchment coincides with signs of natural eutrophication as recorded by an increase of planktonic diatoms. In the late Holocene (4000–0 ¹⁴C-yr BP) Pinus peuce and Abies are reduced and Picea expands. Cereal grains and disturbance indicators suggest late-Holocene human modification of the vegetation.     

Sediment-chemistry response to land-use change and pollutant loading in a hypertrophic lake, southern Sweden

Responses to recent land-use changes and pollutant loading in the sediment of a hypertrophic lake in southern Sweden were studied by comparison of geochemical, pollen and magnetic records with historical land-use data. A chronology was constructed for the last two centuries by correlating changes in the pollen diagram to major events in the land-use history. Sediment accumulation was low (mean c. 0.2 g cm^-2 yr^-1) prior to 1800 AD, when less than 25% of the catchment was arable land. Reorganization of the agrarian system during the 19th century increased the annually tilled area by 300%, which accelerated soil erosion and substantially increased the accumulation of allochtonous matter in the lake. Since the turn of the century 90% of the catchment has been ploughed every year. The deposition of clastic matter in the lake has, however, decreased due to a gradual rerouting of the drainage system, which has reduced the effective catchment area by c. 85%.Authigenic vivianite (Fe3(PO4)2.8H2O) is a major P phase in the preindustrial non-sulphidic sediments, which suggests that the sediments at that time served as a fairly efficient sink for P. The arable expansion, increased manuring and, eventually, the introduction of artificial fertilizers during the 19th century led to a massive influx of nutrients, which elevated primary production in the lake. Subsequent development of bottom water anoxia around 1900, in combination with an additional pollutant burden of sulphate within the lake basin, led to major alterations of the biogeochemical cycles. The most critical change in the post-1900 sediments involved the cycling of Fe and P. The linkage between the lacustrine P and Fe cycles can explain that FeS formation was paralleled by a release of P from the sedimentary pool. This supply of P to the lake basin must have supplemented the nutrient supply by modern agriculture and contributed to recent hypertrophication. The bacterial sulphate reduction also affected the generation of alkalinity which supported a significant calcite precipitation in the post-1900 sediments.S is enriched 10-fold in the post-1900 sediments compared to preindustrial values. Along with the rise in S, soot particles derived from fossil fuel combustion appear in the sediments for the first time. Therefore, Bussj¨osj¨on is thought to be a good example of how a well-buffered, highly productive lake may respond to the pollution by sulphur from acid rain.     

Holocene environmental history and climate of Råtåsjøen,a low-alpine lake in south-central Norway

The Holocene environmental history and climate are reconstructed for Råtåsjøen, a low-alpine lake in south-central Norway. The reconstructions are based on chironomids, diatoms, pollen, plant macrofossils, and sediment characteristics. From plant macrofossil evidence, birch trees (Betula pubescens) immigrated ca. 10,000 cal BP. The chironomid-inferred mean July air temperature was high, but may be unreliable during the early stages of the lakes history due to the high abundance of Chironomus anthracinus type, a taxon that may include several species. From ca. 9000 cal BP the inferred mean July temperature was lower (ca. 9 °C). Temperatures increased towards 8000 cal BP and pine (Pinus sylvestris) reached its upper limit near the lake. July temperature may have become a significant factor controlling long-term pH in the lake, starting shortly after 8000 cal BP. High pH values were associated with periods of warm summers and lower pH values occurred during periods of colder summers. Alkalinity processes within the lake and/or the catchment are possible factors controlling this relationship. A temperature decline at ca. 5400 cal BP separated two 10.6 °C temperature maxima around 6400 and 4500 cal BP. The 1.5 °C decline in July air temperatures from ca. 4400 cal BP was paralleled by a decrease of pH from 7.2 to 6.8. Following the temperature drop, first pine and then birch trees declined and disappeared from the catchment and organic accumulation in the lake increased. The increased organic accumulation rate had a positive effect on diatom production. At ca. 2700 cal BP the temperature reached a minimum (ca. 9.2 °C) and correspondingly a second pH minimum was reached. Temperature decreased again slightly at ca. 400 cal BP during the Little Ice Age, before increasing by about 0.5 °C towards the present. Percentage organic carbon as estimated by loss-on-ignition appears to be better correlated with chironomid-inferred July temperatures than organic accumulation rates, at least for the last 9000 years. Accumulation rates of organic sediments are more coupled with catchment-related processes, such as erosion and major changes in vegetation, than is percentage organic carbon.     

Late Holocene environmental changes inferred from diatoms in a lake on the western Taimyr Peninsula, northern Russia

Changes in the diatom assemblages preserved in a sediment core taken from a small lake located north of arctic treeline on the western Taimyr Peninsula, Russia, were examined in order to investigate late Holocene (i.e., ca 5000 cal yr BP to present) climatic and environmental changes within the region. Early diatom assemblages were dominated by benthic Fragilaria taxa and indicate a transitional phase in the lake history, most likely reflecting lake development and environmental change associated with treeline retreat to the south of the study site. Concurrent with pollen and macrofossil evidence of a vegetation shift to shrub tundra in the catchment basin at ca 4200 cal yr BP, an increase in cold-water taxa, followed by little change in diatom assemblages until ca 2800 cal yr BP, suggests that conditions were relatively cool and stable at this time. The last 2000 years of the Middendorf Lake record have been marked by fluctuating limnological conditions, characterized by striking successional shifts between Fragilaria pinnata and Aulacoseira distans var. humilis. Recent conditions in Middendorf Lake indicate an increase in diatom taxa previously rare in the record, possibly associated with twentieth-century climatic warming. The Middendorf Lake record indicates that significant limnological change may occur in the absence of catchment vegetation shifts, suggesting late-Holocene decoupling of aquatic and terrestrial responses to climatic and hydrological change. Our study results represent one of the few paleoecological records currently available from northern Russia, and highlight the need for further development of calibration data sets from this region.     

Mid-Holocene hemlock decline and diatom communities in van Nostrand Lake, Ontario, Canada

Terrestrial ecosystem disturbances inferred from the fossil hemlock pollen decline (ca. 4,800 BP) and recovery (ca. 3,800 BP) affected van Nostrand Lake, including the diatom communities. Ecological models suggest the lake responded by eutrophying, reflecting higher nutrient influx resulting from increased erosion. A decline in lake productivity followed as the forest vegetation recovered and erosion slowed. Lastly, as the forest switched from early and middle successional species to mature species, lake productivity increased as erosion increased nutrient inflow, especially phosphorus. However, this eutrophication response was delayed or buffered, perhaps due to wetland development surrounding the lake. The lake never fully returned to its initial, pre-hemlock decline state, but oscillated between more eutrophic and more mesotrophic or oligotrophic stages, possibly reflecting other disturbances in the catchment and climatic change.     

Late Holocene paleoenvironmental change in a Great Lakes coastal wetland: integrating pollen and diatom datasets

Multiple proxy indicators are regularly used to present robust arguments for paleoenvironmental change. We use fossil pollen and diatoms from a 495-cm core taken from Cootes Paradise, a coastal wetland in the western end of Lake Ontario, to investigate ecological changes in the late Holocene. We use consensus analysis to demonstrate that pollen diagrams are best zoned after the data have been split into source area, in this case upland and wetland taxa, because each group responds differently to environmental change. We also use consensus analysis to demonstrate the sensitivity of clustering to the distance measure used. The record begins at 2400 ¹⁴C years BP, when the wetland was dominated by shallow water emergents and epiphytic diatoms. At 2100 ¹⁴C years BP, a decline in the epiphytic diatoms Epithemia spp., a rise in Poaceae (cf. Zizania aquatica) pollen and a coincident increase in pollen concentration suggest a water level rise at this time. At about 800 ¹⁴C years BP, the diatom record shows a pulse in small benthic Fragilaria species; shortly after, a shift occurs in the upland tree pollen spectra involving an increase in Pinus and a decline in Fagus. This shift in upland forest trees has been associated elsewhere with the Little Ice Age and the diatom data present some evidence for impacts of this climatic event on aquatic systems. The diatom and pollen records both indicate large changes associated with the effects of European settlement, including rises in Ambrosia as well as Typha angustifolia pollen. Planktonic diatoms dominate post-settlement assemblages indicating large-scale hydrological and ecological changes, probably associated with the introduction of carp and alterations to the Iroquois bar which separates the wetland from Lake Ontario. Our work at Cootes Paradise is important for multi-proxy coastal wetland studies in general, in addition to the late Holocene environmental history and prehistory of the Great Lakes region.     

Contribution of non-pollen palynomorphs to the paleolimnological study of a high-altitude Andean lake (Laguna Verde Alta,Venezuela)

This paper evaluates the potential usefulness of non-pollen palynomorphs or NPPs (microfossils other than pollen and spores present in palynological preparations) contained in lake sediments in the paleolimnological reconstruction of high altitude environments (>4,000 m) from the Venezuelan Andes. A synthetic, quantitative approach is employed, instead of the classical analytical and mostly qualitative approach commonly used so far for NPPs. The main sources of variation are the Pediastrum–Botryococcus alternation and the relationship between these two algae and animal remains such as Acari legs, postabdomina of Cladocera, mandibles of other invertebrates, and an unknown type called LVA-1. Other significant microfossils are remains of Rivularia-type and turbellarian oocytes, including Gyratrix. The sequence initiates around 15,000 calibrated years before present (cal BP) with the deglaciation of the lake catchment, high water levels and still cold climates. A phase of lower lake levels was recorded between about 12,000 and 6,000 cal BP. Temperatures increased by around 9,000 and 7,000 cal BP, and then decreased until 6,000 cal BP. Since that time, both lake levels and temperature increased again and stabilized at about 4,000 cal BP, when they reach modern-like values. These results show a good agreement with previous studies based on pollen, diatom and oxygen isotope analyses, and provide additional paleoecological information, as for example the possibility of a previously unrecorded Younger Dryas signal. The inclusion of quantitative NPP analysis in routine paleolimnological studies using synthetic methods is thus recommended. Possible future improvements are suggested, mainly those related with the development and use of NPP modern analogs.     

Peat erosion and atmospheric deposition impacts on an oligotrophic lake in eastern Ireland

The Holocene diatom and pollen records from Kelly’s Lough have been analysed to determine the timing and extent of the acidification in this upland lake. The pollen data during the early Holocene reflect the typical vegetation changes that occur in sediments throughout Ireland during this period. The diatom record begins by being dominated by circumneutral and acidophilous benthic forms. Later tychoplanktonic Aulacoseira species begin to expand and dominate indicating increased water transparency following the stabilization of catchment soils. Peatland development in the catchment is evident from approximately 6,450 cal year BP. The main change in the diatom assemblages at this time is the decline of Aulacoseira species and expansion of periphytic species. At around 1,450 cal year BP, loss-on-ignition (LOI) values, Calluna pollen and microscopic charcoal all increase suggesting the initiation of a major phase of peat erosion and an increased inwash of organic matter to the lake. Lake acidity changed significantly although the initial acidification is very subtle as indicated by the diatom-inferred pH record. Changes in the diatom assemblages might be largely the result of increasing erosion and inwash of organic matter from the catchment to the lake leading to reduced water transparency and more acidic conditions. The diatom flora remains relatively stable until the mid-twentieth century when more acidibiontic species increase. These diatom changes result in the reconstructed pH curve showing a moderate recent acidification from pH 5.7 to 5.1. About half of the total change in pH took place by around the late 1960s. The lowest diatom-inferred pH value occurs in the late 1970s, and parallels the peak in SO₂ emissions in Ireland. Acidic conditions seem to have prevailed in Kelly’s Lough throughout its entire history and alkalinity has been low or absent for much of the time. However, soil acidification and inwash of organic acids from peatlands are not a sufficiently effective mechanism to explain the low pH levels found today in Kelly’s Lough. The effect of acid deposition on the waters of Kelly’s Lough is clear and it has probably caused these already naturally acid waters to acidify further.     

Holocene lake-level changes and their reflection in the paleolimnological records of two lakes in northern Estonia

Sediment cores from two neighbouring lakes (Viitna Linajärv and Viitna Pikkjärv) in northern Estonia were studied to determine lake-level fluctuations during the Holocene and their impact on biogeochemical cycling. Organic matter and pollen records dated by radiocarbon and radiolead indicated a water level rise in both lakes during the early Holocene (c. 10 000–8000 BP). A regression followed around 7500 BP and several transgressions occurred during the latter half of the Holocene, c. 6500 and 3000 BP. Human impact during the last centuries has caused short-term lake-level fluctuations and accelerated sediment accumulation in the lakes. The differences in water depth led to variations in sediment formation. During 10 000–8000 BP (Preboreal and Boreal chronozones) mineral-rich sediments with coloured interlayers deposited in L. Linajärv. These sediments indicate intensive erosion from the catchment and oxygen-rich lake, which favoured precipitation of iron oxides and carbonates. Fluctuations in water depth, leaching of nutrients from catchment soils and climatic changes increased the trophy of L. Linajärv around 6000 BP. The subsequent accumulation of gyttja, the absence of CaCO₃ and the decrease in both the C/N ratio and phosphorus content in the sediments also indicate anoxic conditions in the hypolimnion. The similarity in the development of L. Linajärv and L. Pikkjärv and their proximity made it possible to discern the impact of water depths changes on biogeochemical cycling in lakes.     

The palaeolimnology of Soppensee (Central Switzerlabnd), as evidenced by diatom, pollen, and fossil-pigment analyses

The development of Soppensee (Central Switzerland, 596 m a.s.l.) has been reconstructed using algal remains such as diatoms, chlorophytes and fossil pigments, as well as the pollen and spores of macrophytes. Sediment accumulation in Soppensee began at the end of the last glacial period, approximately 15,000 yrs ago. During the Oldest Dryas biozone (> 12,700 radiocarbon yrs B.P.) the lake had low primary productivity. After reforestation with birch and later pine, around 12,700 B.P., phases of summer anoxia occurred in the lake. These anoxic conditions were most probably caused by additional carbon input from the catchment, as well as longer phases of stratification due to reduced wind exposure caused by the sheltering effect of increased tree cover. From the Younger Dryas biozone (10,800 to 10,000 radiocarbon yrs B.P.) onwards, Soppensee became meromictic for several millennia.The fossil diatom assemblages are dominated by planktonic alkaliphilous to alkalibiontic species with mainly meso- to eutrophic preferences. Diatom-inferred total phosphorus reconstructions suggest meso- to eutrophic conditions throughout the Holocene. Eutrophic conditions are also suggested by the presence of pigments of cyanobacteria, including Oscillatoria species. First human activity in the catchment is evidenced ca. 5000 radiocarbon yrs B.P. by the occurrence of cereal pollen. Diatom-inferred total phosphorus concentrations also increased slightly during the Neolithic period.According to the fossil pigment record, meromictic conditions ended during the Iron Age. Deep-water anoxia, however, persisted at least during the stratification period. During the Middle Ages massive deforestation in the catchment and around the lake changed the limnological conditions drastically. The lack of forest increased the wind fetch and, therefore, also the mixing of the lake, while soil erosion and retting of hemp supplied additional nutrients. Because of intensive agriculture in its catchment, Soppensee has become hypertrophic and diatom assemblages have consequently changed completely in the last 50 yrs.     

A late Holocene record of land-use history,soil erosion,lake trophy and lake-level fluctuations at Bjäresjösjön (south Sweden)

Land-use history, soil erosion, lake trophy and lake-level fluctuations during the last 3000 years were reconstructed through a multidisciplinary palaeolimnological study (pollen, plant macrofossils, diatoms, physical and chemical analysis, magnetic measurements and radiometric methods) of a small eutrophic lake in southern Sweden (Bjäresjösjön, Scania). There are striking responses in diatom, chemical, sediment yield and magnetic records to land-use changes documented by pollen analysis or historical sources, and to lake-level changes identified from sedimentary changes. Our multidisciplinary approach assists interpretation of the processes controlling long-term changes and separation of the effects of different factors (land-use changes, lake-level fluctuations) on individual biostratigraphical records. Climate has controlled processes in the lake indirectly, through lake-level fluctuations, from the Late Bronze Age to the Viking Age (700 BC-AD 800). Since the Viking Age, land-use controlled most of the changes observed in the lake's development and soil erosion processes. Major changes in lake development occurred during the last 200 years, due to a drastic increase in soil erosion and water eutrophication during a period of agricultural modernization.     

Settlement History As Reflection Of Climate Change: The Case Study Of Lake Jues (Harz Mountains, Germany)

Postglacial sediments from Lake Jues, located at the SW margin of the Harz Mountains, were investigated for pollen, diatoms and sediment characteristics. The paper focuses on the time period between 7600 and 1200 y cal. BP (calibrated years before present), during which human impact began to influence the environnment of the lake. Climate variability was mainly inferred from sediment characteristics and changes in algal assemblages. The observed climatic changes coincide well with those recorded from other sites. Neolithic settlement started during the warm and dry Atlantic period. Intensive land use occurred under favourable climatic conditions during the Bronze and the Iron Ages, while human activities declined during cool and wet periods around 4000 and 2700 y cal. BP and after 2300 y cal. BP. The study shows that climate strongly influenced human settlement at remote locations like Lake Jues.     

A palaeoenvironmental study of Fairfax Lake,a small lake situated in the rocky mountain foothills of west-central Alberta

Fairfax Lake is a small, oligotrophic to mesotrophic headwater lake situated in the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains of west-central Alberta (Latitude 52° 58 N; Longitude 116° 34 W). Through acquisition of a sediment core, and analyses of the diatoms, chrysophyte stomatocysts, pollen and sedimentary pigments, including myxoxanthophyll and oscillaxanthin, a palaeoenvironmental history of the lake has been determined. The sedimentary record spans ca. 13 200 years. An open tree-less vegetation existed in the region ca. 13 200–ca. 11 600 years BP. Maximum oscillaxanthin and myxoxanthophyll concentrations, hence the largest blue-green algal populations, occurred during the same interval. With increasing temperature pioneering parkland vegetation appeared ca. 11 600 years BP but was replaced ca. 10 100 years BP by spruce forest. Pine appeared ca. 7800 years BP and this marked the development of the present day montane boreal forest. Diatoms were not found until ca. 11 255 years BP. Benthic taxa dominated but by ca. 10 100 years BP planktonic taxa had become more prominent. Lake levels are interpreted as having risen, and the lake water was probably more transparent. Maximum chlorophyll and total carotenoid concentrations occur ca. 11 255 to ca. 7000 years BP corresponding to the warm early to mid-Holocene period. Lake nutrient levels appear to have been higher prior to ca. 7000 years BP, and the lake has changed from being eutrophic during the early Holocene to its present status as an oligotrophic to mesotrophic lake. Subtle hydrological changes have also occurred in the catchment as water levels do not appear to have remained constant.     

Changes in arable land in response to township urbanization in a Chinese low hilly region: Scale effects and spatial interactions

Rapid urbanization leads to losses in arable land; quantitatively analyzing the impact of urbanization on arable land is significant for arable land management. However, changes in arable land due to urbanization with scale and neighborhood effects remains poorly understood at the town scale. In this study, high-resolution historical land use data, landscape metric analysis and spatial regression were integrated to quantify the impacts of urbanization on arable land use change (abandonment and conversion) at spatial scales of 300 m–3300 m using a block size increment of 200 m and at the catchment scale in the town of Jinjing in subtropical central China. Arable land abandonment was the predominant type of arable land change and presented strong spatial autocorrelations at each spatial scale. Arable land was converted to tea fields because agricultural structure transformations were occurring around the urban cores, and the amount of arable land converted to residential land accounted for only a small proportion of the total arable land loss and had no spatial autocorrelation. The significance and robustness of the arable land changes impacted by urbanization had obvious scale effects and strong neighborhood effects in nearby regions. Compared with block scales, the catchment scale is an optimal scale for assessing the influence of urbanization and applying planning policy. Our results highlight the significance of incorporating spatial interactions in urbanization research, which can generate less biased estimations and consequently lead to proper policy implication and recommendations. In addition, multi-scale comparisons are helpful for better understanding the relationships between arable land changes and urbanization and provide further insights into the harmonious development of rural settlements and urban cores to preserve arable land.     

Climate change and human impact at Sacrower See (NE Germany) during the past 13,000 years: a geochemical record

Lacustrine sediments in north-eastern Germany have rarely been used as archives to address the effects of climate change and human impact on both lake ecosystem and landscape evolution for this region. Sacrower See, a hardwater lake located in Brandenburg, provides a unique sediment record covering the past 13,000 years which was used to reconstruct climatic and anthropogenic forcing on lacustrine sedimentation. Time control is provided by 12 AMS ¹⁴C dates of terrestrial plant remains, the Laacher See Tephra, and the onset of varve formation in AD 1870 (80 cal. BP). Geochemical (including XRF logging of major elements, CNS analyses as well as δ¹³C_org and δ¹⁵N measurements) and pollen analyses allowed detecting detailed environmental changes in the sediment record. During the Younger Dryas cold phase increased soil erosion and hypolimnetic oxygen depletion enhanced the nutrient supply to the lake water causing eutrophic conditions. The beginning of the Holocene is characterized by large changes in C/N ratios, total sulphur, δ¹³C of bulk organic matter as well as in K, Si, and Ti, reflecting the response of the lake’s catchment to climatic warming. Reforestation reduced the influx of detrital particles and terrestrial organic matter. The first, rather weak evidence of human impact is documented only in the pollen record at 5,500 cal. BP. However, until 3,200 cal. BP sedimentological and geochemical parameters indicate relatively stable environmental conditions. During periods of intense human impact at around 3,200, 2,800, and 900 cal. BP peaks in Ti and K represent phases of increased soil erosion due to forest clearing during the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Medieval Times, respectively. In general, greater variation is observed in most variables during these perturbations, indicating less stable environmental conditions. The steady rise of biogenic silica accumulation rates during the Holocene reflects an increasing productivity of Sacrower See until diatoms were outcompeted by other algae during the last centuries. The applied multi-proxy approach fosters the interpretation of the sediment record to reveal a consistent picture of environmental change including environmental factors controlling lake ontogeny and the effects of human impact.