ZMIANY ŚRODOWISKA NIECKI NIDZIAŃSKIEJ (POŁUDNIOWA POLSKA) W ŚWIETLE ANALIZY MALAKOLOGICZNEJ MARTWIC WAPIENNYCH W PIŃCZOWIE

Abstract

ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES OF THE NIDA BASIN (SOUTH POLAND) IN THE LIGHT OF MALACOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF CALCAREOUS TUFA IN PIŃCZÓWAbstract. Malacological researches was conducted in an outcrop of calcareous tufa and loess diluvium found in Pińczów, in the Nida Basin. Rich and varied mollusc assemblages were described in detail. The species composition and structure indicates changes in the sedimentary environment during the late Holocene. Calcareous tufa accumulated in a small reservoir formed at the back of travertine dam. The uppermost part of the profile composed of loess diluvium, point out to the development of slope processes induced by human agricultural activity. This sediment accumulated in the Middle Ages as determined from radiocarbon dating and numerous findings of pottery. The sussession of the faunal assemblages enables to define the major phases of changes in the sedimentary environment, determine the human impact on the sedimentation and describe the malacofauna diversity. The tufa profile from Pińczów can serve as a model section presenting the carbonate sedimentation process in small lakes and anthropogenic environmental changes.