Roślinność Polski u schyłku części ostatniego zlodowacenia
Abstract
LATE VISTULIAN VEGETATION IN POLAND
Summary
The published results of pollen and plant macrofossil analysis of the Late Vistulian organogenic deposits were used as the base for the reconstruction of vegetation cover in the territory of Poland. The vegetation of the pre-Allerød time is documented in 30 palynological profiles (Fig. 1), a dozen of them begun with the Oldest Dryas. The initial conditions for the vegetation development were differentiated. In the Northern Poland, freshly uncovered from the ice-sheet, patches of arctic tundra existed for a long time [3, 15]. Quick expansion of trees on the upland areas was enabled by their survival in the Southern Poland refuges during the Plenivistulian [16, 19, 23, 33]. On the Oldest Dryas, Bølling and Older Dryas maps, ranges of a few types of vegetation are distinguished according to the palynologists interpretation of individual diagrams (Fig. 2). For the Allerød and the Younger Dryas, more abundant paleobotanical evidence exists, about 60 profiles were published [1, 30, etc.]. The maps of vegetation for the optimal, younger part of the Allerød and for the coldest part of the Younger Dryas (Fig. 3, 4), were constructed basing on the analysis of: AP/NAP ratio, several distribution maps of characteristic plants, etc. Three main belts of vegetation from the North to the South could be distinguished for the Allerød open birch and pine forest, then dense birch and pine forest and finally coniferous forest. An increase of birch in relation to pine is seen towards the West. It was the result of intensifying of climatic humidity. During the Younger Dryas, important reduction of the woodland and development of open, tundra-steppe communities took place. The local differentiation of the plant cover during the Allerød and Younger Dryas is presented on several schematic drawings (Fig. 3, 4).
Summary
The published results of pollen and plant macrofossil analysis of the Late Vistulian organogenic deposits were used as the base for the reconstruction of vegetation cover in the territory of Poland. The vegetation of the pre-Allerød time is documented in 30 palynological profiles (Fig. 1), a dozen of them begun with the Oldest Dryas. The initial conditions for the vegetation development were differentiated. In the Northern Poland, freshly uncovered from the ice-sheet, patches of arctic tundra existed for a long time [3, 15]. Quick expansion of trees on the upland areas was enabled by their survival in the Southern Poland refuges during the Plenivistulian [16, 19, 23, 33]. On the Oldest Dryas, Bølling and Older Dryas maps, ranges of a few types of vegetation are distinguished according to the palynologists interpretation of individual diagrams (Fig. 2). For the Allerød and the Younger Dryas, more abundant paleobotanical evidence exists, about 60 profiles were published [1, 30, etc.]. The maps of vegetation for the optimal, younger part of the Allerød and for the coldest part of the Younger Dryas (Fig. 3, 4), were constructed basing on the analysis of: AP/NAP ratio, several distribution maps of characteristic plants, etc. Three main belts of vegetation from the North to the South could be distinguished for the Allerød open birch and pine forest, then dense birch and pine forest and finally coniferous forest. An increase of birch in relation to pine is seen towards the West. It was the result of intensifying of climatic humidity. During the Younger Dryas, important reduction of the woodland and development of open, tundra-steppe communities took place. The local differentiation of the plant cover during the Allerød and Younger Dryas is presented on several schematic drawings (Fig. 3, 4).