Articles | Volume 18, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1081-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1081-2021
Research article
 | 
15 Feb 2021
Research article |  | 15 Feb 2021

The transformation of the forest steppe in the lower Danube Plain of southeastern Europe: 6000 years of vegetation and land use dynamics

Angelica Feurdean, Roxana Grindean, Gabriela Florescu, Ioan Tanţău, Eva M. Niedermeyer, Andrei-Cosmin Diaconu, Simon M. Hutchinson, Anne Brigitte Nielsen, Tiberiu Sava, Andrei Panait, Mihaly Braun, and Thomas Hickler

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Cited articles

Abraham, V. and Kozáková, R.: Relative pollen productivity estimates in the modern agricultural landscape of Central Bohemia (Czech Republic), Rev. Palaeobot. Palyno., 179, 1–12, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2012.04.004, 2012. 
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Aichner, B., Herzschuh, U., Wilkes, H., Vieth, A., and Böhner, J.: δ D values of n-alkanes in Tibetan lake sediments and aquatic macrophytes – A surface sediment study and application to a 16 ka record from Lake Koucha, Org. Geochem., 41, 779–790, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2010.05.010, 2010. 
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Here we used multi-proxy analyses from Lake Oltina (Romania) and quantitatively examine the past 6000 years of the forest steppe in the lower Danube Plain, one of the oldest areas of human occupation in southeastern Europe. We found the greatest tree cover between 6000 and 2500 cal yr BP. Forest loss was under way by 2500 yr BP, falling to ~20 % tree cover linked to clearance for agriculture. The weak signs of forest recovery over the past 2500 years highlight recurring anthropogenic pressure.
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