CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EUROPEAN POLLEN DATABASE 29. Vrbka (Czech Republic): Pollen record of secondary steppe vegetation development within the Bronze Age agricultural landscape
2016
Abstract
For almost 100 years, discussions have continued about the possibility of indigenous calcareous grasslands within the forest-steppe zone transition in central Europe. From a palaeoecological perspective, it has been hypothesized that such calcareous grasslands constitute the westernmost extension and a relictual remnant of eastern European steppes under the relatively wet conditions of the Middle Holocene.
Newly obtained high-resolution pollen record from the Bohemian Basin shows extensive calcareous grasslands in the period between 2000 and 1200 BC (Early and the Middle Bronze Age) when communities practicing arable agriculture and grazing settled the area.