Jacek Madeja

Pollen morphology of the Central European broomrapes (Orobanchaceae: Orobanche, Phelipanche and Orobanchella) and its taxonomical implications

Pollen grains of 450 samples of 25 species of the genus Orobanche and Phelipanche occurring in Central Europe were investigated using light and scanning electron microscopy. Palynological data on 18 species are reported here for the first time. The usefulness of micromorphological studies on pollen of Orobanche and Phelipanche is demonstrated. Previous research showed the separation of Phelipanche from Orobanche, a finding which is also supported by pollen aperture type and exine ornamentation. The pollen of Phelipanche is tricolpate, while that of Orobanche is inaperturate. Our research showed that one of the species included so far within Orobanche, namely O. coerulescens, has tricolpate pollen with microreticulate sculpture. As a consequence of the finding of tricolpate pollen and intermediate macromorphological characteristics of this species between Orobanche and Phelipanche, it is proposed to transfer it to a new genus, Orobanchella, described in the paper. A comparison of the main characteristics distinguishing Orobanche, Phelipanche, Boulardia and Orobanchella is also presented and discussed.

Vegetation changes and human activity around Lake Łańskie (Olsztyn Lake District, NE Poland) from the mid Holocene, based on palynological study

ABSTRACT Bottom sediments of Lake Łańskie in NE Poland (Olsztyn Lake District) were studied by pollen analysis, and vegetation changes from ca 4800 BC to modern times were reconstructed based on the results. Due to rapid sedimentation the changes in plant cover are recorded with high resolution. The variation of pollen spectra composition reflects changing shares of deciduous trees and the continuous dominance of pine forest. Nowadays the surroundings of Lake Łańskie are also heavily forested but as early as 1100 AD the deciduous trees began to be eliminated. On the basis of pollen data, five phases of increased human activity were distinguished. Based on the available archaeological chronology of local settlements, the first stage is connected with para-Neolithic groups of Ząbie-Szestno type and the Lusatian culture. They are followed by the West Baltic Barrow culture, Wielbark culture and Early Medieval Prussian tribes. The pollen record shows low intensity of exploitation of the terrain around Lake Łańskie, probably attributable to the brevity of episodes of human occupation in the near vicinity of the lake. The last phase, covering part of the Middle Ages (since ca 1000 AD) and modern times, is reflected in the most distinct vegetation changes on the pollen diagram, caused by increased intensity of settlement. In spite of the distinct diminution of forest cover around the lake the scale of deforestation was much lower than at other sites in NE Poland. The main aims of this paper were to describe the changes in the palaeoenvironment which took place around Lake Łańskie (Olsztyn Lake District) and to find those changes in the plant cover which were the effect of human activity, and to confirm whether the changes of palaeoenvironment around Lake Łańskie were noted at the same time in adjacent areas.

Changes of natural environment in Kraków downtown - its chronology and directions. Case geoarchaeological studies of Krupnicza street site

Changes of Natural Environment in Kraków Downtown - Its Chronology and Directions. Case Geoarchaeological Studies of Krupnicza Street Site Sediments exposed in a construction excavation form a sequence: alluvial deposits > black soil > made ground. Peat-like deposits, organic muds and occasionally sand occur between the soil and the made ground. High aeolization of alluvial sediments allows relating their age to the Late Vistulian. The sediments were eroded and in the washout at first organic muds were deposited and subsequently sands. The lowest layer, radiocarbon-dated at 4510±60 uncal. years BP (Gd-12724), can be probably linked to climate moistening at the transition between the Holocene Atlantic and the Subboreal period. Pollen grains found in muds, black soil and peat-like deposits reflect the changes of local plant cover from dominated by pine woodlands (at the transition between the Atlantic and the Subboreal period) to strongly deforested with single trees, meadows, small crop fields and gardens in the Medieval period. Palynological results describing the character of vegetation might have been influenced also by direct human activity on site, e.g. by storage of wood and branches (then used as construction material or fuel), crops, fodder or waste. Microartefacts found in soil suggest metal processing in the vicinity during the Bronze Age. In the made ground, which has been accumulating since the 14th century, quartz, clay minerals and micas were identified together with fragments of bricks, concrete, ceramics, bones, slag, charcoal, organic matter, limestone fragments and metals. Horizons enriched in slag fragments are also high in metals: Fe, Mn and Pb, which reveal a twofold increase in metal processing activity.

Too Old AMS Radiocarbon Dates Obtained from Moss Remains from Lake Kwiecko Bottom Sediments (N Poland)

Too Old AMS Radiocarbon Dates Obtained from Moss Remains from Lake Kwiecko Bottom Sediments (N Poland) The paper presents the results of the AMS radiocarbon dating of moss macrofossils which seem to be too old in the context of palynological data. The lack of agreement between the obtained results of radiocarbon dating and pollen analysis has been discussed. Some possible causes of the discrepancies between the results of radiocarbon dating and palynological dating have been given.