Pál Sümegi

The late Quaternary environmental history of Bátorliget, N.E. Hungary

Abstract A sedimentary sequence extending back into the last glacial has been obtained from Batorliget marsh in N.E. Hungary. Reconstruction of the environmental history of the region using the techniques of pollen analysis, molluscan analysis and geochemistry has revealed an important late Quaternary refugium. During the last glacial, a refugium for temperate flora and fauna existed within a landscape dominated by coniferous forest predominantly made up of Pinus and Picea . The lateglacial/postglacial transition at 10,000 yr B.P. resulted in a dramatic shift from coniferous (but also including Betula ) woodland to deciduous woodland. Following the lateglacial/postglacial transition, a highly diverse woodland became established in the early postglacial, accompanied by an equally diverse molluscan assemblage. This diversity remained throughout the early postglacial although the types present within the woodland changed a number of times. At c. 7000 yr B.P. anthropogenic disturbance resulted in the destruction of the mixed forest and the development of agricultural land. The importance of this region as a refugial area both in the lateglacial and early postglacial is discussed and the influence that it had on the postglacial development of the fauna and flora of northeastern Hungary is reviewed.

Loess in the Vojvodina region (Northern Serbia): An essential link between European and Asian Pleistocene environments

Loess in the Vojvodina region (Northern Serbia) : an essential link between European and Asian Pleistocene environments

Geochronologic and paleoclimatic characterization of Quaternary sediments in the Great Hungarian Plain.

We reconstructed the climate of the Great Hungarian Plain between the years, 7-32 ka BP using a malacothermometer method. The reconstruction is based on seven Gastropoda taxa, for which optimal temperature and tolerance ranges have been determined. The temporal scales of the malacofaunal levels were calibrated with radiocarbon data. We compared our paleotemperature values with the temperature values of existing climatic curves and found the same climatic periods.

Prehistoric land degradation in Hungary: Who, how and why?

The recent study of Kis-Mohos To lake in Hungary reveals an important sequence of prehistoric landscape changes from the earliest land clearance to the early Middle Ages. The recognition of land degradation, through the application of new analytical methods, forms an important part of the discussion.

Reconstruction of microenvironmental changes in the Kopasz Hill loess area at Tokaj (Hungary) between 15 and 70 ka BP

We collected 11 Kopasz Hill loess profiles for paleoecological and geochronological analysis. The loess accumulation and development formed during the last (Weichselian) glacial period between 70 and 15 ka BP. We found that the majority of the loess profiles were composed of three typical loess strata and two well-developed paleosol horizons. Based on vertebrate remains, the lowest loess layer formed between 70-50 ka BP, during the first cool and dry climatic phase of the last glacial period, when forest steppe vegetation dominated in the Kopasz Hill area. On the surface of the lowermost layer, a paleosol developed between 50 and 40 ka BP as an indication of a more humid and warmer climatic phase. This paleosol layer was buried by a new loess layer that developed between 40 and 32 ka BP. The upper paleosol horizon developed between 32 and 26 ka BP. Molluscs preferring a mild climate were found in this layer, suggesting that this phase was wet and relatively temperate. A number of fired macrocharcoal remains can be found on the top of this paleosol layer. Charcoal samples from nine sites were dated by radiocarbon analyses. These results reflect the presence of a charcoal-rich horizon that developed 28-26 ka BP. Ca. 26 ka BP, loess formation resumed. We analyzed 14 samples from 6 sites by the (super 14) C method. Based on (super 14) C data, the uppermost part of loess profiles developed between 26 and 15 ka BP.

In situ charcoal fragments as remains of natural wild fires in the upper Würm of the Carpathian Basin

Charcoal layers were found in loess layers of the Younger Wurm period, at 11 localities around Kopasz Hill, Tokaj, in the Carpathian Basin. Detailed sedimentological, geochemical, radiocarbon, palaeontological and anthracological investigations show that Picea-containing taiga forest–steppe habitats existed on the area between 29,000 and 21,000 years BP, on the basis of radiocarbon measurements. These forests fell victim to extensive fires that seem to have spread across the basin. This fact is supported by the characteristic macro- and microstructure of the charred remains, using SEM identification and thermoanalytical examination. The firing temperature was 600–700°C, suggesting a natural forest fire. Fire scars can also be observed on the remains, as well as the burnt sediment forming a silhouette (the so-called burning court) of the fallen trunks or roots. Thus, these fragments have remained in their in situ position.

Woodland-Grassland ecotonal shifts in environmental mosaics: Lessons learnt from the environmental history of the carpathian basin (Central Europe) during the holocene and the last ice age based on investigation of paleobotanical and mollusk remains

A treeline is a boundary used for marking the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. In ecology an upper and lower treeline is generally highlighted (Odum 1979) with an additional transitional zone (ecotone) found between the referred boundary and the adjacent open vegetation areas. Temperature besides precipitation is the major factor that controls the growth and sustainment of trees in an area. Nevertheless, several local ecological factors including such parameters as soil type, local vegetation, snow cover, elevation, geomorphology, rainshadow, gravity-induced mass movement, lightning, volcanic eruptions, wildfires caused by meteorite impact or wind shear can alter or prevent the sustainment of an arboreal vegetation in an area locally or regionally.

Preliminary malacological investigation on the loess profile at Zmajevac, Croatia

More than 5 500 specimens of 37 terrestrial snail species were collected from a loess paleosol section at Zmajevac village, Croatia. The presence of Ena montana, Mastus bielzi, Cochlodina laminata, Macrogastra ventricosa, Clausilia pumila, Clausilia dubia, Pseudofusulus varians, Trichia unidentata and Trichia edentula species from the lower paleosol layer suggests that this malacological zone formed during the initial phase of a Middle Pleistocene interglacial cycle.

The late pleistocene paleoenvironment and paleoclimate of the madaras section (South Hungary), based on preliminary records from mollusks

Abstract24 species and 110 506 specimens of mollusks were collected and identified from 250 samples of the loess profile at Madaras, South Hungary. According to changes in the mollusk fauna, six malacological-paleoecological zones can be identified in this profile. The Quaternary malacological data from the Madaras loess section suggest that the Middle and Late Pleniglacial development of the mollusk fauna, and local climatic and environmental conditions in this area differed from other loess regions in Europe.

Preliminary malacological investigation of the loess profile at Šarengrad, Croatia

More than 3 400 specimens of 51 mollusc species were identified in a loessy-alluvial section at Šarengrad village in Croatia. This section provides one of the most diverse collections of mollusc species in the lower Danube. The malacological data from this profile suggests that this section developed during the last interglacial-glacial cycle.