Palynological Surveys of the Late Holocene Vegetation History of the Palatinate Forest

In contrast to neighbouring landscapes like the Vosges, Black Forest, Odenwald or the Upper Rhine Plain, the Palatinate Forest is one of Germany’s least explored regions in terms of vegetation history. The small number of existing studies dates back to the period between the 1930ies to 1950ies. Research into the vegetation history was only resumed in 2003 when it became necessary to carry out modern palynological analyses within the scope of investigations of cultural landscape genetics and forest stand history of Johanniskreuz forestry district. This provided the first opportunity for a presentation of the Palatinate Forest’s Late Holocene vegetation history in high-resolution, radiocarbon-dated pollen diagrams. Furthermore, this research should be seen as a contribution towards basic research promoting the preservation and sustainable development of the cross-border Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO).
 

Bibliography

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