High-resolution record of Late Saalian and Eemian palaeoenvironments: the case study of Struga and Parysów (central Poland)

Abstract

Eemian organogenic deposits, analysed at the Struga and Parysów sites (Garwolin Plain, central Poland), reveal the vegetation history. Palynological analysis supported by plant macrofossil analysis revealed a pollen succession encompassing seven regional pollen assemblages zones, E1-E7 RPAZ, within which indicator taxa for various climate characteristics (mainly temperature and humidity, including Tilia tomentosa and Hedera helix) were recorded. Additionally, the Struga G-120 profile encompasses a Late Saalian section of deposits in which stadial and interstadial oscillations are inferred. The data corroborated earlier findings that the warmest and wettest part of the Eemian interglacial was during the hazel phase (E4 RPAZ) and the beginning of the hornbeam phase (E5 RPAZ). The younger part of the hornbeam phase bears the record of a decrease in humidity and gradual drop in air temperature. During the telocratic period encompassing the spruce-fir (E6 RPAZ) and pine (E7 RPAZ) phases, increased humidity and rising water levels in the lakes studied are again evident. The reconstructed plant succession and climatic conditions are discussed against a broader background of other Eemian profiles from Poland and neighbouring countries. They largely confirm that, at that time, the Garwolin Plain showed characteristics typical of a transitional climate from oceanic in Western Europe to continental beyond the eastern borders of Poland.