The diversity of geomorphological features of peatland basins in Central Poland and its paleoecological significance – a review

Abstract

The diversity of origins of peatland basins in Central Poland allowed the peatlands to be distinguished by location (in valleys or upland mires) and by the processes forming their basins (e.g. glacigenic, aeolian, fluvial or thermokarst processes). Peats prevail in the structure of the sediments in the analysed basins of peatlands; among them the most predominant are fens, whereas the amount of raised bogs is low. In parts of the analysed objects there are lake sediments, which usually form the bottom sections of the profiles of the biogenic sediments, and were usually deposited in the Late Vistulian. In the Holocene, peat series were accumulated. In the examined peatlands located on morainic uplands, lacustrine sediments of the Late Vistulian and Early Holocene covered by Late Holocene peats are documented. Peatlands located near aeolian forms do not show evidence of continuous accumulation of biogenic deposits. They are particularly sensitive to changes in humidity and they underwent frequent modifications during phases of aeolian activity. The sediments of valley peatlands are not suitable objects for stratigraphic analyses, but they are appropriate for reconstructions of short events that occurred in the river valleys.