engleski

Palaeoenvironmental changes on the broader area of Topusko during the Middle Ages

Results of the palynological analysis from the peat sediment cored on Blatuša mire during the year 2015 reflect the palaeoenvironmental changes within the confined areas of Topusko-Perna-Vrginmost, from which the first two mentioned toponyms were important centres of economic activity during the Middle Ages. Pollen diagrams were created and plotted by specialized PolPal software, giving us important information about vegetation transition - from more closed forest with domination of alder (Alnus), beech (Fagus) and oak (Quercus) to mosaic habitats in which beech and hornbeam (Carpinus) alternate with open land, grasslands and cultivated fields. Locally, at the very same time on the mire surface, the pollen diagrams point to a change in the hydrological regime. Due to the increase moisture condition, ferns(Polypodiales) and mosses(Sphagnum), which characterized the Early/High Middle Ages, were replaced by dominance of the sedges (Cyperaceae) in the Late Middle Ages. The high shares of non-arboreal pollen and the frequent occurrence of charcoal particles in sediment samples during the Early/High Middle Ages, as indirect indicators of anthropogenic pressure on habitats, are not supported by the findings of primary anthropogenic indicators. However, the frequent occurrence of the HdV-55 spores (Sordariaceae) probably reflects small intensity of agricultural activity, such as extensive livestock farming. Contrary, appearance of continuous curves of numerous secondary anthropogenic indicators in the Late Middle Ages, eg. cocklebur (Xanthium spinosum), goosefoot (Chenopodiaceae, plantains (Plantago lanceolata) pollen types correspond very well to the economic prosperity of Archdeaconry of Gora - construction of the Cistercian monastery in Topusko and the church of St. Nicholas on Petrova Gora (13th/14th century), and the privileges that Perna gained in the 13th century, which also increase level of agrarian production. The occurrence of primary anthropogenic indicator during this period, e.g. cereals pollen (Cerealia) indicates direct human influence on vegetation, which can be continuously traced from the Late Middle Ages until nowadays.

charcoal, holocen, hydrological regime, middle ages economy, mire, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, palynology, fire history

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