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This paper provides a glimpse into the palaeoecological conditions at the prehistoric settlement Corneşti-Iarcuri in the southwest Romanian Banat, which is known as the largest Bronze Age fortification in Europe. Preservation of pollen is generally poor in the region, where extensive marshlands have been drained and converted into arable lands since the 18th century. Remarkably, some fossil topsoils buried under thick colluvial layers within the fortification proved to contain pollen. Together with the sediments themselves, which serve as direct evidence for anthropogenically infl uenced geomorphodynamics and could partially be put into chronological context by radiocarbon dating, the on-site palynological data offer a unique opportunity to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental setting at Corneşti. Results reveal that during the Chalcolithic period, a partially cleared open woodland with Tilia, Quercus and Corylus prevailed. Soil erosion began in some central parts of the settlement site, resulting in the accumulation of up to 90 cm of colluvium in the main valley. Until the Early Iron Age, regional tree percentages dropped from around 38 to 22 %, while anthropogenic indicators (Cerealia, Plantago lanceolata, Polygonum aviculare) increased from 11 to 16 %. Meanwhile, between 50 to 170 cm of colluvium were deposited at the investigated floodplain sites.
In the Central German Uplands, Fagus sylvatica and Picea abies have been particularly affected by climate change. With the establishment of beech forests about 3000 years ago and pure spruce stands 500 years ago, they might be regarded as ‘neophytes’ in the Hessian forests. Palaeoecological investigations at wetland sites in the low mountain ranges and intramontane basins point to an asynchronous vegetation evolution in a comparatively small but heterogenous region. On the other hand, palynological data prove that sustainably managed woodlands with high proportions of Tilia have been persisting for several millennia, before the spread of beech took place as a result of a cooler and wetter climate and changes in land management. In view of increasingly warmer and drier conditions, Tilia cordata appears especially qualified to be an important silvicultural constituent of the future, not only due to its tolerance towards drought, but also its resistance to browsing, and the ability to reproduce vegetatively. Forest managers should be encouraged to actively promote the return to more stress-tolerant lime-dominated woodlands, similar to those that existed in the Subboreal chronozone.