Three millennia of vegetation history in the Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria
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Date
2026-03-18
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Plovdiv University Press "Paisii Hilendarski"
Abstract
Pollen analysis supported by radiocarbon dating was performed on a core collected from a peat bog in the central plateau area of the Vitosha Mountain. The palynological data provides information on the vegetation changes over the last three millennia. Between 3000 and 800 years ago forests of Picea abies with some Pinus sp. and less Abies alba dominated on the high slopes of the mountain. Below them were distributed forests of Fagus sylvatica and mixed oak communities with Carpinus betulus, C. orientalis, while Corylus was found on open terrains. In the time interval 800-560 cal. yrs. BP (1150-1400 AD) the spruce forests declined alongside with a slight increase for beech. By that time, the first signs of human activity are justified by an increase for Poaceae, Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae, Cirsium, Plantago lanceolata, Rumex and Juniperus, which points to partial deforestation, forest fires and acquisition of new pasture land. The last centuries witnessed the fragmentation of Picea abies forests, the disappearance of Abies alba, and intensification of the human interference in the vegetation cover particularly on the southern slope
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Keywords
pollen analysis, radiocarbon dating, vegetation history, human impact, Vitosha Mountain