Exploring the requirement for anthropogenic disturbance to assist the stand-scale expansion of Fagus sylvatica L. outside southern Scandinavia

Abstract

This paper presents a pollen and charcoal record from a forest hollow located in northern Germany. The initial stand-scale colonization and subsequent expansion of the species Fagus sylvatica (European Beech) is examined and compared with examples from southern Scandinavia. In the early Holocene, a diverse forest stand is present. The recording of Fagus sylvatica in nine contiguous samples over the time period 8600–7950 cal. yr BP, constrained by three AMS dates, suggests its presence close to the hollow. This early occurrence is critiqued against the current paradigm of mid- to late-Holocene Fagus sylvatica spread in northern Central Europe. Between 6200 and 2900 cal. yr BP, Fagus sylvatica was a minor constituent of the forest community but did not expand despite periods of favorable conditions including relatively open forest landscape, wetter-cooler climatic conditions and a suitable fire regime. The eventual expansion of Fagus sylvatica, around 2900 cal. yr BP, is initiated by significant anthropogenic disturbance around the hollow. After the initial phase of expansion, its growing importance in the forest was potentially aided by a period of wetter-cooler conditions and a switch in the fire regime from one of regular episodes, to one of sporadic occurrence. Two fire events and an increase in anthropogenic activity occur at the same time as the decline in the relative abundance of Fagus sylvatica at 1200 cal. yr BP. This site highlights the strong anthropogenic influence on the species dynamics throughout the late Holocene.