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Projekt Druckansicht

Einblicke in die Entstehung eines mediterranen Biodiversitäts-Hotspots auf Basis palynologischer und Biomarker-Analysen von Sedimenten des Ohrid-Sees aus dem Unteren Pleistozän (> 1,2 Ma)

Fachliche Zuordnung Paläontologie
Förderung Förderung von 2016 bis 2024
Projektkennung Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 298848547
 
Erstellungsjahr 2021

Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse

Early Pleistocene pollen spectra from the ICDP Lake Ohrid DEEP core confirm the refugial characteristics of the study region and show a remarkable plant diversity over four complete glacial-interglacial cycles (1365–1165 ka cal BP; MIS 43–35). The unique palynological archive from Lake Ohrid, the oldest extant lake in Europe, records continuously floristic richness and vegetation succession under obliquity-paced climate oscillations. Palynological data are complemented by biomarker, diatom, sedimentology and geochemistry data to identify the drivers controlling shifts in the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems within the lake and its catchment. The findings suggest the gradual expansion and deepening of the lake within the first 100 kyr of its existence before the lake system enters a new equilibrium state as observed in distinct shifts in biotic communities and sediment composition. Several relict tree genera such as Cedrus,Tsuga, Carya and Pterocarya played an important role in ecological succession cycles, while total relict abundance accounts up to half of the total arboreal vegetation. The most prominent biome during interglacials is cool mixed evergreen needleleaf and deciduous broadleaf forests, while cool evergreen needleleaf forests dominate within glacials. The Ohrid catchment provided a variety of different suitable habitats for species characterized by distinct climatic tolerances and growth requirements. In contrast to Late Pleistocene climate cycles, the landscape remained rather forested with a rather stable soil pool and high palynological richness throughout glacial-interglacial cycles within the study interval. In conclusion, pollen- and biomarker-based quantitative climate reconstructions and compound-specific hydrogen isotope analyses suggest a warmer and moister climate with a similar source to modern day precipitation in southeastern Europe during the Early Pleistocene.

Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)

 
 

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