6). This impact increased during PAZ II when pollen from Plantago, Urtica, large grasses and Secale are recorded. Pollen percentages from Betula gradually increase, peak, and finally decline in the upper part of this zone, while the pollen percentages of Pinus and Picea slowly decrease. Charcoal particles were recorded at many levels with two marked peaks of which the latter is accompanied by the presence of Gelasinospora spores. During PAZ III pollen from anthropocores were no longer recorded and the amount of charcoal decrease, indicating that the impact of man and fire is restricted although the presence of pollen from

Melampyrum, Chenopodiaceae, and Rumex indicate that the area

remain under the influence of grazing and trampling. Pollen percentages from Betula slowly decrease and there is a gradual increase in Pinus pollen. Pollen grains from buy GSK2118436 Juniperus were recorded in all three zones, but selleck chemicals they are found in lower percentages during PAZ II. From the AMS dating ( Table 5) a second order polynomial age-depth function provided the best fit from which pollen accumulation rates (PAR) for Betula, Pinus and Picea were calculated ( Fig. 7). In the beginning of PAZ I, PAR values were around 1500–1800 pollen cm−2 yr−1 for both Betula and Pinus which indicated that the area was initially densely forested. At the beginning of PAZ II the forest subsequently became more open with PAR under 500 pollen cm−2 yr−1. A sudden increase in Betula pollen was noted at approximately 600 cal years BP with values over 4500 Betula pollen cm−2 suggesting that there was a rapid establishment of birch. However, these values subsequently dropped rapidly, potentially due to fire and during PAZ III the area became open with PAR Thiamine-diphosphate kinase below 500 pollen cm−2 for all tree pollen types. This shift in vegetation type and increase in charcoal occurrences in peat records

is supported by archeological evidence of human settlement in the area. Hearths containing charcoal fragments were found on small forested ridges above mires and in association with the spruce-Cladina forest type. Two features were 14C-dated (435 ± 75 BP and 240 ± 65 BP; i.e. 624–307 cal. BP and 476 cal. BP to present, respectively) verifying settlements during and after the periods of recurrent fires. Excessive use of fire and selective harvest of wood for fuel and for constructions led to dramatic changes in forest structure and composition at all study sites. The vegetative composition and basal area of degraded stands at Marrajegge and Marajåkkå (Hörnberg et al., 1999) were similar to that at Kartajauratj. The spruce-Cladina forests sites were typified by a basal area of less than 4.0 and lichen cover of 60–70% in the bottom layer. The N2 fixing lichen, S.