Palaeoecology and human impact in the vicinity of Lake Kahala, northern Estonia

Abstract

To obtain information on the development of the local vegetation and land occupation in the surroundings of Kahala, a lacustrine sediment record from Lake Kahala in North Estonia and a terrestrial record from the overgrown northwestern edge of the lake were investigated by diatom, pollen, macrofossil and chemical analyses and dated by 210 Pb and 14 C methods. The lacustrine record covers the whole Holocene reaching as far back as the Younger Dryas, thus encompassing at least 11000 14 C years. The terrestrial section covers the Late Holocene. A new standard pollen diagram for northern Estonia is considered. The lake development, changes in vegetation and palaeoenvironmental conditions are discussed. The presence of settlements in the surroundings of Lake Kahala since 7000 BP are suggested. Four main land-use phases have been identified: 1) Late Mesolithic -- instability in the forest community ; 2) from Neolithic times to the Bronze Age - forest clearance and possible grazing; 3) from Bronze Age to Pre-Roman Iron Age - slash-and-burn agriculture ; 4) from Iron Age onwards - arable farming, possible permanent fields, grazing.