Content (Syllabus outline)

Pollen, which has been deposited in palaeoecological (lakes, swamps) and archaeological sites on wet soils, can be used to reconstruct the development of vegetation in different archaeological time periods.

Students will get acquainted with:

1. Basic palynological research methods:

• the preservation of pollen and taphonomy,
• selection of study sites and sampling,
• storage and laboratory preparation of samples,
• identification of pollen grains and plotting pollen diagram,
• dating,
• multidisciplinary research and cooperation with other disciplines.

2. Quaternary vegetation in Slovenia/Europe, with an emphasis on Lateglacial/Holocene and human impact on the environment.

Specific topics will be selected for each student (in collaboration with other lecturers/mentors, where appropriate) and adapted to his/her research interests and the theme of doctoral thesis. They may include:

• Palaeoecology: long-term changes of the environment and ecological processes, the impact of climate, ecological factors and people on the vegetation
• Quaternary vegetation: the composition and development of forests, fire regimes and human impact on the vegetation and landscape openness in various archaeological and geological time periods, migrations of Quaternary tree taxa
• Palaeoeconomy: food and economy in archaeological time periods
• Palaeoclimatology: Quaternary climate, comparison of ice, marine and terrestrial palaeoenvironmental archives, the influence of climatic fluctuations on the vegetation
• Palaeolimnology: sedimentological processes, palaeohydrological conditions
• Nature protection: knowledge about long-term environmental changes can help us to better plan nature protection/restoration measures

Readings

Basic literature:

• Andrič M., Tolar T., Toškan B. 2016. Okoljska arheologija in paleoekologija: palinologija, arheobotanika in arheozoologija. Založba ZRC in Inštitut za arheologijo ZRC SAZU, Ljubljana.
• Moore P. D., Webb J. A. & Collinson M. E. 1991. Pollen Analysis. Blackwell Science, Oxford.
• Faegri K., Iversen J. 1989. Textbook of Pollen Analysis. The Blackburn Press, Caldwell.
• Pearsall D. M. 2000. Paleoethnobotany (A Handbook of Procedures). Academic Press, London.
• Smol J. P., Birks H. J., Last W. M. (eds.) 2012. Tracking Environmental Changes Using Lake Sediments. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.

ID keys:

• Moore et al. 1991. (glej zgoraj /see above)
• Reille M. 1992. Pollen et spores d’Europe et d’Afrique du Nord, Laboratoire du Botanique Historique et palynologie, Marseille
• Beug H. J. 2004. Leitfaden der Pollenbestimmung, Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München.

Multidisciplinarne paleookoljske raziskave v Sloveniji (izbor):

• Caf N., Sabatier P., Šmuc A., Ogrinc N., Dolenec M., Rapuc W., Potočnik D., von Grafenstein U., Andrič M. 2023. Multi-proxy reconstruction of the Holocene vegetation and land use dynamics in the Julian Alps, north-west Slovenia. Journal of Quaternary Science 38(1), 107-122,
• https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3461.
• Andrič M. 2020. Maharski prekop, Stare gmajne and Blatna Brezovica settlements and the vegetation of Ljubljansko barje (Slovenia) in the 4th millennium cal. BC, Documenta Praehistorica 47, 420-445.
• Feurdean A., Vannière B., Finsinger W., Warren D., Connor S. C., Forrest M., Liakka J., Panait A., Werner C., Andrič M., et al. 2020. Fire hazard modulation by long-term dynamics in land cover and dominant forest type in eastern and central Europe, Biogeosciences 17, 1213–1230, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1213-2020
• Andrič M., Sabatier P., Rapuc W., Ogrinc N., Dolenec M., Arnaud F., von Grafenstein U., Šmuc A. 2020. 6600 years of human and climate impacts on lake-catchment and vegetation in the Julian Alps (Lake Bohinj, Slovenia), Quaternary Science Reviews 227, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106043.
• Rapuc , Sabatier P., Andrič M., Crouzet C., Arnaud F., Chapron E., Šmuc A., Develle A-L., Wilhelm B., Demory F., Reyss J-L., Régnier E., Daut G., von Grafenstein U. 2018. 6600 years of earthquake record in the Julian Alps (Lake Bohinj, Slovenia), Sedimentology 65, 1777–1799, doi: 10.1111/sed.12446.
• Feurdean A., Perşoiu A., Tanţău I., Stevens T., Magyari E.K., Onac B.P., Marković S., Andrič M., et al. 2014. Climate variability and associated vegetation response throughout Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) between 60 and 8 ka, Quaternary Science Reviews 106, 206–224. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.06.003
• Lane C., Andrič M., Cullen V. L. in Blockley S. P. E. 2011. The occurrence of distal Icelandic and Italian tephra in the Lateglacial of Lake Bled, Slovenia. Quaternary Science Reviews 30, 1013–1018. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2011.02.014
• Andrič M., Martinčič A., Štular B., Petek F. in Goslar T. 2010. Land-use changes in the Alps (Slovenia) in the fifteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries AD: A comparative study of the pollen record and historical data. The Holocene 20(7), 1023–1037. DOI: 10.1177/0959683610369506
• Andrič M., Massaferro J., Eicher U., Ammann B., Leuenberger M. C., Martinčič A., Marinova E. in Brancelj A. 2009. A multi-proxy Late-glacial palaeoenvironmental record from Lake Bled, Slovenia, Hydrobiologia 631, 121–141. DOI 10.1007/s10750-009-9806-9
• Andrič M., Kroflič B., Toman M. J., Ogrinc N., Dolenec T., Dobnikar M., Čermelj B. 2008. Late Quaternary vegetation and hydrological change at Ljubljansko barje (Slovenia), Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 270, 150–165. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2008.09.008
• Andrič M. 2007. The Holocene vegetation development in Bela krajina (Slovenia) and the impact of first farmers on the landscape. The Holocene 17 (6), 763–776.
• Andrič M. in Willis K. J. 2003. The phytogeographical regions of Slovenia: a consequence of natural environmental variation or prehistoric human activity? Journal of Ecology 91, 807–821.

Članki v revijah:

• The Holocene, Quaternary Science Reviews, Quaternary Research, Journal of Quaternary Science, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, Journal of Archaeological Science

Načrtovanje raziskave in pisanje:

• Booth W. C., Colomb G. G. & Wiliams J. M. 1995. The Craft of Research. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago

Objectives and competences

Students will acquire basic knowledge about palynological research methods, the Quaternary environment/vegetation in Europe/Slovenia, economy and human impact on the environment in various archaeological time periods. They will be qualified to collaborate with palynologists and archaeologists studying archaeological sites on wet ground.

This course will be largely based on specialised and supervised research. The selection of topics will be adapted individually according to student’s research interests and needs. Students with palynology as the main topic of their research will be qualified to independently carry out palynological research.

Intended learning outcomes

After completing the course students will be able to understand the main environmental processes and causes for changes of past and current environment. This knowledge will enable them to critically read, analyse and interpret the literature and be aware of possibilities and limitations of selected research methods and theories. They will be qualified to communicate with experts from other fields of research, and take part in interdisciplinary basic and applied research projects.

In addition to the knowledge/understanding stated above, students specialising in palynological research will be able to independently carry out palynological research (including selection of study site, fieldwork, laboratory treatment of samples, identification of pollen grains, analysis and interpretation of the data) and publication of the results.

Learning and teaching methods:

Types of learning/teaching:

• Frontal teaching
• Work in smaller groups or pair work
• Independent students work
• e-learning

Teaching methods:

• Explanation
• Conversation/discussion/debate
• Work with texts
• Case studies
• Field work (e.g. company visits)

Assessment

• Short written assignment (50 %),
• final examination (written/oral) (50 %).

Lecturer’s references

• Caf N., Sabatier P., Šmuc A., Ogrinc N., Dolenec M., Rapuc W., Potočnik D., von Grafenstein U., Andrič M. Multi-proxy reconstruction of the Holocene vegetation and land use dynamics in the Julian Alps, north-west Slovenia. Journal of Quaternary Science 38(1), 107-122, https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3461.
• Andrič M., Sabatier P., Rapuc W., Ogrinc N., Dolenec M., Arnaud F., von Grafenstein U., Šmuc A. 2020. 6600 years of human and climate impacts on lake-catchment and vegetation in the Julian Alps (Lake Bohinj, Slovenia), Quaternary Science Reviews 227, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.quascirev.2019.106043.
• Andrič M. Maharski prekop, Stare gmajne and Blatna Brezovica settlements and the vegetation of Ljubljansko barje (Slovenia) in the 4th millennium cal. BC, Documenta Praehistorica 47, 420-445, https://doi.org.10.4312/dp.47.24
• Feurdean A., Vannière B., Finsinger W., Warren D., Connor S. C., Forrest M., Liakka J., Panait A., Werner C., Andrič M., Bobek P., Carter V. A., Davis B., Diaconu A-C., Dietze E., Feeser I., Florescu G., Gałka M., Giesecke T., Jahns S., Jamrichová E., Kajukało K., Kaplan J., Karpinska-Kołaczek M., Kołaczek P., Kuneš P., Kupriyanov D., Lamentowicz M., Lemmen C., Magyari E. K., Marcisz K., Marinova E., Niamir A., Novenko E., Obremska M., Pedziszewska A., Pfeiffer M., Poska A., Rösch M., Słowinski M., Stancikaite M., Szal M., Swieta-Musznicka J., Tantau I., Theuerkauf M., Tonkov S., Valkó O., Vassiljev J., Veski S., Vincze I.,Wacnik A., Wiethold J., Hickler T. 2020. Fire hazard modulation by long-term dynamics in land cover and dominant forest type in eastern and central Europe, Biogeosciences 17, 1213–1230, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1213-2020
• Rapuc , Sabatier P., Andrič M., Crouzet C., Arnaud F., Chapron E., Šmuc A., Develle A-L., Wilhelm B., Demory F., Reyss J-L., Régnier E., Daut G., von Grafenstein U. 2018. 6600 years of earthquake record in the Julian Alps (Lake Bohinj, Slovenia), Sedimentology 65, 1777–1799, https://doi.org/ 10.1111/sed.12446.
• Andrič M., Verbič T., Lomax J., Tolar T. 2017. Človekov vpliv na okolje v prazgodovini : primer z obrežja Ljubljanice pri Špici (Ljubljana) / Embankment of the Ljubljanica River at Špica (Ljubljana) and human impact on the environment in late prehistory. Arheološki vestnik 68, 479-498.