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A 5600-yr history of changing vegetation, sea levels and human impacts from the Black Sea coast of Georgia

School of Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia, connorse{at}unimelb.edu.au

Ian Thomas

School of Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia

Eliso V. Kvavadze

L. Davitashvili Institute of Palaeobiology, 4 Niagvris Street, Tbilisi 0108, Georgia

Mid-late Holocene pollen evidence from the Ispani-II Sphagnum bog in lowland Western Georgia shows that 4500 years ago Castanea (chestnut)-dominated woods rapidly declined to be replaced by alder swamps and, later, during the first millennium bc, by open, marshy landscapes in which fire played a prominent part. Around 1900 years ago, Sphagnum blanket bog encroached on the marshes and dense Fagus-Carpinus (beech-hornbeam) forest enveloped the surrounding land. This vegetation remained until the mid-twentieth century, when forests were clear-felled and marshes were drained for large-scale, mechanized agriculture. Previous studies have emphasized climate’s governing role in setting the course of Holocene vegetation development in lowland Western Georgia, but our results provide little support for this hypothesis. To a much greater degree, episodes of coastal subsidence, sea-level rise and human impact have shaped the vegetation history of coastal Western Caucasus.

Key Words: Colchis • Caucasus • pollen • charcoal • sea-level rise • archaeology • vegetation • human impact • Holocene • Black Sea • Georgia

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The Holocene, Vol. 17, No. 1, 25-36 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0959683607073270


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