title: Abrupt ecological changes in the last 800 years inferred from a mountainous bog using testate amoebae traits and multi-proxy data.
abstract: Mountainous peatlands of Western Sudetes are considered a unique habitat in Central Europe. The region contains one of the largest raised bog complexes in temperate Europe and is thus of great importance for biodiversity conservation. In this first high-resolution study from this region we use long-term ecological data to assess how these mountain wetland ecosystems responded to anthropogenic impacts and climate change. We used testate amoebae morphological traits, micro- and macroscopic charcoal, pollen and plant macrofossils to reconstruct the history of peatland development over 800 years, illustrating shifts in its development and fire dynamics. Five hydrological stages of peatland development were recognized. Testate amoebae morphological traits reflected several abrupt ecological changes linked to anthropogenic modifications of landscape openness. A shift towards mixotrophic taxa, linked to hydrological change or shrubs expansion and shading, preceded aperture position change, which was associated to dust input through surrounding deforestation and simultaneous water-table increase. Fire reconstruction revealed increasing burning together with intensifying human activity, including the expansion of a nearby settlement. This study confirms the potential of testate amoeba communities and the use of morpho-functional traits as indicators of ecological effects of land-use change over long-temporal scales.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Monitoring, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University, Dzięgielowa 27, 61-680 Poznań, Poland. Electronic address: katarzyna.kajukalo@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kajukało
authors.affiliation: Department of Biogeography and Paleoecology, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University, Dzięgielowa 27, 61-680 Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fiałkiewicz-Kozieł
authors.affiliation: Department of Biogeography and Paleoecology, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University, Dzięgielowa 27, 61-680 Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Mariusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gałka
authors.affiliation: Department of Biogeography and Paleoecology, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University, Dzięgielowa 27, 61-680 Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kołaczek
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Monitoring, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University, Dzięgielowa 27, 61-680 Poznań, Poland; Department of Biogeography and Paleoecology, Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University, Dzięgielowa 27, 61-680 Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Mariusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lamentowicz
mesh_terms: D000656:Amoeba; D002606:Charcoal / Q000032:analysis; D017753:Ecosystem; D005390:Fires; D005580:Fossils; D062070:Hydrology; D011044:Poland; D012987:Soil / Q000469:parasitology*; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D002606:Charcoal
keywords: Fire history; Ombrotrophic peatland; Palaeohydrology; Poland; Testate amoebae; Trait-based palaeoecology