The Postglacial Vegetation History in Southwestern Bulgaria. A Paleoecological Approach. 2021. illus. 167 p. 4to.. Paper bd.

Preface

This book presents the results from the palynological and paleoecological studies conducted in Southwestern Bulgaria during the period 1985-2020. The study area has always played a key role in the investigation of the Late Quaternary vegetation history in Bulgaria since the middle of the past century. With the development of the research methods (pollen analysis, determination of plant macrofossils, radiocarbon dating, sediment analysis, computer software, etc.) in the last decades it turned out to be a challenge for me to evaluate critically again and synthesize the paleoecological information. In my opinion, such approach allows to reveal in more details the general trends of the postglacial vegetation development for the last 18000-15000 years, and to take also into account the role of humans in transforming the natural environment after the establishment of agriculture and the practice of stockbreeding in this part of the country along the Struma river.

The content is organized in several chapters starting with introductory notes on the scientific importance and the main purpose of research in the study area, a brief assessment of previous investigations, and a short review of the research techniques applied. The subsequent chapters present the original paleoecological data and the vegetation reconstruction for each montane area in uniform way, starting with the high mountains Rila and Pirin, the Konyavska and the lower west border Osogovo, Maleshevska, Vlahina and Belasitsa mountains. Then follows a summary of the human occupation and the millennial anthropogenic impact on the vegetation cover and the environment since the Neolithic epoch. The final chapter presents to the audience the main conclusions and specifics of the postglacial vegetation history in