Origin of diversity of Central European landscapes
Funding:
- Czech Science Foundation
Principal investigator:
Co-investigator:
- Vojtěch Abraham (Charles University, Faculty of Science)
Time-frame:
- 2016–2018
Project description:
This project aims to reconstruct Holocene changes in vegetation diversity in two contrasting landscapes: the Pannonian part of southern Moravia with high species richness and the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands with low species richness. We will employ modern quantitative methods based on comparison of diversity of recent pollen assemblages and species richness of recent vegetation. The inferred relationships will be then used to construct an algorithm that will be employed in interpretation of past changes of vegetation diversity in the two compared landscapes using pollen profiles covering whole of Holocene. This can help us also to better predict the biodiversity changes following the ongoing climate change. The project will include a methodological study comparing suitability of different sources of recent pollen (moss pollsters, lake sediments) for pollen productivity studies.