The most complete Holocene peat record from Central Europe: multi-proxy reconstruction of postglacial wetness changes and climate events from Linje peatland, Poland

Abstract

This study investigates the vegetation and hydrological dynamics of Linje peatland in northern Poland during the past ∼ 11 500 years by integrating testate amoebae and plant macrofossil analyses. The Linje profile is currently the only complete Holocene peat record in Central Europe and offers valuable insights into long-term climate variability and its ecological consequences for peatland ecosystems. The results reveal significant changes in peatland wetness and vegetation driven by autogenic processes, climatic fluctuations and anthropogenic influences. Major bryophyte species turnovers occurred ∼ 11 200, ∼ 10 350, ∼ 8200, 7500, ∼ 5500, ∼ 600, and ∼ 450 cal BP often coinciding with declines in Archerella flavum and Hyalosphenia papilio abundances. Both proxies indicate a marked period of drier conditions between ∼ 7600 and ∼ 6800 cal BP corresponding with the Holocene Thermal Maximum. Additionally, testate amoebae data suggest further disturbances at ∼ 3050, ∼ 2000, and ∼ 200 cal BP, and the latter, linked to a permanent shift in species composition, implies lasting changes to peatland conditions caused by intensified human activity. Around the end of the Early Holocene, most species turnovers and disturbances began to align with Holocene Rapid Climate Change (RCC) events.