DOI chapter:
Changing Worlds – The Spread of the Neolithic Way of Life in the North
DOI chapter:Dörfler, Walter: A biological view on neolithisation
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.66745#0348
Walter Dorfler
347
dry
slightly dry
slightly fresh
fresh
slightly moist
moist
slightly wet
wet
very wet
strongly acidic
slightly
waekly
neutral
alkalic
acidic
acidic
acidic
Fig. 3 Ecogram of the potential pre-
historic vegetation of the late Atlantic
period (after Feeser in Knitter et al.
2019, changed).
ing and death phase. The circle closes with a clearing
phase with perennials and grassy vegetation, which
then again passes into the pioneer phase I. Figure 2
shows the percentage of the individual phases ac-
cording to their duration as listed in Remmert (1989;
1991). According to this concept, there is about 4 %
open grass-rich vegetation in a natural woodland.
If we add the light pioneer phase and a relatively
light dying-off phase, we get 10 to 15 % light spots
compared to 85 to 90 % dense forest cover due to
closed stands of trees of different ages.
A comparison with pollen diagrams confirms
these values: In the late Atlantic, about 95 °/o tree
pollen contrasts with 5 °/o grasses and herbs. Due
to the differences in pollen production and pollen
distribution, these values have to be transferred to
area estimates. When we use a calibration with the
REVEALS program according to Sugita (2007), the
proportion of clearings and light stocks is approx.
15 % (Dorfler 2017).
The degree of shading in the final woodland
phase varies with the composition of the forest, as the
trees allow different amounts of light to pass through
to the forest floor. For this, Ellenberg has determined
values that range from 0 to 5 for the degree to which
they produce shadow (Ellenberg 1986, 82). Table 1
shows these values for the central European forest
trees. An average value for the degree of shading can
be derived from the share of the individual trees in
the forest composition.
As there are no recent comparisons for the com-
position of the deciduous forests of the late Atlantic
(5,000 to 3,800 calBC), we postulate potential pre-
historic plant communities in analogy to modern
plant communities. Ellenberg (1986, 106) created
an ecogram of modern plant communities for the vari-
Average values of a Late-Atlantic Mixed Oak-forest ( Lake Belau 5000 to 4000 BC)
Quercus
Tilia
Ulmus
Fraxinus
Pinus
Betula
Alnus
Average value in the pollen diagram [percent landplants]
22
6
9
4
5
12
25
Average value in the pollen diagram [percent arboreal pollen]
27
7
11
5
6
14
30
PPE (S-Sweden)
7.6
1.3
0.8
0.7
5.7
8.9
4.2
Percent values/PPE
2.9
4.6
11.3
5.7
0.9
1.3
6
Calculated area share
8.9
14.1
34.4
17.5
2.7
4.1
18.2
Shadow value according to Ellenberg 1986. Tab. 9
3
4
4
3
1
1
3
Shadow value * area share
0.27
0.56
1.38
0.52
0.03
0.04
0.55
Mean shade number for the woodland in the Lake Belau area
3.34
Table 2 Conversion of the pollen percentages (average values for the time between 5,000 and 4,000 calBC) into the degree of covera-
ge and determination of a value for the mean shade number.
347
dry
slightly dry
slightly fresh
fresh
slightly moist
moist
slightly wet
wet
very wet
strongly acidic
slightly
waekly
neutral
alkalic
acidic
acidic
acidic
Fig. 3 Ecogram of the potential pre-
historic vegetation of the late Atlantic
period (after Feeser in Knitter et al.
2019, changed).
ing and death phase. The circle closes with a clearing
phase with perennials and grassy vegetation, which
then again passes into the pioneer phase I. Figure 2
shows the percentage of the individual phases ac-
cording to their duration as listed in Remmert (1989;
1991). According to this concept, there is about 4 %
open grass-rich vegetation in a natural woodland.
If we add the light pioneer phase and a relatively
light dying-off phase, we get 10 to 15 % light spots
compared to 85 to 90 % dense forest cover due to
closed stands of trees of different ages.
A comparison with pollen diagrams confirms
these values: In the late Atlantic, about 95 °/o tree
pollen contrasts with 5 °/o grasses and herbs. Due
to the differences in pollen production and pollen
distribution, these values have to be transferred to
area estimates. When we use a calibration with the
REVEALS program according to Sugita (2007), the
proportion of clearings and light stocks is approx.
15 % (Dorfler 2017).
The degree of shading in the final woodland
phase varies with the composition of the forest, as the
trees allow different amounts of light to pass through
to the forest floor. For this, Ellenberg has determined
values that range from 0 to 5 for the degree to which
they produce shadow (Ellenberg 1986, 82). Table 1
shows these values for the central European forest
trees. An average value for the degree of shading can
be derived from the share of the individual trees in
the forest composition.
As there are no recent comparisons for the com-
position of the deciduous forests of the late Atlantic
(5,000 to 3,800 calBC), we postulate potential pre-
historic plant communities in analogy to modern
plant communities. Ellenberg (1986, 106) created
an ecogram of modern plant communities for the vari-
Average values of a Late-Atlantic Mixed Oak-forest ( Lake Belau 5000 to 4000 BC)
Quercus
Tilia
Ulmus
Fraxinus
Pinus
Betula
Alnus
Average value in the pollen diagram [percent landplants]
22
6
9
4
5
12
25
Average value in the pollen diagram [percent arboreal pollen]
27
7
11
5
6
14
30
PPE (S-Sweden)
7.6
1.3
0.8
0.7
5.7
8.9
4.2
Percent values/PPE
2.9
4.6
11.3
5.7
0.9
1.3
6
Calculated area share
8.9
14.1
34.4
17.5
2.7
4.1
18.2
Shadow value according to Ellenberg 1986. Tab. 9
3
4
4
3
1
1
3
Shadow value * area share
0.27
0.56
1.38
0.52
0.03
0.04
0.55
Mean shade number for the woodland in the Lake Belau area
3.34
Table 2 Conversion of the pollen percentages (average values for the time between 5,000 and 4,000 calBC) into the degree of covera-
ge and determination of a value for the mean shade number.