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This paper presents the first results of palynological research from the Spila nad Procjepom cave, situated in the Mljet National Park, Croatia. The palynological data obtained, enables a partial insight into the local vegetation cover, temporal changes in the vegetation during the accumulation of studied deposits (at ca. 3500 cal years BP), and post-depositional processes that influenced the palynomorph assemblage. Results of palynofacies analysis indicate changes from fluvial (channel deposits), through palustrine to terrestrial environments. Although the interpretation of changes in plant cover, due to the lack of statistical significance, should be taken with caution, preserved pollen types confirm the dominance of the Mediterranean evergreen forest vegetation on Mljet island. Moreover, a high proportion of non-arboreal pollen (NAP) indicates some level of forest degradation, ranging from Mediterranean open forest to degraded maquis. Abundant charcoal additionaly confirms that the cave was inhabited by humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous karst dolines have been formed along the Croatian coast and many have been submerged during the Late Glacial and Holocene sea level rise. The coastal area of Cres Island in the Northern Adriatic is a typical example of this geomorphological setting, where transitional forms from subaerial to submerged dolines are present. Once dolines are formed they can accumulate soil, water and sediments due to their morphology. Sediments are an especially valuable source of environmental data. This paper presents the results of the study of foraminiferal assemblages and sediment geochemistry, supplemented with grain-size and mineralogical data, from the marine ponds developed in the karst dolines on Cres Island. Obtained data is correlated with the sediment core record from submerged dolines in the present-day embayments along the coastal zone of Cres Island. In total, 3 sediment cores were collected in the marine ponds Marinska, Arcij and Podbrajde, while 2 longer sediment cores have been extracted from the Jaz and Sonte embayments. The Marinska, Arcij and Podbrajde marine ponds have distinct geochemical and mineralogical sediment compositions, with monospecific foraminiferal assemblages and generally differ from each other. The common characteristics are their high N and P concentrations and the algal origin of organic matter. Agglutinated foraminiferal taxa (Haplophragmoides canariensis and Trochammina inflata), typical for intertidal environments, are abundant in the brackish-water Marinska pond, while stress-tolerant species Ammonia tepida has been identified in the Arcij marine pond. Environmental conditions in the Podbrajde marine pond did not facilitate the development of a rich foraminiferal fauna. Results from the present-day marine ponds enabled recognition of similar environments in the sediment cores collected in the Jaz and Sonte embayments that were progressively inundated during the Holocene sea level rise. A palaeo-marine pond existed in the Sonte embayment until 6610 cal BP, when the sea flooded the investigated area. A marine pond in the Jaz embayment was formed at 711 cal BP. Low-diversity foraminiferal assemblages in these palaeo-ponds are similar to those recognized in the present-day Arcij marine pond on Cres Island. However, differences in the geochemical composition of palaeo-marine ponds, in comparison to the present-day ponds, exist. They might be attributed to climate variability over time and variations in the geological setting of each environment. High Mo concentrations and abundant organic matter content are the main sediment characteristics of the recognized palaeo-marine ponds in the Jaz and Sonte embayments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to reconstruct the vegetation changes, fire history and local landscape dynamics of central Croatia (the western part of south-eastern Europe) from 9800 cal yr BP to the beginning of the Common Era. Pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs and charcoal were analysed for the first time in the aforementioned area by modern palynological methods. Three different assemblage (sub)zones were identified: "Pinus-Fagus-Quercetum mixtum" (Preboreal), "Fagus-Corylus" (Boreal) and "Alnus-Fagus" (Atlantic, Subboreal and older Subatlantic). Additionally, the oldest observation (~9800 cal yr BP) of beech pollen for continental Croatia was confirmed by radiocarbon dating. Our results indicated a possibly milder climate with less extreme temperatures and higher precipitation during the Preboreal chronozone, alongside intensive flooding, a transition from a mosaic of wetland/wet grassland communities to alder carr during the Boreal, and an unusually long multi-thousand-year period, the annual presence of alder on the mire itself. An increase in the number of secondary anthropogenic indicators can be tracked from the 6th century BC to the beginning of the Common Era. Although regional vegetation changes are insufficiently clear, our results fill a gap in the interpretation of vegetation/palaeoenvironmental changes before the Common Era in in this part of Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphometric analysis of Holocene pebbles from Sava River gravel in NW Croatia revealed shape distributions as observed along a 30 km long watercourse. Limestones, dolomites, and sandstones were identified as the major (>4%) and effusive magmatics in this alluvial aquifer system in Zagreb, with cherts and tuffs as minor pebble lithologies (up to 4%). Their distributions mainly indicate distant Alpine provenance for carbonate pebbles (limestone and dolomite) and local input for sandstones and minor lithotypes, laterally from the Samoborska Gora and Medvednica mountain. Carbonates are predominantly disc- and sphere-shaped, implying distant sources. Scattered distributions of pebble shapes (sphere, disc, blade, and rod) for sandstones and minor lithotypes possibly indicate multiple sources, some of them probably local. The tentatively interpreted "original sedimentary environments" for the main pebble lithotypes (calculated from their flatness ratios) possibly indicate that they are predominantly lake beach pebbles, followed by moraine and riverbed pebbles. However, these results should be strongly questioned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]