The Crvenka loess-paleosol sequence: A record of continuous grassland domination in the southern Carpathian Basin during the Late Pleistocene

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Slobodan B. Marković - , University of Novi Sad, Mathematical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (Author)
  • Pál Sümegi - , University of Szeged (Author)
  • Thomas Stevens - , University of Novi Sad, Uppsala University (Author)
  • Randall J. Schaetzl - , Michigan State University (Author)
  • Igor Obreht - , University of Bremen, RWTH Aachen University (Author)
  • Wei Chu - , University of Cologne (Author)
  • Björn Buggle - , ETH Zurich (Author)
  • Michael Zech - , Heisenberg Chair of Physical Geography with a Focus on Paleoenvironmental Research, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Roland Zech - , Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Author)
  • Christian Zeeden - , RWTH Aachen University, Institute for Celestial Mechanics and Computation of Ephemerides (Author)
  • Milivoj B. Gavrilov - , University of Novi Sad (Author)
  • Zoran Perić - , University of Novi Sad (Author)
  • Zorica Svirčev - , University of Novi Sad (Author)
  • Frank Lehmkuhl - , RWTH Aachen University (Author)

Abstract

In this study, we compare two independent paleoenvironmental proxies for a loess sequence in northern Serbia, in the southern Carpathian Basin: novel n-alkane biomarkers and traditional land snail assemblages. Both are associated with other, more widely used proxy data for loess sections, such as environmental magnetism, grain size, and geochemical indices. Together, these paleoenvironmental proxy records provide evidence for the continued dominance of grasslands during the Late Pleistocene in the Southern Carpathian Basin. It is contrary to other European loess provinces, which are characterized by high diversity of Late Pleistocene environments (ranging from tundra-like to deciduous forest habitats). These findings highlight the southeastern part of Carpathian Basin as an important, but still insufficiently investigated, biogeographical refugium, and biodiversity preservation zone. The reason for this is a mostly stable paleoclimate for much of the Late Pleistocene.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33-46
Number of pages14
JournalPalaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology
Volume509
Publication statusPublished - 15 Nov 2018
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Biomarkers, Grassland, Loess, Mollusks, Serbia

Library keywords