Impacts of climate change and human occupation on the landscapes in western Eurasia are complex in terms of both their spatial distribution and temporal resolution. Reconstructing impacts is not straightforward, however; often, semi-arid conditions prevail, which reduce the extent of suitable archives for reconstructing past change. Other sites are very remote, so that few studies exist from which to make these reconstructions. In order to tackle some of these issues, we convened a session at the EGU (Vienna) April 2005 to compile recent research on Holocene environments in western Eurasia. In all, 22 presentations were given, with special emphasis on paleoenvironmental reconstructions from regions with rich archaeological histories. Several papers presented significant methodological advances with regard to reconstructing the past from lake sediments, while others brought the growing field of Russian archaeological pedology to the attention of other scientists. Studies from remote sites were also highlighted, because they served as useful comparisons from which to reconstruct past climatic impacts with minimal human disturbance in the western Eurasian region.

Holocene environmental changes in the northern Fertile Crescent remain poorly understood because of the scarcity of local proxy records in the region. In this study we investigated pedogenic (soil-formed) carbonate coatings on stones at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site Göbekli Tepe as an indicator of local early-mid Holocene environmental changes. The 14C ages and stable isotopic composition of carbon and oxygen in thin (0.2–0.3 mm thick) pedogenic carbonate lamina indicate two main periods of coating formation: the early-Holocene (ca. 10000–6000 cal yr BP) and the mid-Holocene (ca. 6000–4000 cal yr BP). During the first period, there was an inverse relationship between δ13C and δ18O curves: a decrease in δ13C values coincide with an increase in δ18O values. For this period a trend towards higher temperatures is suggested. In the mid-Holocene, the mean rate of coating growth was 2–3 times higher than in the early Holocene. Both δ13C and δ18O reached their maximum values during this time and the direction of changes of the δ13C and δ18O curves became similar. The combination of data suggests that this period was the most humid in the Holocene and on average warmer than the early Holocene. At ca. 4000 cal yr BP secondary accumulation of carbonate ceased, presumably reflecting a shift to a more arid climate.

Comparative analysis of morphological and chemical properties of the soil chronosequence on Kastanozems soils in the steppe zone of the Russian Plain, which included paleosoils buried beneath kurgans erected ca. 2000 BC, AD 50, AD 200, and AD 1250 was performed to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental conditions in this archeologically important region. Paleoenvironmental dynamics were traced using the state of microbial communities of paleo and modern soils (including the dynamics of total and glucose-reactive biomass, and the abundance of microorganisms grown on selected media). We demonstrate that the share of the glucose-reactive microorganisms in the microbial community, the ecological–trophic structure, and oligotrophicity index might serve as indicators of the state of microbial communities and be used for paleoenvironmental reconstructions. The morphological–chemical and microbial properties confirm an arid period ca. 2000 BC, slightly wetter conditions ca. AD 50, and more humid conditions ca. AD 1250.

Today the eastern tributaries of the Upper Khabur run dry during the summer and the landscape is devoid of trees. This picture is misleading when we try to understand archaeological sites within their former environmental context. Interdisciplinary geomorphological, archaeobotanical and ostracod research on a sequence from the Wadi Jaghjagh indicates that relatively stable, perennial flow velocities occurred during the mid 4th to mid-3rd millennium BC. Evidence was found for a gallery forest and swamp belt along the Jaghjagh during the mid-4th millennium BC. Oak park woodland was present within the region in the 3rd millennium BC and probably up to at least the 3rd century AD. Shortly after 2500 BC, Jaghjagh stream velocities probably decreased or the stream bed had changed its location. Later deposits, possibly dating to the 5th century BC, indicate similar, rather stable flow of the Jaghjagh. More recently however, about ca. AD 900 or afterwards, a flashflood-like regime occurred, which may relate to deforestation. The Wadi Khanzir sediment archives reflect the flashy intermittent regime of this stream, like it still is today, with flashflood evidence dating to the first half of the Holocene and probably dating to approximately AD 400 or later. Along the Jarrah, topsoil was eroded and redeposited by the wadi sometime between 1300 and 600 BC. This may have been caused by the intensive resettlement program of this region around 800 BC. Between about 600 and 300 BC 1.5 m of clay was deposited on the plain.

Soil erosion is a natural geomorphological process, which can be triggered by both natural (climate, tectonics, or both) and anthropogenic (e.g., agriculture) perturbation of the ecosystem. Evidence has accrued that the Holocene climate experienced large fluctuations in amplitude and suggestions of human impact on the ecosystem provided by the Neolithic revolution dating back to the early Holocene have been made. The question of whether man or climate was the dominant factor responsible for Holocene soil erosion remains unresolved. To resolve the reasons for Holocene sediment redistribution, high-resolution chronometric data on sediments derived from colluvial and alluvial archives from southern Greece were obtained and combined with available archaeological and paleoclimatic data from the eastern Mediterranean. These data show a significant correlation between sedimentation rates and settlement history. Climatic fluctuations are only weakly correlated with sedimentation history. The results show high sedimentation rates during the Early Neolithic (7th millennium BC) in southern Greece, suggesting that Holocene soil erosion was triggered by human activity and then amplified by enhanced precipitation. This would explain the high sedimentation rates during the Early Neolithic in connection with enhanced precipitation in the eastern Mediterranean, which continued until the mid-Holocene.

High-resolution pollen analyses (∼ 50 yr) from sediment cores retrieved at Chernyshov Bay in the NW Large Aral Sea record shifts in vegetational development from subdesertic to steppe vegetation in the Aral Sea basin during the late Holocene. Using pollen data to quantify climatic parameters, we reconstruct and date for the first time significant changes in moisture conditions in Central Asia during the past 2000 yr. Cold and arid conditions prevailed between ca. AD 0 and 400, AD 900 and 1150, and AD 1500 and 1650 with the extension of xeric vegetation dominated by steppe elements. These intervals are characterized by low winter and summer mean temperatures and low mean annual precipitation (Pmm < 250 mm/yr). Conversely, the most suitable climate conditions occurred between ca. AD 400 and 900, and AD 1150 and 1450, when steppe vegetation was enriched by plants requiring moister conditions (Pmm ∼ 250–500 mm/yr) and some trees developed. Our results are fairly consistent with other late Holocene records from the eastern Mediterranean region and the Middle East, showing that regional rainfall in Central Asia is predominantly controlled by the eastern Mediterranean cyclonic system when the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is in a negative phase.

Changing content of detrital input in laminated sediments traced by XRF scanning and microfacies analyses reflect prominent variations in sedimentation processes in the Aral Sea. A high-resolution record of titanium from a core retrieved in the northwestern Large Aral Sea allows a continuous reconstruction of wind strength and frequency in western Central Asia for the past 1500 yr. During AD 450–700, AD 1210–1265, AD 1350–1750 and AD 1800–1975, detrital inputs (bearing titanium) are high, documenting an enhanced early spring atmospheric circulation associated with an increase in intensity of the Siberian High pressure system over Central Asia. In contrast, lower titanium content during AD 1750–1800 and AD 1980–1985 reflects a diminished influence of the Siberian High during early spring with a reduced atmospheric circulation. A moderate circulation characterizes the time period AD 700–1150. Unprecedented weakened atmospheric circulation over western Central Asia are inferred during ca. AD 1180–1210 and AD 1265–1310 with a considerable decrease in dust storm frequency, sedimentation rates, lamination thickness and detrital inputs (screened at 40-μm resolution). Our results are concurrent with changes in the intensity of the Siberian High during the past 1400 yr as reported in the GISP2 Ice Core from Greenland.

Formerly the world's fourth largest lake by area, the Aral Sea is presently undergoing extreme desiccation due to large-scale irrigation strategies implemented in the Soviet era. As part of the INTAS-funded CLIMAN project into Holocene climatic variability and the evolution of human settlement in the Aral Sea basin, fossil diatom assemblages contained within a sediment core obtained from the Aral Sea have been applied to a diatom-based inference model of conductivity (r2 = 0.767, RMSEP = 0.469 log10 μS cm− 1). This has provided a high-resolution record of conductivity and lake level change over the last ca. 1600 yr. Three severe episodes of lake level regression are indicated at ca. AD 400, AD 1195–1355 and ca. AD 1780 to the present day. The first two regressions may be linked to the natural diversion of the Amu Darya away from the Aral Sea and the failure of cyclones formed in the Mediterranean to penetrate more continental regions. Human activity, however, and in particular the destruction of irrigation facilities are synchronous with these early regressions and contributed to the severity of the observed low stands.

A high-resolution pollen record from Lake Teletskoye documents the climate-related vegetation history of the northern Altai Mountain region during the last millennium. Siberian pine taiga with Scots pine, fir, spruce, and birch dominated the vegetation between ca. AD 1050 and 1100. The climate was similar to modern. In the beginning of the 12th century, birch and shrub alder increased. Lowered pollen concentrations and simultaneous peaks in herbs (especially Artemisia and Poaceae), ferns, and charcoal fragments point to colder and more arid climate conditions than before, with frequent fire events. Around AD 1200, regional climate became warmer and more humid than present, as revealed by an increase of Siberian pine and decreases of dry herb taxa and charcoal contents. Climatic conditions were rather stable until ca. AD 1410. An increase of Artemisia pollen may reflect slightly drier climate conditions between AD 1410 and 1560. Increases in Alnus, Betula, Artemisia, and Chenopodiaceae pollen and in charcoal particle contents may reflect further deterioration of climate conditions between AD 1560 and 1810, consistent with the Little Ice Age. After AD 1850 the vegetation gradually approached the modern one, in conjunction with ongoing climate warming.

A unique 800-yr-long record of annual temperatures and precipitation over the south of western Siberia has been reconstructed from the bottom sediments of Teletskoye Lake, Altai Mountains using an X-ray fluorescence scanner (XRF) providing 0.1-mm resolution timeseries of elemental composition and X-ray density (XRD). Br content appears to be broadly correlative with mean annual temperature variations because of changes in catchment vegetation productivity. Sr/Rb ratio reflects the proportion of the unweathered terrestrial fraction. XRD appears to reflect water yield regime and sediment flux. Sedimentation is rather continuous because annual clastic supply and deposited mass are the same. The artificial neural networks method was applied to convert annual sedimentary time-series of XRD, Br content, and Sr/Rb ratio to annual records of temperature and precipitation using a transfer function. Comparison of these reconstructed Siberian records with the annual record of air temperature for the Northern Hemisphere shows similar trends in climatic variability over the past 800 yr. Estimated harmonic oscillations of temperature and precipitation values for both historical and reconstructed periods reveal subdecadal cyclicity.

Pollen and δ13CTOM data obtained from two contrasting lake sequences (Lakes Kamalété and Nguène), located 200 km apart in the lowland rainforest of Gabon, provide complementary local and regional 1500-yr records of high resolution (15–30 yr) vegetation change. A combination of aquatic, semi-aquatic and terrestrial pollen showed in both records that the tropical rainforest increased during periods of high rainfall and decreased during drought intervals. The strong fluctuations of water balance at decadal scale during the “Medieval Warm Period” (∼ 1100–800 cal yr BP) coincided with a noticeable increase in shade-intolerant taxa, indicating recurring rainforest canopy disturbance. The δ13CTOM signal showed high-amplitude variations in both records, which positively correlates with the rainforest dynamics and local vegetation changes. The similar trends in both the pollen and the δ13CTOM signals between these sites demonstrate the regional broadly synchronous timing of shifting hydrological conditions. The largely positive co-variation between strong fluctuations of hydrological conditions and changes in rainforest structure and composition indicate that regional climatic change is probably the driving force for major rainforest dynamics in Gabon. Any significant anthropogenic impact on vegetation has not been clearly identified, and this issue still needs to be resolved independently by obtaining detailed archeological records across the interval 1400–800 BP, which currently seem to be extremely rare or not easily available.

In this study, we documented the Holocene history of a peat plateau at the arctic tree line in northern Québec using stratigraphic and macrofossil analyses to highlight the effects of geomorphic setting in peatland development. Paludification of the site began about 6800 cal yr BP. From 6390 to 4120 cal yr BP, the peatland experienced a series of flooding events. The location of the peatland in a depression bounded by two small lakes likely explains its sensitivity to runoff. The proximity of a large hill bordering the peatland to the south possibly favored the inflow of mineral-laden water. The onset of permafrost aggradation in several parts of the peatland occurred after 3670 cal yr BP. Uplifting of the peatland surface caused by permafrost stopped the flooding. According to radiocarbon dating of the uppermost peat layers, permafrost distribution progressed from the east to the west of the peatland, indicating differential timing for the initiation of permafrost throughout the peatland. Most of the peatland was affected by permafrost growth during the Little Ice Age. Picea mariana macroremains at 6450 cal yr BP indicate that the species was present during the early stages of peatland development, which occurred soon after the sea regression.

The pollen record at Area Longa is the westernmost sequence available for investigation of the last glaciation in continental Europe. It is located in a region, NW Iberia, for which data from times earlier than the late glacial period are scarce. It comprises a series of exposed limnetic levels that lie above an Eemian (Oxygen Isotope Stage [OIS] 5e) beach and are separated by inorganic layers. The oldest limnetic level (Level I), attributed to the early glacial period (OIS 5a to OIS 5d), shows a dominance of woodland with high proportions of Fagus pollen and is tentatively identified with St. Germain I. The lower pleniglacial (OIS 4) Level II records a stadial landscape of grassland and shrub. Level III, from the pleniglacial interstade (OIS 3), reflects a complex period in which three warmer woodland phases alternated with periods of more open vegetation. This cyclical behavior correlates with the ice core isotope record and with the general tendencies observed in other Würmian pollen records, but the composition of our pollen profiles differs from those observed in these other records. In NW Iberia, the dominant trees were deciduous taxa, not conifers. Of particular note is the presence of lowland Fagus woodlands during the pre-Würm, and the occurrence of Carpinus considerably farther west than the boundary of its current distribution in the Iberian Peninsula.

The glacial history in the topographically confined paleo-ice stream drainage route of Vestfjorden, North Norway, was analysed based on bathymetric data, high-resolution seismology and 14C AMS-dated gravity cores. The inner part of the fjord is characterised by axial-parallel mega-scale lineations whereas the outer part is dominated by two marginal morainal bank systems. The Værøy (inner) and Røst (outer) marginal moraine systems comprise several transverse, zigzag-shaped ridges. Seismic records show thrusted and folded sediment blocks within the ridges. The landforms are inferred to reflect basal processes and the transition from warm-based (inner fjord) to cold-based (outer fjord) conditions, i.e. fast flow followed by basal freeze-on, sediment deformation and morainal bank formation. The moraines formed during the final part of two paleo-ice sheet re-advances. 14C AMS dating indicates a maximum age of 13.7 14C ka BP (16.2 cal ka BP) for the Røst system whereas the Værøy system is inferred to be slightly older than 12.5 14C ka BP (14.5 cal ka BP). This demonstrates that the northern part of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet behaved in a much more dynamic way during the early deglaciation than previously assumed.

Questions remain as to the nature of climatic change through the last glacial–interglacial transition in the eastern Mediterranean region, particularly the relative contribution of evaporation and precipitation to regional water balance. Here changes in oxygen isotope values through this time period from Eski Acıgöl, a crater lake in central Turkey, are investigated using hydrological and isotope mass balance models. These allow changes in evaporation and precipitation to be quantified and their relative importance evaluated. We show that it is the volumetric flux rate of water passing through the lake system and not the precipitation-to-evaporation ratio per se which controlled the stable isotope record in Eski Acıgöl. Early Holocene precipitation is shown to be much greater than that during both the latter part of the last glaciation and the present day. We test these calculated values against other records in the same region, firstly with other lake records in Anatolia, the Konya basin and Lake Van, and secondly with isotope-inferred palaeo-precipitation data from Soreq cave in Israel. This reveals a contrast between pre- and post-LGM precipitation values in Turkey (wetter and drier, respectively) and also suggests that during the last glacial–interglacial transition there was a more marked precipitation gradient than at present between northern/interior and southern/coastal parts of the eastern Mediterranean region.

The middle Wisconsinan Gilman Canyon Formation at the Buzzard's Roost type locality in southwestern Nebraska was investigated to document the stratigraphy and to reconstruct the environmental and climate record. The Gilman Canyon Formation was subdivided into three loess units and three soils, with radiocarbon ages constraining it between about 40 ka and 25 ka. Stable carbon isotope ratios, magnetic susceptibility, and carbon content were used to define and characterize soils within both the Gilman Canyon Formation and underlying Illinoian Loveland Loess. At the height of soil development within the Gilman Canyon Formation, climate was supporting C4-dominated grassland, with July temperatures equal to or exceeding those of today. Soil-forming intervals within the Loveland Loess, including the Sangamon Soil, also exhibited relative increases in C4 biomass. Climate, as recorded in the Gilman Canyon Formation, is corroborated by regional proxy data. The formation accumulated during MIS 3, and concurrent soil formation coincided with a summer insolation maximum.

The eastern border of the Middle Valley of the Tiber River is characterized by several Plio-Pleistocene paleoshorelines, which extend for about 100 km along the western margin of the Central Apennines (Italy). We studied these paleoshorelines by the means of geological and paleontological analyses and new 87Sr/86Sr isotope analyses. The youngest and uppermost paleoshorelines have been detected and mapped through detailed geologic and stratigraphic surveys, which led to the recognition of nearshore deposits, cliff breccias, alignments of Lithophaga borings, fossil abrasion notches and wave-cut platforms. The altitude of these paleoshorelines decreases almost regularly in the NNW–SSE direction from 480 to 220 m a.s.l. Measurements of the 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio have been conducted on corals and mollusks collected from sediments outcropping close to the paleoshorelines. The isotopic dating results indicate numerical values that range between 0.70907 and 0.70910 all over the 100-km outcrop. These results, together with biostratigraphic data, constrain the age of the youngest paleoshorelines to 1.65–1.50 Ma. These paleoshorelines are thus considered almost isochronous, giving an estimated uplift rate of 0.34–0.17±0.03 mm/a moving from NNW to SSE. Shape, length and continuity of the 100-km-long observed movements indicate that the studied paleoshorelines are an important marker of the Quaternary uplift of the Central Apennines.

Picea is an important taxon in late-glacial pollen records from eastern North America, but little is known about which species of Picea were present. We apply a recently developed palynological method for discriminating the three Picea species in eastern North America to three records from New England. Picea glauca was dominant at ∼ 14,500–14,000 cal yr BP, followed by a transition to Picea mariana between ∼ 14,000 and 13,500 cal yr BP. Comparison of the pollen data with hydrogen isotope data shows clearly that this transition began before the beginning of the Younger Dryas Chronozone. The ecological changes of the late-glacial interval were not a simple oscillation in the position of a single species' range, but rather major changes in vegetation structure and composition occurring during an interval of variations in several environmental factors, including climate, edaphic conditions, and atmospheric CO2 levels.