Where did the trees go?

This book presents an account of the vegetational and§environmental changes, which occurred on Lesvos§Island, Greece, during the last glacial period§[Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 2-4]. Based on§high-resolution pollen and sediment analyses it§provides the most detailed record from Greece and§western Turkey to date. Six tephra layers and§multiple radiocarbon dates are used to develop its§chronological framework. During the late MIS 4 cold§and arid conditions prevailed and the landscape was§characterised by increased erosion rates and the§dominance of grassland/steppe. Arboreal populations§(dominated by Pinus and to a lesser extent deciduous§Quercus) expanded during the interstadials of MIS 3,§suggesting increases in precipitation and§temperature. During intervening stadials, steppe§dominated the area indicating reversals to arid and§cold conditions. Only a small portion of MIS 2 is§represented in the sequence, showing a short-lived§expansion of trees. The observed vegetational§oscillations are in concert with North Atlantic§millennial-scale climate variability and provide§evidence towards the geographical extent of this§variability in southern Europe and the response of§ecosystems.