Holocene history of Larix in the Jeseníky Mts, Czech Republic

The hypothesis that Larix is a native species in the Czech Republic is based on archival data. However, it has not yet been confirmed by paleoecology. In this paper we present pollen evidence of the autochthonous occurrence of Larix in the Jeseníky Mts at four sites and systematize the study of archival records in and beyond the region. Furthermore, we provide the first detailed narrative of the Holocene history of Larix for the entire Czech Republic and Slovakia. In the Jeseníky Mts, larch has been recorded since the Late Glacial and Holocene boundary and persisted probably as a part of Early Holocene mixed forests until the beginning of the Middle Holocene. After that, during a critical period from around 7000 to 2700 BP, larch disappeared due to the spread in this area of mixed deciduous forests. We presume that during this mid/late Holocene bottleneck, Larix survived in its core refugial area around Bruntál until its recolonization of the area during and after the Iron Age. The distribution of Larix thus appears to have changed dynamically during the Holocene. Archival sources for the 18th century record an expansive phase in the development of Larix populations and illustrate how a static and sharply defined native range may not be themost suitable way to understand the history of larch. Survey maps of a total of 51 Czech and Slovakian sites illustrate a general development similar to that in the Jeseníky Mts. During the mid/late Holocene bottleneck, Larix was absent at many sites, except for a core area in the central Western Carpathians and two sites in the Šumava Mts and Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. In the latter two regions, Larix may have existed until the Modern Period, but so far there is no archival evidence to confirm this.