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In this paper, we present high-resolution, contiguous plant macrofossil records taken from two glacial cirque mountain wetland ecosystems located in the subalpine zone of the Eastern Carpathians. We provide 1) a detailed reconstruction of plant succession from mountain peatland ecosystems; 2) a possible scenario of Holocene paleohydrological changes; 3) the presence of rare plants presently considered glacial relicts, e.g. Meesia triquetra; and 4) the peat forming potential of certain plants at altitudes above 1800 m a.s.l. At Gărgălău, a gradual decrease of water level and isolation from ground water influence approximately 7000 cal yr BP trigged the colonization of minerotrophic Sphagnum species (S. teres, S. centrale and S. subsecundum). The decline of Sphagnum subsecundum ca. 3000 cal yr BP was most likely caused by an increase of water level and competiton with Sarmentypnum sarmentosum populations. In the Late Holocene, ca. 2000 cal yr BP, Selaginella selaginoides expansion was recorded, followed by the reappearance of Sphagnum populations, most likely due to a lowering of the water table. The Gropile ecosystem transformed from a shallow lake into peatland at ca. 4200 cal yr BP. The temporary presence of Warnstorfia exannulata in peat sediments ca. 2300, 1600, 1300–1200, and 700–600 cal yr BP may indicate an increase of water level and very wet habitat, or the presence of small ponds. Paleohydrological changes only partly agree at both studied wetlands, suggesting the importance of local climatic and morphological conditions on past vegetation development. According to our paleoecological data, Straminergon stramineum indicates wet stages in peatlands and cannot be considered a high peat-forming species in subalpine zones in European mountain ranges. Projected warm and dry conditions may trigger mountain peatland water tables in Eastern Carpathians to decline, potentially resulting in the expansion of moss species that demand more acidic and drier habitats, e.g. Sphagnum russowii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Beskid Niski Mts. and the foothill area of the Carpathians are under-represented in pollen data due to the unfavorable conditions for peat formation. This contribution is a review supplemented by new palaeobotanical data dedicated to the late Holocene history of local forests. Pollen, wood and other plant macrofossils as well as a new approach to isopollen mapping were used to reconstruct the migration of late-successional trees between ca. 3500 and 1900 BC. This time interval was define as a critical period in the development of the modern vegetation belts. We documented a quite late arrival of hornbeam, ca. 3500 BC, from the south and south east as well as optimal development of oak-lime-hornbeam forests forming the foothill belt between 2600 and 1600 BC. The migration of beech occurred ca. 3250–2750 BC and was followed by fir ca. 2800–2500 BC. Beech-fir forests already developed c. 2500 BC, and became common since ca. 1850 BC in the lower montane belt. On a regional scale, transformation of vegetation coincided with phases of climate moistening. The auxiliary role of the Corded Ware culture settlement, exploiting for the first time the upper landscape zone in the Carpathians, in the establishment of the new types of woodland, was indicated. Local differences in permanent deforestation of extensive areas were also analyzed. The beginning of this process in the lower landscape zone took place in the Roman Iron Age or in the Early Medieval time. In the upper landscape zone, it occurred in the Late Medieval or modern times, particularly as a result of the Wallachian colonization in the 15th and 16th century AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]