Multi-proxy insights into past vegetation and climate change:
subfossil beetles and pollen

Dr. Nick Schafstall
Nature Research Center, Vilnius, Luthuania

Pollen from sediment cores has been established as the main proxy in paleoecology for reconstructing past landscape structures and climates. The large (regional) source area for pollen often complicates a detailed reconstruction of the vegetation history at a local scale. This can be overcome by additional records of macro- remains. As a local biological proxy, beetle (Coleoptera) remains are particularly valuable since they preserve well under anoxic conditions and can often be identified to the species level. They can be numerous in organic- rich sediments, and many species have narrow ecological or climatic niches. In Western Europe and North America, temperature reconstructions from beetle remains have been used to demonstrate that the climatic fluctuations during the Late Glacial–Holocene transition occurred much faster than was recorded in the pollen records. Recent multi-proxy paleo-studies from Central Europe, where beetle records were included, give detailed information about different aspects of these sites and surrounding landscapes that could not be confirmed based on pollen and plant macrofossil records alone. Phytophagous beetle species confirmed the local presence of tree and plant species, large amounts of conifer bark beetles indicated when outbreaks occurred, and dung beetles provided detailed information about nearby herding activities. In conclusion, beetle remains are a valuable tool in addition to pollen to reconstruct forest disturbance history, changes in vegetation composition and structure, and the effects of human activity on the landscape.