Prehistoric farming and the postglacial expansion of beech and hornbeam: acomment on Kuster

Kuster (1997) has argued that human activity rather than climatic 'deterior ation' has been responsible for the postglacial expansion of beech (Fagus s ylvatica) and hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) into the oak (Quercus sp.) woodla nds of central Europe. We concur that climatic change plays a subordinate r ole to human activity in the establishment of these taxa, although we feel that the approach adopted by Kuster overlooks important ecological and meth odological issues. Furthermore, we argue that the expansion of beech is an entirely natural phenomenon which would have occurred without anthropogenic interference but which coincides with early agricultural activity as a res ult of slow migration and establishment rates. Here we present data from fo ur new palaeoecological sequences collected from sites in Slovenia and Hung ary that reveal fluctuations in established forest during the postglacial. In the Slovenian example, anthropogenic activity is seen to reduce beech fo rest while hornbeam and oak expand to fill the gaps. In the Hungarian examp les the response is more complex and includes fluctuations in hazel (Corylu s avellana) in addition to hornbeam and oak.