Late-glacial and Holocene woodland dynamics and land-use history of the Lower Oder valley, north-eastern Germany, based on two, AMS C-14-dated, pollen profiles

High-resolution Holocene pollen profiles from lakes Grober Krebssee and Fel chowsee, in the Lower Oder valley, north-eastern Germany, are presented. Th e Grober Krebssee profile includes a Late-glacial sequence. These investiga tions have been carried out in the context of a programme of archaeological excavation. AMS radiocarbon dates (26 in all) based on pollen concentrates have been used to provide a chronology for the pollen records. Holocene fo rest history and human impact are reconstructed for contrasting landscapes, namely, the Neuenhagener Oderinsel in the Lower Oderbruch (Grober Krebssee profile) and the more fertile Uckermarker Hugelland (Felchowsee profile) t hat lies immediately to the north. Both landscapes were glaciated during th e Pomeranian stage of the Weichselian. New information on the spread of tre es, including Tilia, Fagus and Carpinus, at both regional and local level, is presented. Five major phases of intensive human activity are recognised, the most intensive activity of the prehistoric period occurring in the Neo lithic (Grober Krebssee profile). Differences between the records is explai ned in terms of local habitat, especially edaphic conditions, settlement hi story and also the pollen source area, the profile from the much larger Fel chowsee lake providing a record of environmental change that is more region al in character.