Hungarian Paleontological Itinerant Congress in Eger (Magyar Őslénytani Vándorgyűlés, Eger)

The conference provided an opportunity to present the latest findings in palaeontology in the form of a lecture or poster, followed by a friendly discussion. The presentations and posters covered a wide range of topics. Presentations were given on dinosaurs, geomorphology, floodplain plant macro- and microfossils, palaeoecology, lake sediments, chironomids, pollen, climate change and anthropogenic impacts. Máté Róbert Merkl gave a presentation on "Reconstruction of Roman land cover in Transdanubia (Hungary) using pollen, anthracology, carpology and GIS studies''. We used pollen analysis and LRA-Reveals (LRA-Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm) model to reconstruct the Roman Age land cover and human impact. The data of the pollen analysis were supplemented with the carpological and anthracological results of the archaeological sites of Balatonlelle, Balatonfőkajár, Szabadbattyán and Tác. We showed GIS based soil and potential vegetation cover, and digital elevation models of the sites, and we attempted to reconstruct the spatial distribution of the Roman Age vegetation around the settlements.

Ilona Pál prepared a poster and gave a short presentation about "Pollen-based Holocene land cover reconstruction and human impact in the eastern part of the Carpathian Basin''. Ilona made the pollen analysis of Kokad Mire from 12,000 cal yr BP to the present days, which helped us to reconstruct the land cover changes in the eastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain. Ilona also focused on the analyses of the microfossils that indicate grazing and refer to the mire environment. We completed our research with the pollen-based climate (using CHELSA TraCE21k database) and land cover reconstructions (REVEALS model) and we also determined the Land Use Probability (LUP) index. The end of the stadial period of the Late Glacial (GS-1) and the time of the Holocene warming (between 12,710 and 11,100 cal yr BP) are characterized by boreo-nemoral forests and the Poaceae dominated steppe based on the pollen composition. The Early and Mid-Holocene period (between 11,100 and 4,000 cal yr BP) is characterized by the spread of mixed oak deciduous forests, where the Artemisia dominated steppe was significant.

We detected anthropogenic impact from the Early Bronze Age (4100 cal yr BP), which was intensive from the Late Bronze Age (from 3100 cal yr BP). This interval was characterized by the significant decrease in the forest cover and the spread of the open land and arable fields. The Early Iron Age is characterized by the spread of two coprophilous fungi spores which can be attributed to grazing animal husbandry in the area. The pollen of Cannabis was present in the sediment from the Middle Copper Age (6000 cal yr BP) suggesting hemp cultivation around the research area, but in the Late Iron Age its occurrence was high (~80%) in one sample suggesting hemp soaking at that time.

For more information, visit the poster link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YLePs66mZfV4BtGmKzZWwVOF630B2CtC/view?usp=drive_link