The history of Taxus baccata L. in the Wierzchlas (N Poland) on the basis of palynological research

Abstract

Wierzchlas forest reserve forms the biggest natural stand of the Taxus baccata in Poland. The pollen analysis of biogenic sediments from Mukrz Lake registers the history of the plant cover of area surrounding Mukrz Lake starting from Vistulian Late Glacial period through the Holocene until the contemporary times and indicates that Taxus baccata may be native from the beginning of the Subboreal to the present time. Additional research was made because of the small representation of Taxus in the fossil samples. The fossil spectra were supplemented with the results of surface samples taken from the bottom of the lake and from the forest, together with the results of annual pollen deposition. The presence of yew pollen grains in surface materials from the reserve in Wierzchlas depends, thus, on both the distance between the sample taken and a male yew individual as well as the stand density. The comparison of the surface spectra from different habitats of this reserve (lake, forest floor and peatbog) and material from Tauber’s traps reflected a large discrepancy in the representation of yew. These differences are related to both the habitat from which the material originated, and also to the distance between the sampling point and the location of a male yew tree.