Corylus expansion and persistent openness in the early Holocene vegetation of northern central Europe

• Early Holocene vegetation development was determined by climate and landscape patterns.
• Expansion of warm loving trees is initially hampered by too low temperatures.
• Trees establish in a distinctive pattern, e.g. hazel mainly on wetter sites.
• Areas of open vegetation persisted, mainly on fine grained soils.

The warming at the Younger Dryas–Holocene transition (∼11,600 cal. BP) triggered the rearrangement of vegetation across Europe. To better understand that response, we analysed both an extended fossil pollen data set and robust present-day site parameters from NE Germany in a data model comparison approach. This approach allowed to quantify past plant abundances in sub-regional landscape patterns, as defined by soil types and relief. Betula was the first tree taxon to expand from scattered stands that already existed during the Younger Dryas. The major tree taxa Betula and Pinus fully established after 200–400 years as largely separated stands of Pinus on well drained sandy and Betula on fertile morainic soils. Corylus started to spread after 11,200 cal. BP, yet the final expansion was delayed until ∼10,800 cal. BP. Corylus established on gleyic soils, from which it largely expelled Betula. Throughout the first two millennia of the Holocene, open grasslands existed on fine grained soils, where seasonal dryness prevented the establishment of deciduous trees.