Non-pollen palynomorphs from the Eemian pool Neumark-Nord 2: Determining water quality and the source of high pollen-percentages of herbaceous taxa

Pollen analysis of the infill of an Eemian basin in Germany near the town of Halle revealed a history of the vegetation in and around this pool. The sediments of Neumark-Nord 2 cover a major part of the Eemian, although there is a hiatus in the record, beginning in the Carpinus phase and ending in de last Pinus phase. During most of the Eemian the landscape was covered by deciduous forests. The analysis shows high percentages of herbaceous taxa during the early part of the interglacial, which could suggest that the forest was relatively open. Alternatively, the high herbaceous taxa might have resulted from the inwash of herb-rich herbivore dung into the pool. In this study, I use non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) to show that it is unlikely that herbivore dung was a major source of herbaceous pollen, as the record shows only low numbers of coprophilous NPPs.According to malacological and sedimentological evidence, the former pool was apt to dry out and be filled with brackish water during most of its existence. The continuous presence of NPP Spirogyra however suggests that fresh water must have been present too, and that water quality may have fluctuated between slightly brackish and fresh.The study shows that NPPs can contribute to a better interpretation of a pollen record and the history of a pool.

► Search for coprophilous fungi > high share of herb pollen not due to herbivore dung. ► NPP tell > the water in the pool was frequently fresh instead of brackish. ► Main Neandertal presence > when pool was filled with fresh water.