Landscape dynamics in southern Finland during the Iron Age and the Early Modern Era - Pollen-based landscape reconstruction (LRA), macrofossil and historical data from Western Uusimaa

- Pollen-inferred quantitative reconstruction of past vegetation cover on the coastal mainland and in the archipelago of southern Finland are presented on a regional spatial scale using the REVEALS model and on local spatial scales using the LOVE model.
- The pollen data is complemented by data on charred macrofossil plant remains of cultivated species, which has not been compiled together from the area of western Uusimaa earlier.
- The focus of the study is from the Iron Age (500 BCE) to modern times (1550 CE).
- Quantitative estimates of regional vegetation obtained with REVEALS showed that from 650 BCE until 950 CE, forests dominate the landscape. The meadow/grassland vegetation increased significantly from 1150 CE onwards showing how the diversified semi-natural landscape and the cultural landscape visible in the early 20th century were built up already in the Middle Ages.