Abstract Western-Carpathian travertine fens developed on deep-circulation groundwater are highly localised and harbour unique communities that combine rare species of calcareous fens and salt marshes, with many species considered glacial or Early-Holocene relicts. Using a multi-proxy palaeoecological approach, we tested the assumption of naturalness and Holocene continuity of the current plant and mollusc communities occupying one of the best-preserved travertine fens in Europe. Our novel results, based on two complete cores throughout the fen deposits, document an anthropogenic origin of the current communities, despite their richness in rare and relict species. The habitat originated in the very beginning of the Holocene, later it was encroached by a semi-open woodland with spruce and alder and then by a dense reed bed that suppressed fen species even more than woodland encroachment. When compared with a fen site on shallow-circulation groundwater, the Holocene succession to woodlands has been blocked by travertine formation, allowing survival of light-demanding relicts in small patches. The current communities were established once the woody plants, and especially reed, were reduced by medieval land use. The community itself is therefore not relict, but it harbours probable descendants of relict populations that survived in neighbouring small refugia throughout the Holocene. Our results strongly support the need for active conservation actions as mowing and extensive grazing, mimicking the traditional type of land use, which has conditioned the recent travertine assemblages in the past.

中文翻译：

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遗迹丰富的社区可以是人为起源的吗？濒危喀尔巴阡石灰华沼泽保护策略的古生态学洞察

摘要 在深循环地下水上发育的西喀尔巴阡石灰华沼泽具有高度本地化和独特的群落，这些群落结合了稀有的钙质沼泽和盐沼，许多物种被认为是冰川或早全新世遗存。我们使用多代理古生态学方法测试了当前植物和软体动物群落的自然性和全新世连续性的假设，这些群落占据欧洲保存最完好的石灰华沼泽之一。我们的新结果基于整个 fen 矿床的两个完整核心，记录了当前群落的人为起源，尽管它们拥有丰富的稀有和遗存物种。栖息地起源于全新世初期，后来它被一片长有云杉和桤木的半开放林地侵占，然后又被一片茂密的芦苇床侵占，比林地侵占更能抑制蕨类植物。与浅循环地下水上的沼泽遗址相比，全新世林地的演替被石灰华的形成所阻碍，使得需要光照的遗迹能够在小块中生存。一旦木本植物，特别是芦苇，由于中世纪的土地使用而减少，现在的社区就建立起来了。因此，该社区本身不是遗物，但它可能拥有遗物种群的后代，这些种群在整个全新世期间在邻近的小型避难所中幸存下来。我们的结果强烈支持采取积极的保护行动，如割草和广泛放牧，模仿传统的土地利用方式，