Observing natural vegetation dynamics over the entire Holocene is difficult in Central Europe, due to pervasive and increasing human disturbance since the Neolithic. One strategy to minimize this limitation is to select a study site in an area that is marginal for agricultural activity. Here, we present a new sediment record from Lake Svityaz in northwestern Ukraine. We have reconstructed regional and local vegetation and fire dynamics since the Late Glacial using pollen, spores, macrofossils and charcoal. Boreal forest composed of Pinus sylvestris and Betula with continental Larix decidua and Pinus cembra established in the region around 13,450 cal bp, replacing an open, steppic landscape. The first temperate tree to expand was Ulmus at 11,800 cal bp, followed by Quercus, Fraxinus excelsior, Tilia and Corylus ca. 1,000 years later. Fire activity was highest during the Early Holocene, when summer solar insolation reached its maximum. Carpinus betulus and Fagus sylvatica established at ca. 6,000 cal bp, coinciding with the first indicators of agricultural activity in the region and a transient climatic shift to cooler and moister conditions. Human impact on the vegetation remained initially very low, only increasing during the Bronze Age, at ca. 3,400 cal bp. Large-scale forest openings and the establishment of the present-day cultural landscape occurred only during the past 500 years. The persistence of highly diverse mixed forest under absent or low anthropogenic disturbance until the Early Middle Ages corroborates the role of human impact in the impoverishment of temperate forests elsewhere in Central Europe. The preservation or reestablishment of such diverse forests may mitigate future climate change impacts, specifically by lowering fire risk under warmer and drier conditions.

由于自新石器时代以来人类干扰普遍且日益增加，在中欧观察整个全新世的自然植被动态是很困难的。将这种限制最小化的一种策略是在农业活动边缘的地区选择一个研究地点。在这里，我们展示了来自乌克兰西北部 Svityaz 湖的新沉积物记录。我们使用花粉、孢子、大型化石和木炭重建了晚冰期以来的区域和当地植被和火灾动态。由樟子松和白桦组成的北方森林与大陆落叶松和松树在该地区建立的约 13,450 cal bp，取代了开放的、阶梯状的景观。第一个扩展的温带树是榆树，生长速度为 11,800 cal bp，其次是Quercus、Fraxinus excelsior、Tilia和Corylus ca。一千年后。全新世早期的火灾活动最高，夏季太阳日照达到最大值。Carpinus betulus和Fagus sylvatica成立于 ca。6,000 cal bp，与该地区农业活动的第一个指标以及短暂的气候转变为更凉爽和更潮湿的条件相吻合。人类对植被的影响最初仍然非常低，仅在青铜时代（约 3,400大卡. 大规模的森林开垦和现代文化景观的形成仅发生在过去 500 年。直到中世纪早期，高度多样化的混交林在没有或低人为干扰的情况下持续存在，这证实了人类影响在中欧其他地方温带森林贫困中的作用。保护或重建这种多样化的森林可以减轻未来气候变化的影响，特别是通过降低温暖和干燥条件下的火灾风险。