Late Holocene vegetation and land-use history in Denmark: a multi-decadally resolved record from Lille Vildmose, northeast Jutland

A pollen analysis of a peat profile collected from Lille Vildmose, Denmark has been used to reconstruct vegetation and land-use change from the late Iron Age (ca. 690 cal. AD) to the present day. ‘Wiggle-matching’ of 34 AMS 14C dates has enabled a precise (decadal scale) chronology to be established. After ca. 1100 cal. AD, Secale cereale cultivation increased significantly, probably as a result of the introduction of crop rotation systems in the area. During the period ca. 1360-1540 cal. AD, cereal production declined, arable farmland was abandoned, and woodland regenerated; probably as a result of the crisis in the agrarian economy and the Black Death plague epidemic of 1350. After ca. 1540 cal. AD, woodland was progressively cleared, and arable agricultural activity intensified, culminating in land reclamation and large scale planting of Pinus, Ulmus and Picea during the 18th and 19th centuries.