Bitušík, Peter, 1957-

Tracking human impact in a mining landscape using lake sediments: A multi-proxy palaeolimnological study / Peter Bitušík ... [et al.]. -- Mining and metallurgy have caused vast devastation of the landscape in the past and left its legacy on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems all over the world. Lake sediments provide a continuous record for tracking and better understanding of human-environment interactions related to historical mining and metallurgical activities. Here, we present the analysis of pollen, diatom, cladoceran and chironomid record combined with Pb-21(0) dating, lithology and organic content of the sediments of Velka Richnava reservoir, located in an area intensively mined for polymetallic ores since the end of the 11th century (Banska Stiavnica region, Central Europe). Our aim was to reconstruct the changes in the vegetation cover in the catchment and aquatic biota initially caused by mining and after its cessation by changed management practices. Pollen analysis suggests an open landscape shaped by different land-use during and after the period of active mining toward increased grazing pressure and nutrie

In Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. -- Amsterdam : Elsevier B.V., 2018. -- ISSN 0031-0182. -- ISSN 1872-616X. -- Vol. 504, (2018), pp. 23-33