An ecological characterization of the Holocene palaeobotanical record of The Netherlands

An analysis of ecological groups has been performed on the Dutch Holocene palaeobotanical record excluding wood and pollen data and compared with the recent flora. Although all ecological groups are represented by plants that are preserved by both waterlogging and charring, this especially concerns plants indicative of ruderal places, arable fields, dry underwood, fresh water and banks. On the level of environmental conditions, it is shown that the representation of the subfossil record is biased by the type of preservation, the archaeological context and the frequency by which plants are found. For the reconstruction of environmental conditions on the basis of a select number of plants, groups of indicator plants have been compiled for the following (a)biotic characteristics: salinity, moisture regime, nutrient availability, and the structure of vegetation and the stage of succession. These groups are suitable for the comparison of samples and sites with respect to different feature types, locations and periods.