Woodland history in the upper Harz Mountains revealed by kiln site, soil sediment and peat charcoal analyses Hannes Knapp a, b, * , Vincent Robin a, c , Wiebke Kirleis a, b , Oliver Nelle a, c a Graduate School “Human Development in Landscapes”, Olshausenstr. 40, Christian-Albrechts-University, D-24118 Kiel, Germany b Institute for Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology, Olshausenstr. 40, Christian-Albrechts-University, D-24098 Kiel, Germany c Institute for Ecosystem Research, Olshausenstr. 75, Christian-Albrechts-University, D-24118 Kiel, Germany article info Article history: Available online 30 March 2012 abstract Charcoal is abundant in various soils and soil sediments and is basically the result of either natural wildfires or of anthropogenic ignition. Compositions of charcoal assemblages are the result of several taphonomical processes. Beside this, little is known about the influence of charcoal from anthropogenic origin, like charcoal production sites (kiln sites) on soil charcoal assemblages. To elucidate how human charcoal production as well as erosion of the relicts of kiln sites influenced charcoal assemblages in soils and mires, a multi-proxy approach was applied at two transects on the Renneckenberg, a steep slope in the low mountain range Harz, Germany. On this slope, three types of archives (soil/soil sediments, kiln sites and peatland) were investigated each with different methods on a local scale (soil charcoal analyses, kiln site charcoal analyses, peat macro-/micro-charcoal and pollen analysis). The kiln site charcoal records are taxonomically richer in wood taxa than those from colluvial assemblages, especially regarding deciduous tree species. Fagus sylvatica and Acer sp. are rare or absent in the colluvial charcoal assemblages which are dominated by Picea charcoal. At the bottom of the slope, the soil charcoal concentration is very high and indicates strong erosion of charcoal from the upper part of the slope. Significant taxonomical discrepancies between the colluvial and the kiln site charcoal assemblages may be related to different fire intensity throughout the Holocene and to human woodland usage. Addi- tionally, changes in the run-off intensity and fire frequency are detected in the peat macro-charcoal record reflecting vegetation change in the early Holocene. The micro-charcoal content coincides with the main mining phases in the late Holocene and the 9.2 k climatic anomaly. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Soil charcoal analysis or pedoanthracology is applied commonly in the mediterranean and boreal zone, but increasingly in the temperate zone as well to reconstruct the past forest composition and fire history (Carcaillet and Thinon, 1996; Fesenmyer and Christensen, 2010; Talon, 2010; Touflan et al., 2010; Robin et al., 2011). This approach allows investigation of past forest fire events from local to large spatial scale (landscapes), inducing the local recording of charcoal in the soils (or at the catchment area scale). Formation of soil charcoal assemblages is strongly influenced by taphonomical aspects (Figueiral and Mosbrugger, 2000; Scott et al., 2000; Scott, 2010; Scott and Damblon, 2010; Théry-Parisot et al., 2010) and therefore should be combined to soil description, soil analysis and to radiocarbon dating. Another factor potentially influencing the soil charcoal assemblage might be the existence of other charcoal formation sources than forest fires. Little is known about how charcoal produced by man contributes to soil charcoal contents, especially in the context of charcoal production sites (kiln sites). On kiln sites, wood was carbonized to produce charcoal for e.g. ore dressing as well as smelting and mining activities (Nelle, 2002, 2003; Ludemann, 2003, 2010). They are very common in low mountain ranges and areas with former mining activity. Charcoal records from kiln sites are used in palaeoecological studies to investigate past forest composition on a local scale with regard to the stand structure and the site conditions in the vicinity of the kiln sites. Furthermore, kiln site anthracology provides insight into woodland exploitation by humans, on a multi-century temporal scale (Hillebrecht, 1982; Ludemann, 1994, 1996, 2002, 2010; Figueiral and Mosbrugger, 2000; Nelle, 2001; Ludemann and Nelle, 2002; Nelle, 2003; Nölken, 2005; Knapp, in press). Such insight and * Corresponding author. Graduate School “Human Development in Landscapes”, Olshausenstr. 40, Christian-Albrechts-University, D-24118 Kiel, Germany. E-mail address: hknapp@gshdl.uni-kiel.de (H. Knapp). Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint 1040-6182/$ e see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2012.03.040 Quaternary International 289 (2013) 88e100