{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T11:56:07Z","timestamp":1781697367316,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781654400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Determining the relative impacts of climate variability and human activities on vegetation dynamics remains a central theme in paleoecological research. In climate transition zones like the southeastern Marmara region, isopollen maps are important because they allow for the evaluation of spatially diverse pollen records within an integrated regional framework. The aim of this study is to present a spatially holistic reconstruction of Late Holocene vegetation change in the southern Marmara region using isopollen maps based on fossil pollen records obtained from Manyas, Iznik and Sapanca lakes. Isopollen maps were created for five time periods, approximately 2600, 2000, 1250, 800 and 400 yr BP, representing major climatic and historical phases of the Late Holocene, and the spatial distribution patterns of the major tree and herbaceous taxa were reconstructed. The results demonstrate the presence of a continuous west\u2013east variability in the region\u2019s vegetation structure, reflecting the transition between Mediterranean and Black Sea climate regimes. However, the temporal variation patterns show that vegetation responses cannot always be directly explained by climatic phases. In particular, Artemisia highlights the persistence and local expansion of open-area vegetation, reaching approximately 24% of the study area to the present day. Given the region\u2019s long history of settlement, these findings indicate that vegetation dynamics during the Late Holocene were shaped by the combined effects of climatic changes, local environmental conditions and human activities. Therefore, the study emphasizes the importance of spatially integrated approaches in paleoecological reconstructions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants15121881","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T10:19:53Z","timestamp":1781691593000},"page":"1881","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Mapping Late Holocene Vegetation Change Using Isopollen Analysis: Evidence from the Southeastern Marmara Region, T\u00fcrkiye"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-6143-7590","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"\u00c7a\u011flar","family":"Alt\u0131nc\u0131","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Earth and Marine Sciences, Gebze Technical University, Gebze 41470, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1244-3453","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"G\u00fclan","family":"G\u00fcng\u00f6r","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Social Sciences, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34452, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6197-2813","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"H\u00fclya","family":"Caner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Marine Geology and Geophysics, Institute of Marine Sciences and Management, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34452, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Moore, P.D., and Webb, J.A. (1978). An Illustrated Guide to Pollen Analysis, Hodder and Stoughton."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Bradley, R.S. (1999). Paleoclimatology: Reconstructing Climates of The Quaternary, Academic Press."},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Roberts, N. (2013). The Holocene: An Environmental History, John Wiley & Sons."},{"key":"ref_4","first-page":"5","article-title":"The identification of agricultural activity using pollen analysis","volume":"Volume 181","author":"Jones","year":"1983","journal-title":"Integrating the Subsistence Economy"},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"Birks, H.H., Birks, H.J.B., Koland, P.E., and Nioe, D. (1988). The Cultural Landscape: Past, Present and Future, Cambridge University Press."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"676","DOI":"10.1111\/gcb.12737","article-title":"Pollen-based quantitative reconstructions of Holocene regional vegetation cover (plant-functional types and land-cover types) in Europe suitable for climate modelling","volume":"21","author":"Trondman","year":"2015","journal-title":"Glob. Change Biol."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"van Zeist, W., and Bottema, S. (1991). Late Quaternary Vegetation of the Near East, Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. Beihefte zum T\u00fcbinger Atlas Des Vorderen Orients Reihe a Naturwissenschaften."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"McMillan, A. (2012). A GIS Approach to Palaeovegetation Modelling in the Mediterranean the Case Study of Southwest Turkey. [Ph.D. Thesis, University of Birmingham]."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.1501\/Cogbil_0000000191","article-title":"Kapadokya y\u00f6resi Ge\u00e7 Holosen Paleovejetasyon ko\u015fullar\u0131n\u0131n fosil polen kay\u0131tlar\u0131 ile mek\u00e2nsal ve zamansal ba\u011flamda rekonstr\u00fcksiyonu","volume":"16","year":"2018","journal-title":"Co\u011frafi Bilim. Derg."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"58","DOI":"10.1016\/j.quaint.2011.03.005","article-title":"Holocene vegetation and climatic change inferred from isopollen maps on the Korean Peninsula","volume":"254","author":"Yoon","year":"2012","journal-title":"Quat. Int."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1965","DOI":"10.1002\/joc.1276","article-title":"Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global land areas","volume":"25","author":"Hijmans","year":"2005","journal-title":"Int. J. Climatol. J. R. Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_12","first-page":"225","article-title":"T\u00fcrkiye\u2019nin flora b\u00f6lgeleri ve \u201cAnadolu Diagonali\u201dne co\u011frafi bir yakla\u015f\u0131m","volume":"28","year":"2014","journal-title":"T\u00fcrk Co\u011frafya Derg."},{"key":"ref_13","first-page":"77","article-title":"G\u00fcney Marmara b\u00f6l\u00fcm\u00fc (do\u011fu kesimi) bitki \u00f6rt\u00fcs\u00fcn\u00fcn co\u011frafi \u015fartlar\u0131","volume":"1","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Geogr."},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"G\u00fcng\u00f6rd\u00fc, M. (2012). G\u00fcney Marmara b\u00f6l\u00fcm\u00fcn\u00fcn bat\u0131 kesiminde kuru orman, maki ve ps\u00f6domakinin co\u011frafi da\u011f\u0131l\u0131\u015f\u0131. J. Geogr., 9."},{"key":"ref_15","first-page":"9","article-title":"Marmara Denizi ve Neolitik ya\u015fam bi\u00e7iminin Anadolu\u2019dan Avrupa\u2019ya aktar\u0131m\u0131","volume":"10","year":"2018","journal-title":"TINA Denizcilik Arkeolojisi Derg."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"531","DOI":"10.1016\/S0025-3227(02)00361-4","article-title":"Abrupt environmental changes within a late Holocene lacustrine sequence south of the Marmara Sea (Lake Manyas, N-W Turkey): Possible links with seismic events","volume":"190","author":"Leroy","year":"2002","journal-title":"Mar. Geol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2616","DOI":"10.1016\/j.quascirev.2009.05.018","article-title":"High-resolution palynological analysis in Lake Sapanca as a tool to detect recent earthquakes on the North Anatolian Fault","volume":"28","author":"Leroy","year":"2009","journal-title":"Quat. Sci. Rev."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"575","DOI":"10.5194\/cp-12-575-2016","article-title":"Impacts of climate and humans on the vegetation in northwestern Turkey: Palynological insights from Lake Iznik since the Last Glacial","volume":"12","author":"Miebach","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clim. Past"},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"Behre, K.E. (1986). Anthropogenic Indicators in Pollen Diagrams, Balkema."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"185","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00211617","article-title":"Reconstructing biomes from palaeoecological data: A general method and its application to European pollen data at 0 and 6 ka","volume":"12","author":"Prentice","year":"1996","journal-title":"Clim. Dyn."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"Turo\u011flu, H. (2011). Buzullar ve Buzul Jeomorfolojisi, \u00c7antay Kitabevi."},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"Yalt\u0131r\u0131k, F., and Efe, A. (2000). Dendroloji Ders Kitab\u0131, \u00c7antay Kitabevi."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"29","DOI":"10.1038\/19891","article-title":"Long-distance transport of pollen into the Arctic","volume":"399","author":"Campbell","year":"1999","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Akkemik, U. (2023). T\u00fcrkiye\u2019nin B\u00fct\u00fcn A\u011fa\u00e7lar\u0131 ve \u00c7al\u0131lar\u0131, T\u00fcrkiye \u0130\u015f Bankas\u0131 K\u00fclt\u00fcr Yay\u0131nlar\u0131."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"147","DOI":"10.1177\/0959683610386819","article-title":"Climatic, vegetation and cultural change in the eastern Mediterranean during the mid-Holocene environmental transition","volume":"21","author":"Roberts","year":"2011","journal-title":"Holocene"},{"key":"ref_26","first-page":"13","article-title":"Late Quaternary vegetation history","volume":"35\u201336","author":"Bottema","year":"1994","journal-title":"Palaeohistoria"},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.1016\/S0025-3227(02)00341-9","article-title":"Palynology of sapropelic layers from the Marmara Sea","volume":"190","author":"Caner","year":"2002","journal-title":"Mar. Geol."},{"key":"ref_28","unstructured":"Vorderstrasse, T., and Roodenberg, J. (2009). Integrating Palaeoecological and Archaeo-Historical records: Land use and landscape change in Cappadocia (central Turkey) since late Antiquity. Archaeology of the Countryside in Medieval Anatolia, The Netherlands Institute for the Near East."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"728","DOI":"10.1177\/0959683619826635","article-title":"Pollen-inferred regional vegetation patterns and demographic change in Southern Anatolia through the Holocene","volume":"29","author":"Woodbridge","year":"2019","journal-title":"Holocene"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1753","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.2008.1762","article-title":"Ecological selection pressures for C4 photosynthesis in the grasses","volume":"276","author":"Osborne","year":"2009","journal-title":"Proc. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1197","DOI":"10.1111\/gcb.12776","article-title":"From forest to farmland: Pollen-inferred land cover change across Europe using the pseudobiomization approach","volume":"21","author":"Fyfe","year":"2015","journal-title":"Glob. Change Biol."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"317","DOI":"10.1007\/s11258-008-9552-5","article-title":"Climatic and human effects on the post-glacial dynamics of Fagus sylvatica L. in NW Iberia","volume":"203","year":"2009","journal-title":"Plant Ecol."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.2307\/3643048","article-title":"Palaeoecological and archaeological evidence for human occupance in Southwest Turkey: The Bey\u015fehir Occupation Phase","volume":"48","author":"Eastwood","year":"1998","journal-title":"Anatol. Stud."},{"key":"ref_34","first-page":"53","article-title":"Late Quaternary vegetation and climate of southwestern Turkey","volume":"17","author":"Woldring","year":"1975","journal-title":"Palaeohistoria"},{"key":"ref_35","first-page":"123","article-title":"Late Quaternary vegetation and climate of southwestern Turkey. Part II","volume":"26","author":"Bottema","year":"1984","journal-title":"Palaeohistoria"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"569","DOI":"10.1191\/0959683602hl568rp","article-title":"Palynological evidence for late-Holocene human occupation recorded in two wetlands in SW Turkey","volume":"12","author":"Vermoere","year":"2002","journal-title":"Holocene"},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lamb, H.H. (2013). Climate: Present, Past and Future, Volume 2: Climatic History and the Future, Routledge.","DOI":"10.4324\/9780203804315"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5306","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0902522107","article-title":"Two millennia of North Atlantic seasonality and implications for Norse colonies","volume":"107","author":"Patterson","year":"2010","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"163","DOI":"10.1016\/S0921-8181(00)00002-3","article-title":"Modeling the effects of vegetation on Mediterranean climate during the Roman Classical Period: Part I: Climate history and model sensitivity","volume":"25","author":"Reale","year":"2000","journal-title":"Glob. Planet. Change"},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"169","DOI":"10.1162\/JINH_a_00379","article-title":"Climate change during and after the Roman Empire: Reconstructing the past from scientific and historical evidence","volume":"43","author":"McCormick","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Interdiscip. Hist."},{"key":"ref_41","unstructured":"Muller, R.A., and MacDonald, G.J. (2002). Ice Ages and Astronomical Causes: Data, Spectral Analysis and Mechanisms, Springer Science & Business Media."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2130","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1065680","article-title":"Persistent solar influence on North Atlantic climate during the Holocene","volume":"294","author":"Bond","year":"2001","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_43","first-page":"514","article-title":"Medieval climatic optimum","volume":"1","author":"Mann","year":"2002","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Hist. Geol."},{"key":"ref_44","unstructured":"Fagan, B. (2019). The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History 1300\u20131850, NY Basic Books."}],"container-title":["Plants"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2223-7747\/15\/12\/1881\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]],"date-time":"2026-06-17T11:18:24Z","timestamp":1781695104000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2223-7747\/15\/12\/1881"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]]},"references-count":44,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]}},"alternative-id":["plants15121881"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/plants15121881","relation":{},"ISSN":["2223-7747"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2223-7747","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,17]]}}}