Human impact in the surroundings of Saha-Loo, North estonia, based on a comparison of two pollen diagrams from Lake Maardu and Saha-Loo bog / Evaluation de l'impact humain aux environs de Saha-Loo, Estonie du nord, reposant sur la comparaison de diagrammes polyniques du lac de Maardu et de la tourbière de Saha-Loo

The study area is located west of Lake Maardu, North Estonia and has been previously investigated by means of a pollen diagram from the lake sediments and by archaeological excavations of fossil fields dated to the Late Bronze and Pre-Roman Iron Age. Samples for a new pollen diagram were taken 300 m east of the lake and 200 m west of the fossil fields, from the peat bog of Saha-Loo. When comparing these two diagrams and the archaeological results it became evident that, although the bog site is much closer to the ancient fields, it reveals only the major and strongest changes resulting from human interference. The lake samples, on the other hand, give a regional but still more detailed picture of the land-use history.