Soil samples and snails – Helix pomatia Linnaeus, 1758 specimens were collected from the region of Małopolska. Research based on soil from this area showed a differentiated degree of environmental contamination, which influenced the composition of elements that build mollusc shells. Concentrations of Pb, Mn, Cd, Fe, Zn and Cu in the snail shells and soil varied between localities. The highest of these concentrations were found in the soil in the city of Cracow. They were higher than those measured in the regions outside the city, 7 times in the case of Cd, and up to 123 times higher for Cu. Positive association between soil pollution and shell contamination can be observed (rs ≈ 0.9). A high concentration of metals in the environment and their bioavailability causes long-term accumulation of these elements in Helix pomatia shells.
Late Holocene deposits containing abundant and well-preserved malacofauna were exposed within the Spa Park in Busko-Zdrój. Molluscan shells were found in sand, dark muds and calcareous muds. Dark and calcareous muds are intercalated by fine-grained sand and peat devoid of malacofauna. Ali these deposits were accumulated on swampy, flat bottom of wide river valley. The result of radiocarbon dating has shown that the formation of the deposits started in the upper part of the Subboreal Phase. Numerous Late Medieval portery shards were found in several topmost profile sections. The identified malacofauna suggests that similar climatic and habitat conditions prevailed throughout the entire sedimentation period. Snails typical of open habitats, accompanied by hygrophilous taxa, play a dominant role. Mesophilous and aquatic taxa occur in accessory proportions, while shadow-loving forms are virtually absent.
The profile of silty sediments in Tłumaczów was the subject of detailed lithological and malacological analyses. Abundant malacofauna represented by typical loess species were found in the sediments. The variability of the species composition and ecological structure of faunal assemblages provided the basis for the reconstruction of the sedimentary environment and characteristics of the climatic conditions that prevailed during the deposition of the sediments. The results of analyses indicate that the described sediments belong to the youngest loess series related to the Weichselian Upper Pleniglacial (MIS-2). The sequence of molluscan assemblages shows considerable similarities to the described faunas found in numerous loess profiles in southern Poland. It differs substantially from the malacological sequences recognized in loess profiles in Western and Southern Europe. This proves the significant and climate-determined diversification of malacocoenoses during the Weichselian Upper Pleniglacial (MIS-2) in Europe.
Badania malakologiczne zostały przeprowadzone w odsłonięciu martwic wapiennych i deluwiów lessowych w Pińczowie na terenie Niecki Nidziańskiej. Zostały opisane bogate i zróżnicowane zespoły mięczaków. Ich skład gatunkowy i struktura odzwierciedlają zmiany środowiska sedymentacji osadów w późnym holocenie. Martwice wapienne utworzyły się w niewielkim zbiorniku wodnym powstałym na zapleczu grobli trawertynowej. Deluwia lessowe, stanowiące strop profilu, są związane z rozwojem procesów stokowych, wywołanych działalnością rolniczą człowieka. Wiek deluwiów został ustalony na podstawie datowania radiowęglowego i licznych fragmentów wyrobów ceramicznych na średniowiecze. Następstwo zespołów faunistycznych umożliwiło zdefiniowanie głównych faz zmian środowiska sedymentacyjnego, a także określenie roli wpływu człowieka na przebieg sedymentacji osadów oraz charakter i zróżnicowanie występujących w nich zespołów mięczaków. Stanowisko martwic w Pińczowie może służyć za modelowy profil przebiegu sedymentacji węglanowej w niewielkich jeziorkach zaporowych oraz zmian antropogenicznych środowiska.
EN
Malacological researches was conducted in an outcrop of calcareous tufa and loess diluvium found in Pińczów, in the Nida Basin. Rich and varied mollusc assemblages were described in detail. The species composition and structure indicates changes in the sedimentary environment during the late Holocene. Calcareous tufa accumulated in a small reservoir formed at the back of travertine dam. The uppermost part of the profile composed of loess diluvium, point out to the development of slope processes induced by human agricultural activity. This sediment accumulated in the Middle Ages as determined from radiocarbon dating and numerous findings of pottery. The succession of the faunal assemblages enables to define the major phases of changes in the sedimentary environment, determine the human impact on the sedimentation and describe the malacofauna diversity. The tufa profile from Pińczów can serve as a model section presenting the carbonate sedimentation process in small lakes and anthropogenic environmental changes.
The Cieszyn Beds (Jurassic/Cretaceous) in the Flysch Carpathians (Southern Poland) contain limestones, which create favourable conditions enabling the preservation of the Holocene mollusc shells in the overlying soils. The malacofauna found at the Tul Hill in the soil underlain by the limestones, and containig their fragments, confirms the conditions enabling migration of the species between the regions located south of the Carpathian range and the lowlands to the north. The dominating species are represented by the mollusc associations living in the woodlands. This study reports the presence of a unique species Orcula doliolum (Brug.) in the Tuł Hill area. Detailed biometric measurements on the shells of this species show no variation by comparison with similar studies conducted by previous authors at other isolated localities throughout Europe.
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