1- 1Silesian University of Technology, Institute of Physics - CSE, Division of Geochronology and Environmental Isotopes, Poland (adam.michczynski@polsl.pl)
- *A full list of authors appears at the end of the abstract
The compilation of regional radiocarbon datasets offers significant opportunities for advanced analyses and the formulation of broad-scale inferences regarding past environmental and climatic changes. In this study, we analyse a comprehensive dataset of radiocarbon dates obtained from mountain mires in the Sudetes, encompassing sites located in both Poland and Czechia. These mires represent valuable natural archives that often preserve continuous stratigraphic records of Holocene environmental and climatic variability.
We collected 237 radiocarbon dates from 61 mires. Our analysis concentrated on dates that came from the basal layers of the mires. These dates were calibrated and analyzed using a summed probability density function (PDF) to determine the periods favorable for the formation of mires. The results show that the timing of mire development varies depending on elevation, with higher areas generally hosting newer mires. This pattern is statistically significant and may suggest that older peat deposits at these elevations have been removed due to denudation, erosion, or intensified snow-related processes.
The initiation of peat accumulation generally corresponded with significant climatic transitions during the Late Glacial and Holocene periods, with several intervals marked by interruptions in mire development. Regardless of elevation, mire establishment was particularly associated with the 9.4 and 8.2 ka climatic events. In mires located below 1000 m a.s.l., enhanced initiation also coincided with the end of the Allerød, the onset of the Holocene, and the 11.8 ka event. In contrast, the 4.2 ka event is characterized by a pronounced hiatus in the formation of new peatlands, irrespective of altitude. Further periods less conducive to mire formation occurred at ages 11–10.2, 7.8–7.2, and 4.8–3.8 calibrated kBP.
The regional synthesis presented in this study highlights both the potential and the current limitations of radiocarbon-based reconstructions of mire development in the Sudetes.
The participation of Adam Michczyński in the EGU 2026 General Assembly was funded by the project EU funds FSD - 10.25 Development of higher education focused on the needs of the green economy European Funds for Silesia 2021-2027: The modern methods of the monitoring of the level and isotopic composition of atmospheric CO2 (project no. FESL.10.25-IZ.01-06C9/23-00).
Adam Michczyński (1), Ryszard Krzysztof Borówka (2), Krzysztof Stefaniak (3), Anna Cedro (2), Bernard Cedro (2), Wojciech Drzewicki (4), Lydie Dudová (5), Petra Hájková (5),(6), Anna Hrynowiecka (7), Martin Jiroušek (6),(8), Marek Kasprzak (9), Małgorzata Malkiewicz (4), Danuta J. Michczyńska (1), Monika Niska (10), Daniel Okupny (2), Vítězslav Plášek (11),(14), Urszula Ratajczak-Skrzatek (3), Jarosław Sikorski (1), Sylwia Skoczylas-Śniaz (12), Artur Sobczyk (4), Renata Stachowicz-Rybka (12), Bronisław Wojtuń (13) (1) Silesian University of Technology, Institute of Physics - CSE, Division of Geochronology and Environmental Isotopic Research, Konarskiego 22B, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland (adam.michczynski@polsl.pl, ORCID: 0000-0003-2795-6830; danuta.michczynska@polsl.pl, ORCID: 0000-0001-5348-5791; jarosław.sikorski@polsl.pl. ORCID: 0000-0001-5363-8866); (2) Institute of Marine and Environmental Sciences, University of Szczecin, Mickiewicza 16, 70-383 Szczecin (ryszard.borowka@usz.edu.pl, ORCID: 0000-0002-6998-7638; anna.cedro@usz.edu.pl, ORCID: 0000-0002-7629-5840; bernard.cedro@usz.edu.pl, ORCID: 0000-0002-5138-1064; daniel.okupny@usz.edu.pl, ORCID: 0000-0002-8836-6044); (3) Department of Palaeozoology; Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335 Wrocław, Poland (krzysztof.stefaniak@uwr.edu.pl, ORCID: 0000-0002-4116-7275; urszula.ratajczak2@uwr.edu.pl, ORCID: 0000-0001-9388-2951); (4) Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Wrocław, M. Borna 9 Sq., 50-204 Wrocław, Poland (wojciech.drzewicki@uwr.edu.pl, ORCID: 0000-0002-3490-1929; artur.sobczyk@uwr.edu.pl, ORCID: 0000-0003-3829-561X; malgorzata.malkiewicz@uwr.edu.pl, ORCID: 0000-0001-6768-7968); (5) Department of Paleoecology, Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Lidická 25/26, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic (lydie.dudova@ibot.cas.cz, ORCID: 0000-0002-0610-0630); (6) Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech Republic (buriana@sci.muni.cz, ORCID: 0000-0003-1434-7825); (7) Marine Geology Branch Polish Geological Institute-National Research Institute, Kościerska 5, 80-328 Gdańsk, Poland (anna.hrynowiecka@pgi.gov.pl, ORCID: 0000-0003-0478-0596); (8) Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic (martin.jirousek@mendelu.cz, ORCID: 0000-0002-4293-478X); (9) Institute of Geography and Regional Development, University of Wrocław, Uniwersytecki 1, 50-137 Wrocław, Poland (marek.kasprzak@uwr.edu.pl, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8265-8441); (10) Institute of Geography, Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Partyzantów 27, 76-200 Słupsk (monika.niska@upsl.edu.pl, ORCID: 0000-0002-8968-9689); (11) Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of Ostrava, Czech Republic (Vitezslav.Plasek@osu.cz, ORCID: 0000-0002-4664-2135); (12) W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Kraków, Poland (s.skoczylas@botany.pl, ORCID: 0009-0001-0437-3926; r.stachowicz@botany.pl, ORCID: 0000-0002-0802-0570); (13) Department of Ecology, Biogeochemistry and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wrocław, Przybyszewskiego 63, 51-148 Wrocław (bronislaw.wojtun@uwr.edu.pl, ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1029-1078). (14) Institute of Biology, University of Opole, Oleska 48, 45‐052 Opole, Poland
How to cite: Michczyński, A. and the Sadzonki Team: Determination of periods favorable for the formation of mires in the Sudetes (SW Poland and N Czechia) based on the analysis of a set of radiocarbon dates, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-13839, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-13839, 2026.
