ИСТИНА

Lacustrine deposits are valuable palaeoecological archives due to the diversity of information contained in lake sediments and the continuity of the sedimentation process. In the last decade, the phytolith analysis having great potential for the reconstruction of local vegetation attracts more and more attention of palaeolimnologists. In 2018, a research of the Curonian Lagoon sediments (southeastern Baltic) started, aimed at the palaeoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstructions. The 0.9 m long bottom sediment sequence representing the middle and late Holocene (the earliest date: 6,839 – 6,891 cal BP; IGAN-AMS-6841) was studied by a complex of 9 methods, including pollen, diatom, and phytolith (microbiomorphic) analyses (31, 16, 12 samples accordingly). The latter aimed not only to provide extra information on the vegetation development but also to assess the informativity of the method in application to the study of the temperate lakes/lagoons sediments. The analysis was performed according to the standard sample treatment technique (Golyeva, 2008). All samples were found to be suitable for investigation, with a sufficient number of microbiomorphs. The results confirmed that the application of the phytolith analysis in the study of the lagoon bottom sediments contributes to a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics of the coastal and water ecosystems. Thus, the obtained data indicated several intervals in the sediment sequence, which point to the existence of aerial conditions and soil-forming processes on the study location during certain time intervals. That makes phytolith analysis an essential factor in the discussion concerning water level fluctuations and the origin of the Curonian Lagoon.