0000000000528169
AUTHOR
Merlin Liiv
showing 4 related works from this author
Palaeoenvironmental evidence for the impact of the crusades on the local and regional environment of medieval (13th–16th century) northern Latvia, ea…
2015
This paper evaluates the impact of the crusades on the landscape and environment of northern Latvia between the 13th–16th centuries (medieval Livonia). The crusades replaced tribal societies in the eastern Baltic with a religious state (Ordenstaat) run by the military orders and their allies, accompanied by significant social, cultural and economic developments. These changes have previously received little consideration in palaeoenvironmental studies of past land use in the eastern Baltic region, but are fundamental to understanding the development and expansion of a European Christian identity. Sediment cores from Lake Trikāta, located adjacent to a medieval castle and settlement, were s…
Investigating the impact of anthropogenic land use on a hemiboreal lake ecosystem using carbon/nitrogen ratios and coupled-optical emission spectrosc…
2019
Anthropogenic impacts on lake ecosystems have increased substantially towards the present. However, the strength and timing in most cases are not evaluated in detail, missing valuable information on the response and recovery of an aquatic system. In this study, we use the sediment total organic carbon/total nitrogen ratio (C/N) and inductively coupled-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) elements and the available information about the biological processes to explore anthropogenic land use impact on the lake ecosystem. As a case study we selected a hemiboreal lake Trikātas (Latvia, NE Europe). The Pearson correlation was used to statistically test the correlations of all variables. Our r…
Carbon accumulation rate in a raised bog in Latvia, NE Europe, in relation to climate warming
2018
The carbon accumulation rate (CAR) over the last 180 years was estimated by measuring carbon concentrations in 1-cm layers in a fine-resolution dated and analysed peat sequence in Teiči Bog, Latvia, NE Europe. We used the Granger causality test to examine the temporal (lagged) relationships between the CAR and the historical climate variables. Our results showed that the average CAR was 192 g C m–2 yr–1 during the last 180 years and 169 g C m–2 yr–1 when excluding the acrotelm where decomposition and the stock of carbon are still not in the balance. The Granger causality test showed significant positive temporal associations between the temperature and the CAR, indicating that the temperatu…
From microbial eukaryotes to metazoan vertebrates: Wide spectrum paleo-diversity in sedimentary ancient DNA over the last ~14,500 years
2018
Most studies that utilize ancient DNA have focused on specific groups of organisms or even single species. Instead, the whole biodiversity of eukaryotes can be described using universal phylogenetic marker genes found within well-preserved sediment cores that cover the post-glacial period. Sedimentary ancient DNA samples from Lake Lielais Svētiņu, eastern Latvia, at a core depth of 1,050 cm in ~150 year intervals were used to determine phylotaxonomy in domain Eukaryota. Phylotaxonomic affiliation of >1,200 eukaryotic phylotypes revealed high richness in all major eukaryotic groups-Alveolata, Stramenopiles, Cercozoa, Chlorophyta, Charophyta, Nucletmycea, and Holozoa. The share of organisms t…