NEW PALEOBOTANICAL DATA PROVE THE NATIVE STATUS OF EUROPEAN LARCH (LARIX DECIDUA MILL.) IN NORTH BOHEMIA

Using pollen analysis, phytolith analysis and radiocarbon dating of newly discovered sedimentary archives, here we prove the native status of European larch (Larix decidua Mill.) in two sandstone rocky areas of north Bohemia (Czech Republic). At the end of the Last Ice Age and at the beginning of the Holocene, European larch was relatively common in Central Europe. In most critical period of the Middle Holocene, it demonstrably retreated to exposed rocky habitats, but did not become completely extinct. In the form of relict populations, it survived locally until the modern era, when non-native larch types were artificially introduced into managed forest stands. Our findings call for a radical rethinking of the approach to larch by both foresters and nature conservation authorities. In the future, it is primarily necessary to search for and protect the remnants of its original gene pool.