Lake sediment cores reveal region’s sociopolitical history

BBC : Researchers looking at the rate and nature of sedimentation in a Romanian lake have been able to trace the area’s political and economic history over the 20th century. The introduction of socialism in the 1950s greatly affected the countryside as vast woodlands were converted to farmland to feed the growing population. That change is reflected in lake sediment, according to Simon Hutchinson, of the University of Salford in the UK, and colleagues. Core soil samples show increased rates of sedimentation from the intensive farming, and traces of metal indicate the use of pesticides. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, sedimentation rates decreased as President Ceauşescu’s Communist regime was overthrown, intensive agriculture practices ceased, and the woodlands began to grow back. As a result, the area has become very biodiverse and represents a “window of opportunity” for conservationists, says Hutchinson.