Newly obtained pollen and diatom data from the Kamyshovoe Lake (germ. Dobauen, Vishtynets Highland, Baltic Uplands) controlled by radiocarbon dating allowed to reconstruct the history of local vegetation during late Pleistocene – early Holocene. Pollen records show the formation of birch-predominating forest at ca. 13.4 ka cal. BP and the flourishing of pine towards the second half of the chronozone since about 13.2 ka cal. BP. The transition to the Younger Dryas around 12.7 ka cal. BP led to the development of sparse shrub tundra with Juniperus and communities of steppe herbs. Amelioration of the environmental regime enabled birch and pine woods to spread during the second part of GS-1 event and the Preboreal. The late Preboreal time is marked by the appearance of Populus and an increase in the role of grasses in the vegetation cover, which can be correlated to similar open vegetation phases deduced from other pollen records in Europe (11.3–11.1 ka cal. BP). During the Boreal (since ca. 10.0 ka cal. BP) Corylus had its maximum value, Alnus, Tilia and Quercus appeared and spread while the birch-pine forests retreated.

The article presents new data on sedimentological structures, which have been discovered at the Ryadino archaeo­logical excavation in the northeast of the Kaliningrad District of Russia (the Šešupė River Valley). Tongue-shaped and dome-shaped diapir-like structures indicate liquefaction-induced features. As the most plausible reason, the earthquake-induced shaking is discussed. A preliminary estimation of the time interval for the seismic event covers the period from the early up to the late Holocene. The reasons for seismic activity in this region can be related to neotectonic movements (including glacio-isostatic rebound) as recorded in the southeastern Baltic Sea area of the Fennoscandian ice sheet margin zone. The relation between a palaeoseismic event and the essential changes in the hydrographic network in the region is also discussed.

The article is devoted to a reconstruction of the sedimentation processes in Kamyshovoye Lake (the Kaliningrad Region, Russia) during the Late Glacial and Holocene. The results of the geochemical analysis of Kamyshovoye Lake’s bottom sediments, accompanied by statistical processing and detailed radiocarbon dating, are presented. It was established that a high proportion of mineral matter dominated in the intervals between 15,000 and 11,400 and between 1400 and 600 cal y BP; enrichment with carbonates was noted between 11,400 and 5200 cal y BP and during the past 600 years; and a high percentage of organic matter was recorded between 7800 and 600 cal y BP. We conclude that the increase in mineral matter was influenced by such factors as reduced vegetation cover due to natural and anthropogenic processes, aeolian transfer, and dead-ice melting during the Late Glacial. The increase in carbonate matter was mainly associated with humidity and the reduction conditions of the lake ecosystem. Organogenic matter content was affected by the autochthonic (biological) productivity of the lake, which directly depends on more favorable climatic conditions.

The raised bog sediments that have been continuously accumulated over time represent the most suitable natural object which enables us to reconstruct Late Glacial and Holocene vegetation and palaeoclimates. Bog peat consists of organic carbon formed in situ. It contains moss, plant fragments and microfossils that are necessary for the study of palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate. However, a successful study of palaeoenvironment can be carried out on the basis of investigation of a great quantity of samples along the whole peatbog thickness. In the present paper, the authors present the results of palynological, botanical investigations and radiocarbon dating of 31 peat samples taken from the raised bog Velikoye, located in the eastern part of Kaliningrad Region. The data obtained have enabled us to reconstruct the palaeovegetation, reveal the evolution of the bog and determine rate of peat formation at different evolutional stages over the last 7500 cal BP.