Insights into the evolution of the young Lake Ohrid ecosystem and vegetation succession from a southern European refugium during the Early Pleistocene
Mediterranean mid-altitude sites are critical for the survival of plant species allowing for elevationalvegetation shifts in response to high-amplitude climate variability. Pollen records from the southernBalkans have underlined the importance of the region in preserving plant diversity over at least the lasthalf a million years. So far, there are no records of vegetation and climate dynamics from Balkan refugiawith an Early Pleistocene age.