Assemblages of molluscs have been used for stratigraphy of Late Glacial and Holocene deposits in Poland. Changes of the climate as well as migration of species are main factors which control the recompositions of molluscan communities in this time. Thirteen malacostratigraphical zones have been definied. Eight of them corresponds with land environments, while the remaining ones (five) with water habitats. The succesions of these zones gives the malacostratigraphical subdivisions, which can be compared with similar schemes proposed in some other countries of Central Europe. They supplement palynostratigraphical zones or even can be used as main way of stratigraphical intrepretations.
This malacological analysis was conducted at a site with peat and calcareous tufas in Łapsze Niżne, Podhale
(southern Poland). The study was carried out in 6 main and several complementary sections, in which 37 mollusc
species were recognized represented by almost 11 000 specimens. The study enabled the reconstruction of
environmental changes during the accumulation of the Holocene deposits (from the Boreal Phase till present).
Conclusions drawn from these reconstructions were compared with results of malacological and palynological
studies from other sites in Podhale. As a result, regional environmental reconstructions for the Holocene of the
area were made. The specific composition, ecological structure and succession of molluscan assemblages from
Łapsze Niżne indicate a significant role for local factors, thus demonstrating the variability of environmental
conditions within a geographic region.