Lacustrine chalk is very common in post-glacial lakes of northern Poland. In the deposit of Lake Kruk lin (NE Poland) carbonates occur as a layer 2-3 m thick. Samples for laboratory studies were collected from three profiles in SW part of the deposit. Mineral composition of the sediments was determined using differential thermal analysis (DT A) and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), while the age was determined on the basis of pollen analysis. The sediment profiles represent an age of early Holocene. Calcite is the major component of lacustrine chalk. It forms small crystals (<I O μm), sometimes grouped in aggregates, or present as bioclasts. Calcium carbonate precipitated from lake water. Chemical weathering of glacial and fluvioglacial material of the lake catchment is the main source of ions, transported to the lake mainly by groundwater. Formation of the Kruk lin lacustrine chalk deposit must have required 300-350 kg of dry weight calcium carbonate to be carried away from each square meter of the lake catchment. If only top one-meter layer of glacial sediments had been decalcified, it should have contained 13-22 percent of calcium carbonate. The results of petrographic analysis show this value to be possible.

Cladocera are a group of water animals, which are strongly dependent on environmental conditions. The ratio of planktonie to littoral Cladocera species is a widely used tool in palaeohydrological reconstruction of lakes' water level changes. Interpretation of this ratio is still unclear and requires further evidence. The simplest indicator of water level, which can be used in tracing lake-peat bog transitions, is the presence or absence of Cladocera and the character of its disappearance. In general, two models of Cladocera decline are observed. The first model is characterized by a very abrupt disappearance of all species, whereas the second one. with an intermediate stage, is characterized by domination of specific species. These two models are related to different types of terminal history of the water body. Even after a total disappearance of water in the peat bogs, there were episodes of some pioneer cladoceran species presence, correlated with periods of humid climate.

In this study we compared chydorid cladoceran (Chydoridae) taxa and assemblages from sediments of 6 Polish and 6 Finnish lakes and investigated if the difference in climate of these two countries can be detected in the cladoceran data. The data were analysed in terms of I) average relative proportions of chydorid taxa during the history of each lake and by 2) redundancy analysis (RDA) to explain the present effect of environmental variables (altitude, area, maximum depth, mean annual temperature, mean summer temperature and length of the growing season) on species abundances. The redundancy analysis (RDA) enabled us to distinguish groups of taxa I) with a high thermal preference 2) associated with small, cold-water lakes and 3) associated with shallow lakes. There are clear differences in the dominant chydorid taxa and in the relative proportions of many other chydorid taxa between the two countries since the end of the last glaciation. Although these differences first of all appear to reflect the climatic difference, the influence of many other environmental factors, controlling the living conditions of particular chydorids have been raised and considered. Further studies with larger data are needed before the role of climate can be reliably separated from other elements of environment.