: As the climate cooled toward the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) , the landscape underwent a "stepwise" change from these dense forests toward a "glacial desert" after 26,000 years ago.

: During warmer, wet interstadials, the expansion of trees promoted landscape stability and active soil development.

One of the most significant findings from the Auel site involves the presence of (spores that grow on animal dung like Sordaria and Sporormiella ). These markers prove that the "frozen forests" of the Eifel were never empty.

: High concentrations of quartz-bound Si in Auel sediments reveal the intensification of eolian (wind-blown) dust during colder stadial periods, marking the transition from stable, forested land to exposed, wind-swept tundras. Megafauna and Human Coexistence

The Auel records highlight how vegetation cover dictates landscape stability.

: Large mammals (megafauna) actually reached higher numbers during colder stadial climates, likely because the shift from dense forest to open steppe provided more grazing material.