**8. Conclusions**

Paleolimnological study of the Middle to Late Holocene lacustrine archive of Lake Bafa allowed us to reconstruct the geological history of the Büyük Menderes Graben's coastal area.

Lithological and geochemical analyses of the 4.2-m-long lacustrine core BAF37 and 12-m-long swamp drill core BS in the adjacent area provide a continuous archive of environmental changes during the last 2.5 and 4.5 cal. ka years, respectively. Geochemical and sedimentological proxy records from both cores show the following significant changes in the ecosystem of the area, from oldest to the present-day: stage IV, marine-dominated (4.5–2.7 cal. ka year BP); stage III, marine–river interaction (2.7–1.75 cal. ka year BP); stage II, lagoon (1.75–0.8 ka year BP); and stage I, the recent isolated swamp lake (last 0.8 cal. ka). This transition from marine stage to the recent lacustrine conditions was somewhat a gradual process, and the environmental conditions during the stage III were predominantly controlled by the tectonics and postglacial sea level rise, resulting in subsidence, erosion, sediment transport, and delta progradation.

The redox conditions were oxic before the isolation but became relatively reducing during the ensuing period. K, Si, and Ti concentrations and grain size distributions reflect a high energy environment interrupted by fluctuating shortterm low energy conditions during 2.5–2.2 cal. ka year BP. Low energy conditions also prevailed during the 2.2–0.8 cal. ka yr. BP and particularly during the last 800 years.

Our observations indicate that ecosystem characteristics of the study are controlled by the combination of the hydroclimate and geotectonic processes. However, their effect of intensity is also reflecting changes from past to previous terms.
