A three-thousand-year history of vegetation and human impact in Burgundy (France) reconstructed from pollen and non-pollen palynomophs analysis

Abstract

This article presents a 241 cm long sediment record documenting the vegetation history using pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs recovered from the Fénay marsh in Burgundy (Dijon area - France). The pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP) record largely reflects intensive human influence (clearing, cultivation and grazing) on the surrounding area from the Late Bronze Age and Hallstatt period. La Tène period is marked by drier conditions and a substantial increase in Alnus. During the Gallo-Roman period, high values of Alnus decrease to the benefit of Quercus. In the Early Middle Ages (5th-10th C), the swamp becomes a temporary pond and Cerealia type and Secale are cultivated in this very open landscape. During the Late Middle Ages (13th-15th C), the temporary pond is transformed into a larger and deeper pond, used by the Cistercians for hydraulic power and perhaps as a hemp-retting pit. By the end of the 16th C, the pond had dried out and was used for the cultivation of cereal.

Palaeoecological evidence for Mesolithic to Medieval climatic change and anthropogenic impact on the Alpine flora and vegetation of the Silvretta Massif (Switzerland/Austria)

“…Grazing activities can be revealed by apophytes or by spores of coprophilous fungi. They are known to be indicators of grazing pressure on a highly local scale because of their strict ecological requirements (dung deposits) and low dispersal (Innes and Blackford, 2003;van Geel et al, 2003;Blackford and Innes, 2006;Davis and Shafer, 2006;Gauthier et al, 2010;Laine et al, 2010;Dietre et al, 2012). Apart from a first rise in Sordariaceae around 10,000 cal.…”

“…Furthermore, non pollen palynomorphs (NPPs, such as algal cysts, fungal spores, zoological microfossils) help to interpret general pollen data, especially because of the good knowledge of their ecological requirements and their local dispersion (van Geel et al, 2003;Graf and Chmura, 2006; van Geel and Aptroot, 2006). Moreover, local scale palaeoecological studies are most likely to reveal humaneenvironment relationships, especially regarding coprophilous fungi, which can be considered as indicators for livestock grazing pressure (Blackford and Innes, 2006;Davis and Shafer, 2006;Dearing et al, 2006;Gauthier et al, 2010;Laine et al, 2010;Dietre et al, 2012). NPPs therefore help as proxies to interpret results obtained by environmental archaeology (van Geel et al, 2003).…”

Pollen and microalgae in sediments at southern margin of Colhue Huapi Lake, Chubut; Argentina. An insight to among shore comparison

“…On the other hand, Cyperaceae usually indicates the presence of wet habitats in peat bogs (Mancini, 1998;2009) or in lakes (Whitlock et al 2006). Laine et al (2010) associated the increase in Cyperaceae to a reduction of the water level of the pond. As La Campanita site is located at the shallowest zone of the lake, we also associated increased Cyperaceae input to a drier situation.…”

Historical fluvial palaeodynamics and multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental analyses of a palaeochannel, Allier River, France

“…The influence of climate in this process has been stressed due to its coincidence with a period of regional wet and cold conditions during the early Middle Ages (Arnaud et al, 2012). 500 and 700 cal AD (Laine et al, 2010). A cleared grazed landscape has also been reported at the Saône basin between ca.…”