Charcoal fragments of Alpine soils as an indicator of landscape evolution during the Holocene in Val di Sole (Trentino, Italy)

Abstract

Subalpine and Alpine soils in Val di Sole (Trentino, Italy) have been investigated in order to reconstruct vegetation changes and human impact during the Holocene period. Archaeological findings have demonstrated that Alpine sites have been populated since pre-historical times. Humans have had a great impact on the natural landscape evolution. One of the most-used tools has been fire. The use of fire has enabled the landscape to be cleared to provide new pastures for grazing and also to allow it to be used for agricultural purposes. The 14C dating of charcoal fragments found in subalpine and Alpine soils provide information about the type of vegetation, fires, human impact and soil formation throughout the Holocene. The degree of podzolisation indicates weathering effects and provides information about the stability of the surfaces. According to our results, a quick forest expansion establishment phase must have occurred shortly after the Lateglacial around 10 500 cal. BP. Pinus sylvestris, Pinus mugo as well as Larix decidua established in the investigation area in that period. Picea abies had not yet migrated into this region at the transition to the Boreal (around 9000 cal. BP). The vegetation of the investigated area has not substantially changed during the last 10 000 years. Pinus mugo was more widespread in some areas during the Older Atlanticum, and the treeline was about 150 m higher at the end of the Younger Dryas than today. Some other sites were most probably used as pasture during the Bronze Age and later abandoned, leading to a natural reforestation. In the investigated area 13 fire events in the past 10 700 years have been recognised, and seven of them can reasonably be attributed to human origin.

Climate and vegetation changes during the Lateglacial and early–middle Holocene at Lake Ledro (southern Alps, Italy)

“…However, taxonomic identification of macrocharcoal fragments suggest that Larix presence is continuously recorded during Holocene times at a higher altitude in the nearby Valle di Sol (up to 2200 m a.s.l. ; Trentino, Favilli et al, 2010). Larix presence has also been documented for the last millennia in Lake Tovel (1177 m a.s.l.…”

“…1000 mm. Location of pollen sites discussed in the paper for the Alps and northern Italy -1: Lake Lavarone (Filippi et al, 2007); 2: Lake Lucone ; 3: Passo del Tonale (Gehrig, 1997); 4: Valle di Sol (Favilli et al, 2010); 5: Lake Tovel (Gottardini et al, 2004); 6: Palù di Sonico (Gehrig, 1997); 7: Pian di Gembro (Pini, 2002); 8: Totenmoos (Heiss et al, 2005); 9: Palughetto Cansiglio Plateau (Vescovi et al, 2007); 10: Lago di Fimon (Valsecchi et al, 2008); 11: Lago della Costa (Kaltenrieder et al, 2009(Kaltenrieder et al, , 2010; 12: Lago di Annone (Wick and Möhl, 2006); 13: Lej da San Murezzan (Gobet et al, 2003); 14: Lago Ragogna (Monegato et al, 2007); 15: Lago di Origlio (Tinner et al, 1999); 16: Balladrum (Hofstetter et al, 2006); 17: Piano ; 18: Gerzensee (Lotter et al, 2000); 19: Soppensee (Lotter, 1999); 20: Lobsigensee (Tinner and Vescovi, 2005); 21: Lago Piccolo di Avigliana ; 22: Lago del Greppo ; 23: Lago dell'Accesa (Drescher-Schneider et al, 2007). (c) Catchment area of Lake Ledro (dotted line).…”

Prescribed burning in Italy: issues, advances and challenges

“…Several authors stressed the importance of increasing landscape heterogeneity also by means of prescribed fire (e.g., Moreira et al 2011). Given the important role that fire has played in fostering biodiversity in Italian ecosystems (Sereni 1981, Delogu & Cabiddu 2009, Conedera & Krebs 2010, Favilli et al 2010, there is much research potential on the effectiveness of PB for biodiversity conservation. Ascoli et al (2012) identified several EU Natura 2000 habitats (code Habitat Directive: 2240Directive: , 2270, in addition to marshlands dominated by Carex spp.…”

“…In the Greco-Roman world, the use of fire was widespread in Mediterranean Italy (Susmel 1973) to create or regenerate pastures, fertilize fields, hunt, and control pests (Sereni 1981, Pyne 1982. Also in the Alps, between 6500 BC and 800 AD, slash and burn (debbio) was broadly used to open new pastures and agricultural fields (Ali et al 2005, Tinner et al 2005, Favilli et al 2010). However, starting from the late Middle Ages, the use of fire in northern Italy decreased (Conedera & Krebs 2010).…”

The pedological heritage of the Dolomites (Northern Italy): Features, distribution and evolution of the soils, with some implications for land management

“…(Merkli et al, 2009). This relatively short geomorphologic evolution directly influences the age of the soils, which started to form after the Last Glacial Maximun (LGM) (Egli et al, 2008;Favilli et al, 2010).…”