Early-Holocene vegetation and the human impact in central Provence (Var, France): charcoal analysis of the Baume de Fontbrégoua

Abstract

In order to reconstruct the history of the arboreal vegetation in central Provence (southeast France), charcoal analysis was undertaken on the charred remains excavated in the prehistoric settlement of Fontbrégoua. The results allow us to understand the evolution of vegetation during the first four millennia of the Holocene. After an open vegetation typical of the beginning of the Holocene, there follows a deciduous oak vegetation with Pinus halepensis prevalent at an early stage. The emergence and the development of vegetation in which Pinus halepensis and Quercus cf. pubescens dominate one after the other relate to human occupation and pastoral activities during the middle Neolithic.

Olea europaea L. in the North Mediterranean Basin during the Pleniglacial and the Early–Middle Holocene

“…In the last 30 years, wood-charcoal analyses that have been carried out at archaeological sites across the Mediterranean basin have provided abundant evidence on the plant taxa used by human groups for fuel Thiébault, 2002;Dufraisse, 2006;Fiorentino and Magri, 2008).…”

A comparative review of soil charcoal data: Spatiotemporal patterns of origin and long-term dynamics of Western European nutrient-poor grasslands

“…pine woodland; Bal et al, 2014; Henry et al, 2010; Vernet, 2006; Figure 3). The importance of wildfire related to summer drought as a key disturbance during the Holocene in the Mediterranean region has already been shown (Vannière et al, 2011), supporting climate determinism (Combourieu-Nebout et al, 2013; Jalut et al, 2009; Pons and Quezel, 1998; Thiebault, 1997). In La Crau, the charcoal assemblages show a degradation of pre-existing matorral vegetation and pine forests by fire and grazing during the Neolithic, before any advanced forest succession established locally (Bazile-Robert, 1987; Henry et al, 2010).…”

Holocene hydrological and vegetation changes in southern France inferred by the study of an alluvial travertine system (Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Hérault)

“…Holocene vegetation history is mainly displayed by palynological [25,35,38,42,52], archaeobotanical [10,11,49,54] investigations, and morphosedimental and palaeobotanical studies carried out on travertine deposits [1]. Palaeoecological results underline the role of pine and juniper species during the Late Glacial/Holocene transition, followed by the development of deciduous oak forests, which dominate the landscape up to the Middle Holocene [26,34,35,51].…”

“…This dynamics occurs asynchronously at a regional scale, related to human settlements [11,54]. The intensification of anthropogenic pressures occurring after the Bronze Age favoured the opening of the landscape and consecutively the development of matorral and, particularly, of communities dominated by Pinus halepensis [6][7][8]11,38,43,49].…”