Holocene fire activity and vegetation response in South-Eastern Iberia

Abstract

Since fire has been recognised as an essential disturbance in Mediterranean landscapes, the study of long-term fire ecology has developed rapidly. We have reconstructed a sequence of vegetation dynamics and fire changes across south-eastern Iberia by coupling records of climate, fire, vegetation and human activities. We calculated fire activity anomalies (FAAs) in relation to 3 kyr cal BP for 10-8 kyr cal BP, 6 kyr cal BP, 4 kyr cal BP and the present. For most of the Early to the Mid-Holocene uneven, but low fire events were the main vegetation driver at high altitudes where broadleaved and coniferous trees presented a highly dynamic post-fire response. At mid-altitudes in the mainland Segura Mountains, fire activity remained relatively stable, at similar levels to recent times. We hypothesize that coastal areas, both mountains and lowlands, were more fire-prone landscapes as biomass was more likely to have accumulated than in the inland regions, triggering regular fire events. The wet and warm phase towards the Mid-Holocene (between ca. 8 and 6 kyr cal BP) affected the whole region and promoted the spread of mesophytic forest co-existing with Pinus, as FAAs appear strongly negative at 6 kyr cal BP, with a less important role of fire. Mid and Late Holocene landscapes were shaped by an increasing aridity trend and the rise of human occupation, especially in the coastal mountains where forest disappeared from ca. 2 kyr cal BP. Mediterranean-type vegetation (evergreen oaks and Pinus pinaster-halepensis types) showed the fastest post-fire vegetation dynamics over time.

Hidden signatures of the Mesolithic–Neolithic transition in Iberia: The pine marten (Martes martes Linnaeus, 1758) and beech marten (Martes foina Erxleben, 1777) from Cova Fosca (Spain)

“…The rapid contraction of the forests and expansion of the grasslands (Poaceae) during the Early Neolithic may have been related to the intensification of forest clearance. The increasing levels of coprophilous and carbonicolous fungi, linked with grazing and fire, are likewise related to regional clearing processes (Gil-Romera et al, 2010a). Cereal cultivation in the region is verified through the carpological record at the start of the second half of 6th millennium cal BC (Zapata et al, 2004).…”

Vegetation and fire history since the last glacial maximum in an inland area of the western Mediterranean Basin (Northern Iberian Plateau, NW Spain)

“…The suggested increase in precipitation, along with the expansion of deciduous trees (which are less flammable than pines), led to low to moderate CHAR and charcoal concentration values between 10,500 and 6400 cal yr BP. Thus, there is another noticeable similarity between the Northern Iberian Plateau and the mountains of southeastern Iberia, where the mid-Holocene was also characterized by low fire activity (Carrión, 2002;Gil-Romera et al, 2010). On the contrary, fire activity remained almost unchanged in the more oceanic areas of western Iberia (Connor et al, 2012;Morales-Molino et al, 2013) or even increased in the southern Pyrenees (Pérez-Sanz et al, 2013).…”

“…It is important to determine whether there were rapid biotic responses to these climatic changes in inland Spain, similar to those recorded in central and northern Europe (Birks and Ammann, 2000;Ammann et al, 2000Ammann et al, , 2012. Finally, fire history remains poorly studied in the westernmost sector of the Mediterranean Basin (e.g., Morales-Molino et al, 2011Vannière et al, 2011;Connor et al, 2012), despite the enormous importance that fire has in the functioning of Mediterranean ecosystems (Pausas et al, 2008;Colombaroli et al, 2009;Gil-Romera et al, 2010).…”

A History of Human Impact on Moroccan Mountain Landscapes

“…2100 BC) (Cortés et al 2012;Damblon 1991;López-Sáez et al 2011a, b). The role of human activities in the regional fire history should also be taken into account (Damblon 1991;Gil-Romera et al 2010;Linstädter and Zielhofer 2010).…”