Past uppermost tree limit in the Central European Alps (Switzerland) based on                 soil and soil charcoal

Carnelli, Adriana L.; Theurillat, Jean‐Paul; Thinon, Michel; Vadi, Gaëlle; Talon, Brigitte

doi:10.1191/0959683604hl715rp

Cited by 60 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Pedoanthracological studies based on plant identification of soil charcoal in the internal zones of the Alps show that subalpine grasslands result from deforestation over time-scales of centuries to millennia Talon et al, 1998;Carnelli et al, 2004), including fires that have become more frequent since at least ca. 6000 years BP (Carcaillet, 1998;David and Barbero, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinguishing subalpine soil types using extractible Al and Fe fractions and REE geochemistry

et al. 2008

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distinguishing subalpine soil types using extractible Al and Fe fractions and REE geochemistry

et al. 2008

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“…Few studies report the masses of soil charcoal and if they do, the masses are often derived from different profile depths. For example, Carnelli et al (2004) found much less charcoal (up to 19.35 mg kg −1 ) in an alpine Podzol (10-30 cm depth), or an average of 6.18 mg kg −1 in soils below 2400 m a.s.l. Carcaillet and Talon (2001) reported charcoal masses of 102-863 mg kg −1 (800-1280 kg ha −1 ) in soils under temperate Fagus-Abies forests.…”

Section: Incorporation Of Charcoal From the Forest Floor Into The Soimentioning

confidence: 99%

Minor changes in soil organic carbon and charcoal concentrations detected in a temperate deciduous forest a year after an experimental slash-and-burn

Eckmeier

Gerlach²,

Skjemstad

et al. 2007

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. Anthropogenic fires affected the temperate deciduous forests of Central Europe over millennia. Biomass burning releases carbon to the atmosphere and produces charcoal, which potentially contributes to the stable soil carbon pools and is an important archive of environmental history. The fate of charcoal in soils of temperate deciduous forests, i.e. the processes of charcoal incorporation and transportation and the effects on soil organic matter are still not clear. We investigated the effects of slash-and-burn at a longterm experimental burning site and determined soil organic carbon and charcoal carbon concentrations as well as the soil lightness of colour (L*) in the topmost soil material (0-1, 1-2.5 and 2.5-5 cm depths) before, immediately after the fire and one year later. The main results are that (i) only a few of the charcoal particles from the forest floor were incorporated into the soil matrix, presumably by soil mixing animals. In the 0-1 cm layer, during one year, the charcoal C concentration increased only by 0.4 g kg −1 and the proportion of charcoal C to SOC concentration increased from 2.8 to 3.4%; (ii) the SOC concentrations did not show any significant differences; (iii) soil lightness decreased significantly in the topmost soil layer and correlated well with the concentrations of charcoal C (r=−0.87**) and SOC (r=−0.94**) in the samples from the 0-5 cm layer. We concluded that Holocene biomass burning could have influenced soil charcoal concentrations and soil colour.

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“…evidenced a downward shifting of the treeline by about 150 m from the early Holocene to the present. Several studies carried out in the French Alps (eg, David, 1993), in Scotland (Pears, 1968) and in Switzerland (Carnelli et al, 2004a), have demonstrated that during the Preboreal and Boreal period (c. 9500-7000 cal. BP; Maisch et al, 1999) the treeline was about 200-250 ± 100 m higher than today.…”

Section: Fire Regimes and Human Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, soil charcoal dating gives a time proxy for soil pedogenesis (Carcaillet, 2001) and can be used to estimate soil age. Charcoal fragments have been widely used especially in studies about treeline shifting, soil pedogenesis, fire regimes, changes in vegetation and carbon storage (eg, Berli et al, 1994;Cherubini et al, 1995;Carcaillet and Brun 2000;Carcaillet, 2001;Carnelli et al, 2004a;Ali et al, 2005;Hajdas et al, 2007;Bélanger and Pinno, 2008;DeLuca and Aplet, 2008). Charcoal identification and dating is a powerful tool to reconstruct past human impact on Alpine territories.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2009

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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.

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Past uppermost tree limit in the Central European Alps (Switzerland) based on soil and soil charcoal

Cited by 60 publications

References 36 publications

Distinguishing subalpine soil types using extractible Al and Fe fractions and REE geochemistry

Distinguishing subalpine soil types using extractible Al and Fe fractions and REE geochemistry

Minor changes in soil organic carbon and charcoal concentrations detected in a temperate deciduous forest a year after an experimental slash-and-burn

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

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