Reconstruction of Holocene vegetation dynamics at Lac de Bretaye, a high-mountain lake in the Swiss Alps

Thöle, Lena; Schwörer, Christoph; Colombaroli, Danièle; Gobet, Erika; Kaltenrieder, Petra; Leeuwen, Jacqueline van; Tinner, Willy

doi:10.1177/0959683615609746

Cited by 19 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…4 ka cal BC (Della Casa ; Walsh ; Festi, Putzer & Oeggl ; Thöle et al . ). High‐altitude seasonal camps (Curdy ) and sedDNA evidence of domestic mammal (Giguet‐Covex et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

From pristine forests to high‐altitude pastures: an ecological approach to prehistoric human impact on vegetation and landscapes in the western Italian Alps

et al. 2017

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Summary This paper addresses the origin and development of the oldest prehistoric pasture in the timberline ecotone known so far in the Alps and its relation to anthropogenic pressure and natural climate change. Palaeoecological and geochemical techniques were applied on the Crotte Basse mire stratigraphy (2365 m a.s.l, northwestern Italy) to describe changes in vegetation composition, forest biomass, land use and fertilization between c. 6400–1800 cal years bp. Subalpine forests dominated by Pinus cembra occurred at very high‐altitude up to c. 5600 cal years bp, when a sharp contraction of woody vegetation took place. This major vegetation shift is matched by increasing charcoal input and markers of pastoral/grazing activities (pollen, dung spores and forms of phosphorus) in the sediment sequence in this small basin. Major phases of landscape change detected in our multiproxy record chronologically match intervals of cumulative probability density of 14C ages from nearby archaeological sites, suggesting that human activity was the factor leading to massive landscape change from the onset of the Copper Age (c. 5600 cal years bp). The change may have been reinforced by climate variability in the period 5700–5300 cal years bp. Sensitivity of woody species to fires was statistically explored (Appendix S1, Supporting Information), revealing negative reactions of P. cembra and Betula to frequent fire episodes and positive reactions of Alnus viridis and Juniperus. Fire episodes do not affect Larix dynamics. Synthesis. Mt. Fallère provides some of the oldest and consistent evidence so far available in the Alps for major anthropogenic pressure at the upper forest limit. As far back as 5600 cal years bp, high‐elevation forest ecosystems were permanently disrupted and the alpine pastures were created. Palaeoecological data enable a clear distinction between a random and sporadic use of the alpine space, typical for Mesolithic and Neolithic societies, and an organized seasonal exploitation of natural resources, starting from the Copper Age onwards. The chronological comparison of independent climate proxies, palaeoecological information and pollen‐based temperature reconstructions sheds light on the relationships between climate and humans since prehistoric times.

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“…4 ka cal BC (Della Casa ; Walsh ; Festi, Putzer & Oeggl ; Thöle et al . ). High‐altitude seasonal camps (Curdy ) and sedDNA evidence of domestic mammal (Giguet‐Covex et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

From pristine forests to high‐altitude pastures: an ecological approach to prehistoric human impact on vegetation and landscapes in the western Italian Alps

et al. 2017

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“…Lotter et al 1992) and expanded their ranges to higher elevations (e.g. Zoller 1960;Zoller and Kleiber 1971;Welten 1982;Vescovi et al 2006;Rey et al 2013: Schwörer et al 2014aThöle et al 2016). The progressive build-up of flammable fuel (e.g.…”

Section: Response Of Tree Species To Past Climate Variationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6). In the northern subregion, stone pine and silver fir declined after ~7500 cal yr BP (Wick et al 2003;Rey et al 2013, Schwörer et al 2015Thöle et al 2016), and in the southern subregion, silver fir became locally extinct in the lowlands (Tinner et al 1999(Tinner et al , 2000Hofstetter et al 2006). Ash, linden, elm, beech, English holly (Ilex aquifolium) and ivy (Hedera helix) declined with high levels of burning in the Neolithic period and Bronze and Iron Ages in the southern and northern subregions.…”

Section: Response Of Tree Species To Past Human Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ash, linden, elm, beech, English holly (Ilex aquifolium) and ivy (Hedera helix) declined with high levels of burning in the Neolithic period and Bronze and Iron Ages in the southern and northern subregions. In contrast, disturbanceadapted species, including fire-adapted green alder (Alnus viridis) and browsing-resistant spruce, increased in abundance as a direct consequence of other species reductions (Markgraf 1970;Wick et al 2003;Gobet et al 2003;Berthel et al 2012;Rey et al 2013;Schwörer et al 2014bSchwörer et al , 2015Thöle et al 2016).…”

Section: Response Of Tree Species To Past Human Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sweet chestnut was first cultivated in Roman time and progressively expanded to all suitable areas of the southern subregion. The history of sweet chestnut is one of the most striking examples of anthropogenic impact on forest composition in the Alps (Zoller 1960;Gobet et al 2000;Morales-Molino et al 2014;Thöle et al 2016) and elsewhere in Europe (Conedera et al 2004). In the lowlands in and around the Alps, its cultivation was associated with extensive removal of native trees (e.g.…”

Section: Response Of Tree Species To Past Human Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Insights about past forest dynamics as a tool for present and future forest management in Switzerland

Conedera

Colombaroli

Tinner

et al. 2017

Forest Ecology and Management

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Holocene vegetation, fire and land use dynamics at Lake Svityaz, an agriculturally marginal site in northwestern Ukraine

Schwörer

Gobet

Leeuwen

et al. 2021

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Observing natural vegetation dynamics over the entire Holocene is difficult in Central Europe, due to pervasive and increasing human disturbance since the Neolithic. One strategy to minimize this limitation is to select a study site in an area that is marginal for agricultural activity. Here, we present a new sediment record from Lake Svityaz in northwestern Ukraine. We have reconstructed regional and local vegetation and fire dynamics since the Late Glacial using pollen, spores, macrofossils and charcoal. Boreal forest composed of Pinus sylvestris and Betula with continental Larix decidua and Pinus cembra established in the region around 13,450 cal bp, replacing an open, steppic landscape. The first temperate tree to expand was Ulmus at 11,800 cal bp, followed by Quercus, Fraxinus excelsior, Tilia and Corylus ca. 1,000 years later. Fire activity was highest during the Early Holocene, when summer solar insolation reached its maximum. Carpinus betulus and Fagus sylvatica established at ca. 6,000 cal bp, coinciding with the first indicators of agricultural activity in the region and a transient climatic shift to cooler and moister conditions. Human impact on the vegetation remained initially very low, only increasing during the Bronze Age, at ca. 3,400 cal bp. Large-scale forest openings and the establishment of the present-day cultural landscape occurred only during the past 500 years. The persistence of highly diverse mixed forest under absent or low anthropogenic disturbance until the Early Middle Ages corroborates the role of human impact in the impoverishment of temperate forests elsewhere in Central Europe. The preservation or reestablishment of such diverse forests may mitigate future climate change impacts, specifically by lowering fire risk under warmer and drier conditions.

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Reconstruction of Holocene vegetation dynamics at Lac de Bretaye, a high-mountain lake in the Swiss Alps

Cited by 19 publications

References 79 publications

From pristine forests to high‐altitude pastures: an ecological approach to prehistoric human impact on vegetation and landscapes in the western Italian Alps

From pristine forests to high‐altitude pastures: an ecological approach to prehistoric human impact on vegetation and landscapes in the western Italian Alps

Insights about past forest dynamics as a tool for present and future forest management in Switzerland

Holocene vegetation, fire and land use dynamics at Lake Svityaz, an agriculturally marginal site in northwestern Ukraine

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