Taxonomic composition of the Holocene forests of the northern coast of Spain,                 as determined from their macroremains

García‐Amorena, Ignacio; Morla, Carlos; Rubiales, Juan Manuel; Manzaneque, Fernando Gómez

doi:10.1177/0959683608089218

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Likewise, the low values of Pinus would not suggest a presence of pine forests in the vicinity. This observation is confirmed in other diagrams of the Iberian Atlantic coast (García‐Amorena et al, ; Moreno et al, ) and coincides with the absence of pine macroremains in nearby caves (Peña‐Chocarro et al, ). Rubiales, García‐Amorena, García‐Álvarez, and Gómez‐Manzaneque () suggest that deciduous taxa would have been favored over coniferous species because of the temperate and humid climate, creating a remarkable cover of flammable fuel necessary for fires.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

“…Fires in European mountain zones have been studied in the Alps (Carcaillet et al, ), Pyrenees (Bal, Pèlachs, Pérez‐Obiol, Julià, & Cunill, ; Rius, Vannière, Galop, & Richard, ), and the Iberian Central System (García Álvarez, Bal, Allée, García‐Amorena, & Rubiales, ; López Sáez et al, ). Considering the available evidence since the Neolithic period, fire appears to be a great ally for the opening of forest spaces and the maintenance of open landscapes (Cunill, Soriano, Bal, Pèlachs, & Pérez‐Obiol, ; Feurdean et al, ; Gil‐Romera et al, ; Colombaroli, Vannière, Chapron, Magny, & Tinner, ; García‐Amorena, Morla, Rubiales, & Gómez‐Manzaneque, ), a practice that survives in Cantabria to the present day (Carracedo, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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History of fires and vegetation since the Neolithic in the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain)

et al. 2018

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Fire has been one of the main causes of disturbance of vegetation over time, and since the Neolithic has become an irreplaceable tool for the opening of forest spaces and maintenance of pastures. Previous studies showed that the intensity and effects of wildfires are related to the biomass and controlled by climate factors. However, in regions such as Cantabria, where agriculture and livestock have spread throughout the territory since prehistory, fires should also be closely related to human land uses. The aim of this paper was to investigate the history of fires and vegetation since the Neolithic in the Cantabrian Mountains, using sedimentary charcoal and pollen data to study the role of human activities in the processes that have shaped ecosystems throughout the Holocene. The asynchrony and quantitative differences in the results obtained at different sites indicate significant variations in fire patterns at regional scale since the Neolithic, although the type and size of each basin also had a strong influence on charcoal accumulation. Maximum values for charcoal accumulation rate at La Molina were observed between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age but occurred after about 3500 cal years BP at El Cueto de la Avellanosa. At El Sertal, low charcoal accumulation rate values were observed, probably because the sequence begins in a space that already had been cleared; the maximum values occurred during the most recent millennium. These data provide evidence that fire has been a key factor in forest retreat and in maintaining open landscapes since the Neolithic.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

History of fires and vegetation since the Neolithic in the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain)

et al. 2018

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“…BP in Chan do Lamoso (Ramil-Rego et al, 1994). In the present work, the charcoal from this period was dominated by Quercus and Fabaceae, while pollen reflected the presence of the Quercus-Alnus-Betula assemblage with significant herbaceous undergrowth, confirming earlier palynological (Ramil-Rego, 1992;Allen et al, 1996;Santos et al, 2000;Muñoz Sobrino et al, 2005), anthracological (Carrión, 2005) and other macro-remains (García-Amorena et al, 2008) studies from NW Iberia. A partially deforested landscape and the presence of pyrophytic shrubs are highlighted by the combined charcoal and pollen results.…”

Section: Holocene Landscape Evolutionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Holocene vegetation changes in NW Iberia revealed by anthracological and palynological records from a colluvial soil

et al. 2009

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Macroscopic charcoal, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs were isolated from a colluvial soil located on a small hill in Campo Lameiro (NW Spain) in order to elucidate the vegetation history of the area and its relation to fire and human activities. The presence of macroscopic charcoal throughout the 2.10 m thick soil (42 samples) is evidence of frequent fires during the last c. 6300 years. The charcoal record was dominated by Quercus (probably Q. robur), Ericaceae (probably Arbutus unedo and Erica arborea) and Fabaceae (mainly Genista type). Abrupt changes in the charcoal assemblage are less explicit in the pollen sequence, probably as a result of pollen inflow from the downhill surroundings of the study site. Combined results indicated that the original oak woodland was gradually replaced by pyrophytic shrubs (Ericaceae and Fabaceae) as a result of fire recurrence. Non-pollen palynomorphs strongly suggested that vegetation was deliberately ignited by past human societies to facilitate grazing. No evidence of local agricultural practices was found. Episodes of accelerated shrubland expansion occurred c. 6000—5500 cal. BP, c. 4000—3500 cal. BP and c. 1700 cal. BP, the latter of which caused the definitive settlement of shrublands dominated by Ericaceae and Fabaceae which are nowadays widespread in NW Iberia.

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“…Unfortunately, U. minor, U. glabra and U. laevis wood (Schweingrüber, 1990) and pollen (Stafford, 1994) cannot be distinguished. Fossil macro-remains such as fruits or leaves discriminate between elm species, but unfortunately these are very rare (García-Amorena et al, 2008). Iberia has also been determined to be a glacial refugia for the three elm species by climatic modelling (Svenning et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extending glacial refugia for a European tree: genetic markers show that Iberian populations of white elm are native relicts and not introductions

Fuentes-Utrilla¹,

Venturas²,

Hollingsworth³

et al. 2013

Heredity

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Conservation policies usually focus on in situ protection of native populations, a priority that requires accurate assessment of population status. Distinction between native and introduced status can be particularly difficult (and at the same time, is most important) for species whose natural habitat has become both rare and highly fragmented. Here, we address the status of the white elm (Ulmus laevis Pallas), a European riparian tree species whose populations have been fragmented by human activity and is protected wherever it is considered native. Small populations of this species are located in Iberia, where they are unprotected because they are considered introductions due to their rarity. However, Iberia and neighbouring regions in southwestern France have been shown to support discrete glacial refuge populations of many European trees, and the possibility remains that Iberian white elms are native relicts. We used chloroplast RFLPs and nuclear microsatellites to establish the relationship between populations in Iberia and the Central European core distribution. Bayesian approaches revealed significant spatial structure across populations. Those in Iberia and southwestern France shared alleles absent from Central Europe, and showed spatial population structure within Iberia common in recognized native taxa. Iberian populations show a demographic signature of ancient population bottlenecks, while those in Central European show a signature of recent population bottlenecks. These patterns are not consistent with historical introduction of white elm to Iberia, and instead strongly support native status, arguing for immediate implementation of conservation measures for white elm populations in Spain and contiguous areas of southern France.

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Taxonomic composition of the Holocene forests of the northern coast of Spain, as determined from their macroremains

Cited by 15 publications

References 28 publications

History of fires and vegetation since the Neolithic in the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain)

History of fires and vegetation since the Neolithic in the Cantabrian Mountains (Spain)

Holocene vegetation changes in NW Iberia revealed by anthracological and palynological records from a colluvial soil

Extending glacial refugia for a European tree: genetic markers show that Iberian populations of white elm are native relicts and not introductions

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