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Crossing forest thresholds: inertia and collapse in a Holocene sequence from south-central Spain

Departamnento de Biología Vegetal, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain; carrion{at}un.cs

Antonia Andrade

Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain

Keith D. Bennett

Quaternary Geology, Departmnent of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden

Cristina Navarro

Departamnento de Biología Vegetal, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain

Manuel Munuera

Departamento de Producción Agraria, ETS Ingeniería Agronoómica, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, 30203 Cartagena, Murcia, Spain

A Holocene palaeoecological sequence from Villaverde, south-central Spain, is presented. The pollen stratigraphy is used to infer past vegetation changes within a catchment area that represents the boundary between semi-arid, plateau and mountain vegetation. From c. 9700-7530 cal. yr BP, Pinus is dominant, probably as a result of a combination of a relatively dry climate and natural fire disturbance. From c. 7530-5900 cal. yr BP, moderate invasion by Quercus appears to be a migrational response following increased moisture and temperature, but in part shaped by competitive adjustments. From c. 5900-5000 cal. yr BP, the pine forests are replaced by deciduous-Quercus forests with an important contribution from Corylus, Betula, Fraxinus and Alnus. Mediterranean-type forests spread from c. 5000 to 1920 cal. yr BP coincident with expansions of Artemisia, Juniperus and other xerophytes. From c. 1920-1160 cal. yr BP, Pinus becomes dominant after a disturbance- mediated invasion of the oak forests. Human impact upon the regional landscape was negligible during the Neolithic, and limited in the Bronze and Iron Ages. Local deforestation and the expansion of agro-pastoral activities occur after c. 1600 cal. yr BP.

Key Words: Holocene • vegetation change • palaeoecology • pollen analysis • climatic change • Spain

The Holocene, Vol. 11, No. 6, 635-653 (2001)
DOI: 10.1191/09596830195672


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