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The Holocene, Vol. 13, No. 2, 293-298 (2003)
DOI: 10.1191/0959683603hl602rr

Holocene palaeoenvironmental changes in southern France: a palaeobotanical study of travertine at St-Antonin, Bouches-du-Rhône

Adam A. Ali

Jean-Frédéric Terral

Laboratoire de Paléoenvironnement – UMR 5059 CNRS, Institut de Botanique (Université Montpellier 2), 163 rue Auguste Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France

Jean-Louis Guendon

MMSH – UMR 6636 CNRS, 5 rue du Château de l'Horloge, F-13094 Aix-en-Provence, Cedex 2, France

Paul Roiron

Laboratoire de Paléoenvironnement – UMR 5059 CNRS, Institut de Botanique (Université Montpellier 2), 163 rue Auguste Broussonet, F-34090 Montpellier, France roiron{at}crit.univ-montp2.fr

Travertines are carbonate deposits formed generally during temperate climatic periods. They usually present a succession of travertinous units and detrital sedimentary levels containing leaf impressions and charcoal, respectively. The travertine of St-Antonin was formed during the Holocence in accordance with this model; snail shells and archaeological material have also been preserved, essentially in detrital levels. An interdisciplinary investigation combining two palaeobotanical approaches (identification of leaf imprints and charred wood) has been carried out to identify vegetation changes, at a local or microregional scale during the travertine formation. Our results were compared with those of previous malacological, geomorphological and archaeological studies. The Preboreal and Boreal sequence of the travertine shows evidence of a reduction of the riverside vegetation correlated with the establishment of a mesophilous vegetation dominated by the pubescent oak (Quercus pubescens). During the Boreal–Atlantic transition, the vegetation structure changed slightly under anthropogenic influence. From the Atlantic to the first part of the Subboreal, vegetation seems to have been profoundly affected by intensive human exploitation. This process has broken up the forested area into different plant communities and favoured the dominance of heliophilous and thermophilous species.

Key Words: Palaeobotany • vegetation history • palaeoenvironment • tufa • travertine • leaf imprints • charcoal • Holocene • southern France


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A. A. Ali, A. A. Ali, P. Roiron, J.-L. Guendon, P. Poirier, and J.-F. Terral
Holocene vegetation responses to fire events in the inner French Alps (Queyras Massif): data from charcoal and geomorphological analysis of travertine sequences
The Holocene, January 1, 2005; 15(1): 149 - 155.
[Abstract] [PDF]