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Some questions on the late-Holocene vegetation of EuropeDipartimento di Biologia Vegetale, Università 'La Sapienza', P. le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy Some examples of postglacial and modern European vegetation are presented as starting points for a discussion on the pattern and processes of the late-Holocene recession of forests. Predictive modern vegetation models are considered; they indicate that deciduous forest may not at present be the dominant vegetation type in northern Europe and in part of central Europe. A comparison of pollen diagrams at a supraregional scale shows that the beginning of deforestation in northern Europe was contemporaneous with expansion of forests in Italy. Some Holocene pollen records, compared with the classical interglacial-cycle models, seem to indicate that, at least in some regions of Europe, the present interglacial might already be in the terminal phase, namely open conifer-dominated woodlands. On the basis of these observations, the hypothesis is suggested that late-Holocene natural openings in the forests, predictable at the end of the interglacials, favouring the diffusion of grasses, produced environments suitable for human settlements, agriculture and pastoral activity.
Key Words: Late Holocene • deforestation • Europe • natural vegetation • human impact • prehistory • interglacial cycle.
The Holocene, Vol. 5, No. 3,
354-360 (1995) |
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