Vegetation history, climate and human impact in the Spanish Central System over the last 9000 years

Abstract

In this paper we present a review of the available Holocene pollen records from the Spanish Central System (113 sites and 150 14C dates). Palynological data obtained from pollen analyses of peat-bogs, lakes and archaeological sites, as well as radiocarbon dating, were used to infer the human impact on vegetation and landscape during the last 9 millennia. The Neolithic contribution to the configuration of landscape is scarce, limited to the valleys, while Chalcolithic settlements and their related activities (agriculture and grazing) represent the first evidence of significant human impact on the high-mountains. The pollen record has allowed us to relate two cultural periods of changing, the Copper Age-Early Bronze Age and Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age transitions, to abrupt climate disruptions, the so-called 4.2 and 2.8 ka cal BP events respectively. From the Iron Age to the Early Middle Ages, anthropic activities were still sporadic, mainly located in the lowlands, but from the Feudal Period onwards, when La Mesta transhumance system takes place, high-mountain landscapes changed dramatically. Late Modern Period brings a further intensification of human pressure, especially related to forestry, with widespread pinewood afforestation.