A long-term perspective on biomass burning in the Serra da Estrela, Portugal

QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS

卷:55

Article

Connor, Simon E.^1,4  Araujo, Joao¹  van der Knaap, Willem O.^2,3  van Leeuwen, Jacqueline F. N.^2,3 

[1] Univ Algarve, Ctr Marine & Environm Res, P-8005139 Faro, Portugal

[2] Univ Bern, Inst Plant Sci, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland

[3] Univ Bern, Oeschger Ctr Climate Change Res, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland

[4] Monash Univ, Sch Geog & Environm Sci, Clayton, Vic 3800, Australia

关键词: Fire history;    Iberian Peninsula;    Late Quaternary;    Mediterranean;    Palaeoecology;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.08.007

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Fire is currently perceived as a major threat to ecosystems and biodiversity in the mountains of the Mediterranean region. Portugal's highest mountain range, the Serra da Estrela, is one of the country's most important protected areas and also the most fire-prone. We present a similar to 14,000-year fire history based on microscopic charred particles in an infilled glacial lake to better understand the antiquity of biomass burning and its effects on Mediterranean vegetation at the Atlantic margin. Results indicate the continuous occurrence of fire in the Serra da Estrela over the period of the record. Two periods of increased fire activity - around 12,000-11,000 calendar years before the present (cal. a BP) and 3500 2500 cal. a BP - were accompanied by major vegetation changes and followed by long periods of vegetation stabilisation. Cross-correlation analyses reveal that post-fire succession consistently began with herbaceous vegetation, followed by forest and shrubland stages. Past successional trends were often markedly different to those observed at present. Holocene climatic changes, including shifts in the North Atlantic Oscillation, played a pivotal role in the vegetation development and fire history of the Serra da Estrela. In the late Holocene, human use of fire became a major agent of vegetation change, accelerating the Holocene decline of forests. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

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