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Lateglacial and Holocene vegetation history in the Insubrian Southern Alps—New indications from a small-scale site

Hofstetter, Simone ; Tinner, Willy ; Valsecchi, Verushka ; Carraro, Gabriele ; Conedera, Marco

In: Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2006, vol. 15, no. 2, p. 87-98

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    Titre
    • Lateglacial and Holocene vegetation history in the Insubrian Southern Alps—New indications from a small-scale site
    Auteur
    • Hofstetter, Simone. University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013, Bern, Switzerland
    • Tinner, Willy. University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013, Bern, Switzerland
    • Valsecchi, Verushka. University of Bern, Institute of Plant Sciences, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013, Bern, Switzerland
    • Carraro, Gabriele. DIONEA SA, Environmental Consulting and Forestal Engeneering, Lungolago Motta 8, CH-6600, Locarno, Switzerland
    • Conedera, Marco. Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, WSL, Sottostazione Sud delle Alpi, PO Box 57, CH-6504, Bellinzona-Ravecchia, Switzerland
    Type de document
    • Postprint
    Langue
    • Anglais
    Publié dans
    • Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2006, vol. 15, no. 2, p. 87-98. Springer-Verlag
    Autre version électronique
    Identifiant OAI-PMH
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:311478
    Summary
    Fundamental uncertainties exist in the study region about the former lowland vegetation at local scales. All existing palaeoecological results are derived from sediments of medium- to large-sized sites (8-5000ha), which are thought to record mainly regional vegetation in their pollen content. Therefore the very small mire at Balladrum (0.05ha) was analysed for pollen, plant-macrofossils, and charcoal and the results compared with those of previous studies in the same region. Common regional signals were detected, but also new insights for the tree species Pinus cembra (L.), Abies alba (Mill.) and Castanea sativa (Mill.). Our palaeobotanical data reveal the local dominance of the timberline species P. cembra during the Lateglacial (16500-14250 cal b.p.) at low-altitudes. For A. alba an early presence in the area is suggested by pollen data, corroborating previous high-altitudinal studies indicating the presence of glacial refugia in the region. Occasional findings of C. sativa pollen throughout the Holocene may indicate the local but very rare presence of this species in the Insubrian Southern Alps, in contrast to the conventional opinion that C. sativa was introduced during the Roman Period. Altogether the results confirm the need of multiproxy palaeobotanical records from basins of variable size to assess the past composition of vegetation more accurately