Climate Change, Fire and Human Activity Drive Vegetation Change during the Last Eight Millennia in the Xistral Mountains of NW Iberia

An 8500-year record of high-resolution pollen, non-pollen palynomorph, microscopic charcoal and selected geochemical data (Ti, Zr and Pb) is presented from an ombrotrophic mire from the Xistral Mountains, Galicia, North-West Iberia. The results suggest that vegetation changes over the last eight millennia are primarily the result of human disturbance, fire and climate change. Climate and fire were the main factors influencing vegetation development during the early to mid-Holocene, including a short-lived decline in forest cover c. 8.2 cal. ka BP. Changes associated with the 4.2 and 2.8 cal. Ka BP events are less well defined. Human impact on vegetation became more pronounced by the late Holocene with major periods of forest disturbance from c. 3.1 cal. ka BP onwards: during the end of Metal Ages, Roman period and culminating in the permanent decline of deciduous forests in the post-Roman period, as agriculture and metallurgy intensified, leading to the creation of a cultural landscape. Climate change appears to become less influential as human activity dominates during the Late Holocene.

Automated summary

This study presents an 8500-year record of high-resolution pollen, non-pollen palynomorph, microscopic charcoal, and selected geochemical data to analyze vegetation changes in the Xistral Mountains, Galicia, North-West Iberia. The results indicate that human disturbance, fire, and climate change are the main factors influencing vegetation development over the past eight millennia. Human impact on vegetation became more significant during the late Holocene, resulting in the permanent decline of deciduous forests and the creation of a cultural landscape.