Resilience of Pyrenean Forests after Recurrent Historical Deforestations
The long-term resilience of Pyrenean forests in the face of historical anthropogenic clearing remains largely unknown. In this paper, a high-resolution (decadal to subdecadal) paleoecological study of mid-elevation Pyrenean forests is presented that encompasses the last two millennia. This long-term...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/3/567 |
| _version_ | 1797611708284403712 |
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| author | Valentí Rull Teresa Vegas-Vilarrúbia |
| author_facet | Valentí Rull Teresa Vegas-Vilarrúbia |
| author_sort | Valentí Rull |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The long-term resilience of Pyrenean forests in the face of historical anthropogenic clearing remains largely unknown. In this paper, a high-resolution (decadal to subdecadal) paleoecological study of mid-elevation Pyrenean forests is presented that encompasses the last two millennia. This long-term record was obtained after sediment coring, dating (varve counting) and pollen analysis of annually laminated (varved) sediments from Lake Montcortès, situated at 1027 m elevation, in the transition between the Mediterranean and montane forest belts. This allowed the definition of three major deforestation/recovery cycles during the Roman, Medieval and Modern times. Each DR cycle is characterized considering three different levels: overall forest trends, forest type and individual taxa. Overall, the studied forests exhibited high resilience, as they recovered almost completely after each deforestation event (bulk resilience). The critical point of no return (tipping point) beyond which forests would have irreversibly disappeared from the region was never reached, even after deforestation magnitudes above 60%. The different forest types identified (conifer, sclerophyll and deciduous) persisted over time, showing similar heterogeneous patterns with minor spatial reorganizations (mosaic resilience). Individually, the main forest taxa underwent minor variations in their relative abundances, always within the same attraction domains (community resilience). The high levels of resilience documented in these Pyrenean forests are attributed to the action of metapopulation and metacommunity processes and mechanisms in a highly dynamic patchy environment. Conservation actions should be focused on the maintenance of these spatial patterns and the associated ecological dynamics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:31:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f91b40a7e3114e9a858e276aebfc3be7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:31:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-f91b40a7e3114e9a858e276aebfc3be72023-11-17T11:10:23ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072023-03-0114356710.3390/f14030567Resilience of Pyrenean Forests after Recurrent Historical DeforestationsValentí Rull0Teresa Vegas-Vilarrúbia1Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Botanic Institute of Barcelona, 08038 Barcelona, SpainDepartment of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, SpainThe long-term resilience of Pyrenean forests in the face of historical anthropogenic clearing remains largely unknown. In this paper, a high-resolution (decadal to subdecadal) paleoecological study of mid-elevation Pyrenean forests is presented that encompasses the last two millennia. This long-term record was obtained after sediment coring, dating (varve counting) and pollen analysis of annually laminated (varved) sediments from Lake Montcortès, situated at 1027 m elevation, in the transition between the Mediterranean and montane forest belts. This allowed the definition of three major deforestation/recovery cycles during the Roman, Medieval and Modern times. Each DR cycle is characterized considering three different levels: overall forest trends, forest type and individual taxa. Overall, the studied forests exhibited high resilience, as they recovered almost completely after each deforestation event (bulk resilience). The critical point of no return (tipping point) beyond which forests would have irreversibly disappeared from the region was never reached, even after deforestation magnitudes above 60%. The different forest types identified (conifer, sclerophyll and deciduous) persisted over time, showing similar heterogeneous patterns with minor spatial reorganizations (mosaic resilience). Individually, the main forest taxa underwent minor variations in their relative abundances, always within the same attraction domains (community resilience). The high levels of resilience documented in these Pyrenean forests are attributed to the action of metapopulation and metacommunity processes and mechanisms in a highly dynamic patchy environment. Conservation actions should be focused on the maintenance of these spatial patterns and the associated ecological dynamics.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/3/567Iberian PeninsulaPyreneespalynologylast millenniamosaic forestsmetacommunity |
| spellingShingle | Valentí Rull Teresa Vegas-Vilarrúbia Resilience of Pyrenean Forests after Recurrent Historical Deforestations Forests Iberian Peninsula Pyrenees palynology last millennia mosaic forests metacommunity |
| title | Resilience of Pyrenean Forests after Recurrent Historical Deforestations |
| title_full | Resilience of Pyrenean Forests after Recurrent Historical Deforestations |
| title_fullStr | Resilience of Pyrenean Forests after Recurrent Historical Deforestations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Resilience of Pyrenean Forests after Recurrent Historical Deforestations |
| title_short | Resilience of Pyrenean Forests after Recurrent Historical Deforestations |
| title_sort | resilience of pyrenean forests after recurrent historical deforestations |
| topic | Iberian Peninsula Pyrenees palynology last millennia mosaic forests metacommunity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/3/567 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT valentirull resilienceofpyreneanforestsafterrecurrenthistoricaldeforestations AT teresavegasvilarrubia resilienceofpyreneanforestsafterrecurrenthistoricaldeforestations |