Abstract
Aim of study. The diachronic study of vegetation change through palynological analysis of sedimentary deposits is an essential tool both to design sound strategies on landscape management and to understand its anthropogenic dynamics.Area of study. La Meseguera mire (Ladrillar, Cáceres, Spain) is located in the Hurdes region in the western part of Iberian Central System and started to develop at the beginning of the Islamic period (ca. 770 cal AD), in an area widely dominated by heathland. Material and methods. Pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs and charcoal accumulation rate (CHAR) combined with historical data are useful indicators to assess the increasing role of human influence on vegetation.Main results. The use of fire and livestock husbandry represents the main drivers of landscape change in the course of the history. The establishment of forest afforestation plans, from the middle of 20th century, changed substantially the regional features. The sporadic presence of beech pollen is detected until 16th century, which implies the most western location in the Iberian Central Mountain System.Research highlights. The integration of pollen analysis and historical data is an essential tool when studying the changes in Holocene vegetation. These changes have been mainly driven by anthropogenic disturbances, more specifically by fire and livestock husbandry.Key Words: Anthropogenic dynamics; Central Mountain System; microcharcoals; non-pollen palynomorphs.
Highlights
Despite human impact being a major factor on Holocene vegetation dynamics, especially in western Mediterranean areas (Valladares et al, 2004; Riera Mora, 2006), specific studies addressing its influence on iberian montane vegetation are scarce, limited to certain regions like southeastern Iberia (Carrión et al, 2001, 2007) or the Gredos Range (López Sáez et al, 2009; López Merino et al, 2009; Abel-Schaad and López-Saez, 2013; López-Sáez et al, 2013)
Pollen palynomorphs and the concentration of microcharcoal particles have become essential tools to assess the role of anthropogenic dynamics (e.g: Carcaillet et al, 2001; Van Geel, 2002; Tinner and Hu, 2003; López Sáez and López Merino, 2007)
The Hurdes region is located in the western part of the Iberian Central Mountain System, on the southern slope of the Francia Range
Summary
Despite human impact being a major factor on Holocene vegetation dynamics, especially in western Mediterranean areas (Valladares et al, 2004; Riera Mora, 2006), specific studies addressing its influence on iberian montane vegetation are scarce, limited to certain regions like southeastern Iberia (Carrión et al, 2001, 2007) or the Gredos Range (López Sáez et al, 2009; López Merino et al, 2009; Abel-Schaad and López-Saez, 2013; López-Sáez et al, 2013). Non-pollen palynomorphs are reliable indicators of grazing activities (López Sáez et al, 2000; López Sáez and López Merino, 2007) and of variations in the deposit humidity (Mighall et al, 2006; Van Geel, 2006). The Hurdes region is located in the western part of the Iberian Central Mountain System, on the southern slope of the Francia Range. It constitutes a natural region inhabited since ancient times, as evidenced by numerous remains of the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age (Fernández Gómez, 1984). Remarkable is its cultural landscape, with increasing presence of par-
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