The Toledo Mountains: A Resilient Landscape and a Landscape for Resilience? Hazards and Strategies in a Mid-Elevation Mountain Region in Central Spain

Reyes Luelmo-Lautenschlaeger,César Morales-Molino,José Antonio López-Sáez,Olivier Blarquez,Sebastián Pérez-Díaz

doi:10.3390/quat2040035

Abstract

The Toledo Mountains are a mid-elevation mountain range that separates the Tagus and Guadiana basins in the central area of the Iberian Peninsula. The location of these mountains allows the development of typical Mediterranean vegetation with some Atlantic influence. Consequently, typical broadleaved evergreen Mediterranean vegetation currently dominates the regional landscape, with the remarkable presence of more mesophilous species in sheltered and more humid microsites such as gorges (e.g., Prunus lusitanica, Taxus baccata, Ilex aquifolium) and mires/bogs (e.g., Betula pendula susbp. fontqueri, Erica tetralix, Myrica gale). Palaeoecological studies in these mountains are essential to understand the long-term ecology and original distribution of these valuable communities and are key to assess their resilience. Understanding the hazards and opportunities faced in the past by the plant communities of the Toledo Mountains is necessary to enhance the management and protection of those species currently threatened. This study focuses on El Perro mire, a peatland on the southern Toledo Mountains (central Spain) where climatic variability has played a major role in landscape dynamics at multi-decadal to millennial timescales. Climatic events such as the 4.2 ka cal. Before Present (BP) or the Little Ice Age triggered relevant landscape changes such as the spread and latter decline of birch and hazel forests. Human communities also seemed to be affected by these events, as their resilience was apparently jeopardized by the new climatic conditions and they were forced to find new strategies to cope with the new scenarios.

Highlights

The Mediterranean Basin is one of the most important biodiversity hotspots worldwide, characterized by a large number of endemic species [1,2]
Marked seasonality and dry summers are distinctive features of the Mediterranean climate, climate model projections predict notably warmer and drier climatic conditions in the Mediterranean region, in its western sector [1,3]. Extreme climatic events such as droughts and floods are very common in the Mediterranean Basin, with a strong influence on Mediterranean vegetation dynamics and human
Quaternary 2019, 2, 35 culture development over time [4,5,6,7]. Both have been driven by the above-mentioned climatic conditions, and by other features linked to the particular geographical framework, such as the rugged topography or the shallow soil [8]

Summary

Introduction

The Mediterranean Basin is one of the most important biodiversity hotspots worldwide, characterized by a large number of endemic species [1,2]. Quaternary 2019, 2, 35 culture development over time [4,5,6,7] Both have been driven by the above-mentioned climatic conditions, and by other features linked to the particular geographical framework, such as the rugged topography or the shallow soil [8]. Fire has notably determined the distribution, structure and composition of the vegetation, and landscapes capable of withstanding frequent fire episodes are widespread in the Mediterranean Basin [12]. In this environment, it is important to note that fire can be sparked by natural causes or human-induced.

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion