Pollen and plant macrofossils at Lac de Fully (2135 m a.s.l.): Holocene forest dynamics on a highland plateau in the Valais, Switzerland
International audience We use pollen, stomata and plant-macrofossil records to infer Holocene timberline fluctuations and changes in forest composition at Lac Supérieur de Fully (2135 m a.s.l.), a small lake located near the modern regional timberline on a highland plateau in the Central Alps. Our r...
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Language: | English |
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Online Access: | https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01845697 https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683607082552 |
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ftccsdartic:oai:HAL:hal-01845697v1 2023-05-15T16:02:45+02:00 Pollen and plant macrofossils at Lac de Fully (2135 m a.s.l.): Holocene forest dynamics on a highland plateau in the Valais, Switzerland Finsinger, Walter Tinner, Willy Utrecht University Utrecht Institute of Plant Sciences University of Bern Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich) 2007 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01845697 https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683607082552 en eng HAL CCSD London: Sage info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1177/0959683607082552 hal-01845697 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01845697 doi:10.1177/0959683607082552 ISSN: 0959-6836 EISSN: 1477-0911 The Holocene https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01845697 The Holocene, London: Sage, 2007, 17 (8), pp.1119 - 1127. ⟨10.1177/0959683607082552⟩ Timberline tree line abrupt climate change Alps pollen plant macrofossils Holocene Valais Switzerland Europe [SDV.SA.SF]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Silviculture forestry [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics [SDV.BIBS]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Quantitative Methods [q-bio.QM] [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces environment [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2007 ftccsdartic https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683607082552 2021-06-12T23:27:54Z International audience We use pollen, stomata and plant-macrofossil records to infer Holocene timberline fluctuations and changes in forest composition at Lac Supérieur de Fully (2135 m a.s.l.), a small lake located near the modern regional timberline on a highland plateau in the Central Alps. Our records suggest that during the early Holocene vegetation was rather open on the plateau (eg, heaths of Dryas octopetala, Juniperus nana). The only tree that was able to build major stands was Betula. Other timberline trees (eg, Pinus cembra and Larix) expanded in the catchment of the lake after 8200 cal. BP, when Abies alba expanded at lower elevation. The late appearance of these timberline trees contrasts with previous plant-macrofossil records in the region, which show that the timberline had reached elevations up to at least 2350 m already at 11000 cal. BP. We suggest that local climatic conditions may have delayed the expansion of closed stands of coniferous trees in the catchment of Lac de Fully until c. 8200 cal. BP, when climate shifted to more humid and less continental conditions. After c . 4600 cal. BP vegetation around the lake primarily responded to human impact, which caused a local lowering of the timberline by at least 150 m. Article in Journal/Newspaper Dryas octopetala Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) The Holocene 17 8 1119 1127 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Archive ouverte HAL (Hyper Article en Ligne, CCSD - Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe) |
op_collection_id |
ftccsdartic |
language |
English |
topic |
Timberline tree line abrupt climate change Alps pollen plant macrofossils Holocene Valais Switzerland Europe [SDV.SA.SF]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Silviculture forestry [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics [SDV.BIBS]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Quantitative Methods [q-bio.QM] [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces environment [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology |
spellingShingle |
Timberline tree line abrupt climate change Alps pollen plant macrofossils Holocene Valais Switzerland Europe [SDV.SA.SF]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Silviculture forestry [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics [SDV.BIBS]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Quantitative Methods [q-bio.QM] [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces environment [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology Finsinger, Walter Tinner, Willy Pollen and plant macrofossils at Lac de Fully (2135 m a.s.l.): Holocene forest dynamics on a highland plateau in the Valais, Switzerland |
topic_facet |
Timberline tree line abrupt climate change Alps pollen plant macrofossils Holocene Valais Switzerland Europe [SDV.SA.SF]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Silviculture forestry [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics [SDV.BIBS]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Quantitative Methods [q-bio.QM] [SDU.ENVI]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Continental interfaces environment [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology |
description |
International audience We use pollen, stomata and plant-macrofossil records to infer Holocene timberline fluctuations and changes in forest composition at Lac Supérieur de Fully (2135 m a.s.l.), a small lake located near the modern regional timberline on a highland plateau in the Central Alps. Our records suggest that during the early Holocene vegetation was rather open on the plateau (eg, heaths of Dryas octopetala, Juniperus nana). The only tree that was able to build major stands was Betula. Other timberline trees (eg, Pinus cembra and Larix) expanded in the catchment of the lake after 8200 cal. BP, when Abies alba expanded at lower elevation. The late appearance of these timberline trees contrasts with previous plant-macrofossil records in the region, which show that the timberline had reached elevations up to at least 2350 m already at 11000 cal. BP. We suggest that local climatic conditions may have delayed the expansion of closed stands of coniferous trees in the catchment of Lac de Fully until c. 8200 cal. BP, when climate shifted to more humid and less continental conditions. After c . 4600 cal. BP vegetation around the lake primarily responded to human impact, which caused a local lowering of the timberline by at least 150 m. |
author2 |
Utrecht University Utrecht Institute of Plant Sciences University of Bern Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Finsinger, Walter Tinner, Willy |
author_facet |
Finsinger, Walter Tinner, Willy |
author_sort |
Finsinger, Walter |
title |
Pollen and plant macrofossils at Lac de Fully (2135 m a.s.l.): Holocene forest dynamics on a highland plateau in the Valais, Switzerland |
title_short |
Pollen and plant macrofossils at Lac de Fully (2135 m a.s.l.): Holocene forest dynamics on a highland plateau in the Valais, Switzerland |
title_full |
Pollen and plant macrofossils at Lac de Fully (2135 m a.s.l.): Holocene forest dynamics on a highland plateau in the Valais, Switzerland |
title_fullStr |
Pollen and plant macrofossils at Lac de Fully (2135 m a.s.l.): Holocene forest dynamics on a highland plateau in the Valais, Switzerland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Pollen and plant macrofossils at Lac de Fully (2135 m a.s.l.): Holocene forest dynamics on a highland plateau in the Valais, Switzerland |
title_sort |
pollen and plant macrofossils at lac de fully (2135 m a.s.l.): holocene forest dynamics on a highland plateau in the valais, switzerland |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01845697 https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683607082552 |
genre |
Dryas octopetala |
genre_facet |
Dryas octopetala |
op_source |
ISSN: 0959-6836 EISSN: 1477-0911 The Holocene https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01845697 The Holocene, London: Sage, 2007, 17 (8), pp.1119 - 1127. ⟨10.1177/0959683607082552⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1177/0959683607082552 hal-01845697 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01845697 doi:10.1177/0959683607082552 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683607082552 |
container_title |
The Holocene |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
1119 |
op_container_end_page |
1127 |
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1766398431467667456 |