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Substantial light woodland and open vegetation characterized the temperate forest biome before Homo sapiens

Pearce, Elena A. ; Mazier, Florence F ; Normand, Signe ; Bakels, Corrie ; Fyfe, Ralph ; Andrieu, Valérie ; Balwierz, Zofia ; Bińka, Krzysztof ; Borham, Steve and Borisova, Olga K , et al. (2023) In Science Advances 9(45).
Abstract
The extent of vegetation openness in past European landscapes is widely debated. In particular, the temperate forest biome has traditionally been defined as dense, closed-canopy forest; however, some argue that large herbivores maintained greater openness or even wood-pasture conditions. Here, we address this question for the Last Interglacial period (129,000–116,000 years ago), before Homo sapiens–linked megafauna declines and anthropogenic landscape transformation. We applied the vegetation reconstruction method REVEALS to 96 Last Interglacial pollen records. We found that light woodland and open vegetation represented, on average, more than 50% cover during this period. The degree of openness was highly variable and only partially... (More)
The extent of vegetation openness in past European landscapes is widely debated. In particular, the temperate forest biome has traditionally been defined as dense, closed-canopy forest; however, some argue that large herbivores maintained greater openness or even wood-pasture conditions. Here, we address this question for the Last Interglacial period (129,000–116,000 years ago), before Homo sapiens–linked megafauna declines and anthropogenic landscape transformation. We applied the vegetation reconstruction method REVEALS to 96 Last Interglacial pollen records. We found that light woodland and open vegetation represented, on average, more than 50% cover during this period. The degree of openness was highly variable and only partially linked to climatic factors, indicating the importance of natural disturbance regimes. Our results show that the temperate forest biome was historically heterogeneous rather than uniformly dense, which is consistent with the dependency of much of contemporary European biodiversity on open vegetation and light woodland. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
The extent of vegetation openness in the temperate forest biome prior to modern humans is widely debated – particularly in Europe regarding baselines for conservation and restoration. The temperate forest biome was traditionally thought to be dense closed-canopy forest; however, this view has been challenged by arguments that large herbivores could have maintained some degree of openness, or even widespread wood pasture-like conditions. In this study, we address this question for the Last Interglacial (Eemian; 129,000 – 116,000 years ago) in Europe – prior to major human-driven defaunation and large-scale anthropogenic landscape transformation. We applied the landscape reconstruction method REVEALS to 96 Last Interglacial... (More)
The extent of vegetation openness in the temperate forest biome prior to modern humans is widely debated – particularly in Europe regarding baselines for conservation and restoration. The temperate forest biome was traditionally thought to be dense closed-canopy forest; however, this view has been challenged by arguments that large herbivores could have maintained some degree of openness, or even widespread wood pasture-like conditions. In this study, we address this question for the Last Interglacial (Eemian; 129,000 – 116,000 years ago) in Europe – prior to major human-driven defaunation and large-scale anthropogenic landscape transformation. We applied the landscape reconstruction method REVEALS to 96 Last Interglacial pollen
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records. We found that there was substantial open and light woodland vegetation across Europe. Within the temperate forest biome, open taxa on average represented 19% of the vegetation cover in Mesocratic I, and 16% in Mesocratic II (early and late parts of the core of the interglacial, respectively), with light woodland vegetation covering an additional 60% in Mesocratic I and 34% in Mesocratic II. The degree of openness was highly variable and not well explained by environmental or climatic factors. Overall, we found much larger proportions of openness than expected under modern succession models, pointing to the importance of natural disturbance factors such as large herbivores, fires, or flooding. Our results show that the temperate forest biome was historically heterogeneous in vegetation structure, rather than uniformly dense, explaining why a large proportion of European biodiversity depends on open vegetation and light woodland habitats. (Less)
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Science Advances
volume
9
issue
45
pages
14 pages
publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85176391045
  • pmid:37948521
ISSN
2375-2548
DOI
10.1126/sciadv.adi9135
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
7bddbe46-97c6-4fd4-ac93-b66f89e12e61
date added to LUP
2023-10-31 11:40:14
date last changed
2024-02-11 03:00:38
@article{7bddbe46-97c6-4fd4-ac93-b66f89e12e61,
  abstract     = {{The extent of vegetation openness in past European landscapes is widely debated. In particular, the temperate forest biome has traditionally been defined as dense, closed-canopy forest; however, some argue that large herbivores maintained greater openness or even wood-pasture conditions. Here, we address this question for the Last Interglacial period (129,000–116,000 years ago), before Homo sapiens–linked megafauna declines and anthropogenic landscape transformation. We applied the vegetation reconstruction method REVEALS to 96 Last Interglacial pollen records. We found that light woodland and open vegetation represented, on average, more than 50% cover during this period. The degree of openness was highly variable and only partially linked to climatic factors, indicating the importance of natural disturbance regimes. Our results show that the temperate forest biome was historically heterogeneous rather than uniformly dense, which is consistent with the dependency of much of contemporary European biodiversity on open vegetation and light woodland.}},
  author       = {{Pearce, Elena A. and Mazier, Florence F and Normand, Signe and Bakels, Corrie and Fyfe, Ralph and Andrieu, Valérie and Balwierz, Zofia and Bińka, Krzysztof and Borham, Steve and Borisova, Olga K and Broström, Anna and de Beaulieu, Jacques-Luoise and Gao, Cunhai and González-Sampériz, Penélope and Granoszewski, Wojciech and Hrynowiecka, Anna and Kołaczek, Piotr and Kuneš, Petr and Magri, Donatella and Malkiewicz, Małgorzata and Mighall, Tim and Milner, Alice M. and Möller, Per and Nita, Małgorzata and Noryśkiewicz, Bożena and Pidek, Irena Agnieszka and Reille, Maurice and Robertsson, Ann-Marie and Salonen, J. Sakari and Schläfli, Patrick and Schokker, Jeroen and Scussolini, Paolo and Šeirienė, Vaida and Strahl, Jaqueline and Urban, Brigitte and Van Beirendonck, Filip and Winter, Hanna and Svenning, Jens-Christian}},
  issn         = {{2375-2548}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{11}},
  number       = {{45}},
  publisher    = {{American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)}},
  series       = {{Science Advances}},
  title        = {{Substantial light woodland and open vegetation characterized the temperate forest biome before Homo sapiens}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi9135}},
  doi          = {{10.1126/sciadv.adi9135}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}