Response of high mountain landscape to topographic variables: Central pyrenees

Gabriel del Barrio; Bernardo Alvera; Juan Puigdefabregas; Carlos Diez

doi:10.1007/bf02698210

Late-Holocene forest resilience in the central Pyrenean highlands as deduced from pollen analysis of Lake Sant Maurici sediments

The Holocene ◽

10.1177/09596836211033207 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 095968362110332

Author(s):

Valentí Rull ◽

Núria Cañellas-Boltà ◽

Teresa Vegas-Vilarrúbia

Keyword(s):

Bronze Age ◽

Middle Ages ◽

Iron Age ◽

Late Holocene ◽

High Elevation ◽

Roman Period ◽

High Mountain ◽

Southern Central ◽

Central Pyrenees ◽

The Middle Ages

Palynological analysis of the last ca. 4300 cal year BP using a sediment core taken from high mountain (ca. 1900 m elevation) Lake Sant Maurici sediments (southern-central Pyrenees) showed remarkable vegetation constancy during the Bronze Age and the Middle Ages. Records of the Iron Age and the Roman period were missing due to a major sedimentary gap. During the studied periods, the vegetation around the lake was largely dominated by pine ( Pinus) forests with birch ( Betula), oak ( Quercus) and hazel ( Corylus) trees, as is the case today. The composition of these forests and the abundance of their components remained quite stable, despite the occurrence of temperature and moisture shifts. The degree of human disturbance, notably that of pastoralism and cereal cultivation by scattered and temporary settlements, was very low and had little or no effect on the dominant forests. This situation contrasts with most high-elevation (subalpine and alpine) environments of the central Pyrenees that were massively anthropized during the Middle Ages. Further research should be aimed at finding sediments corresponding to the Iron Age and the Roman period to verify whether the vegetation constancy can be extended throughout the Late-Holocene. Past records of this type may allow the estimation of natural and anthropogenic thresholds for irreversible forest changes, which would be useful for conservation purposes.

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Soils and relief relationships in subalpine grasslands in the Central Pyrenees (NE, Spain)

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-4178 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

David Badía-Villas ◽

Lucía Buendía-García ◽

Luis Alberto Longares-Aladrén ◽

José Luis Peña-Monné ◽

Clara Martí-Dalmau

Keyword(s):

Chemical Properties ◽

Soil Classification ◽

Calcium Content ◽

High Mountain ◽

Soil Taxonomy ◽

Nardus Stricta ◽

Mountain Environments ◽

L1 And L2 ◽

Central Pyrenees ◽

Ne Spain

On two accumulation levels, separated by an unevenness up to 2 m, two contrasted plant communities can be differentiated in subalpine stage of the Pyrenees: the dense tussock-forming grass Nardus stricta, at the upper level (L1), and the open chalk grasslands at the lower level (L2). In order to confirm the soil-relief-grasslands relationships, we analyzed and compared soil pedogenesis and properties in both accumulation levels. In addition, we classify the soils following WRB and ST systems and we discuss the finesse of both taxonomies in these high mountain environments. The work has been carried out at 1900 masl, in the Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park (PNOMP), in the summer grasslands site of La Estiva (Fanlo, Central Pyrenees, NE Spain). Five soil pits were studied in every accumulation level (L1 and L2) for a side-by-side comparison.&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; The study of soils in the two levels of accumulation reveals a series of differences in their genesis, properties and soil classification. The accumulation of organic matter and lixiviation are the dominant edafogenetic processes in L1, to which we must add the rejuvenation by gully erosion in L2. Soils at L1 and L2 shared many physical properties as a fine granulometry, with a homogeneous particle-size distribution with depth. In both levels, the soils lack carbonates, even though limestones are the parental material. The soils in L1 have a greater thickness and, thus, a higher water holding capacity than in L2. In relation to chemical properties, soils in L1 have a significantly lower pH, a lower base saturation, and lower available calcium content than in L2, reflecting a more intense leaching process, consistent with a longer period of slope stability. Over L1 with Nardus mat-grasslands, the main soil is classified as Orthoeutric Cambisols (Clayic, Humic), and the soil over L2, with chalk-grasslands, as Hypereutric Leptosols (Loamic, Ochric). Soil taxonomy System (USDA), giving more weight to the temperature regime, classify both soils as Haplocryept, at the level of great group, separating them at the subgroup level as Typic Haplocryept (L1) and Lithic Haplocryept (L2), according to the depth at which limestone appears (lithic contact). Definitely, the microtopograhy and geomorphologic context, is linked to the pedodiversity, which goes hand in hand with plant diversity in this subalpine environment.

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Vegetation shifts, human impact and peat bog development in Bassa Nera pond (Central Pyrenees) during the last millennium

The Holocene ◽

10.1177/0959683616670221 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 27 (4) ◽

pp. 553-565 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Sandra Garcés-Pastor ◽

Núria Cañellas-Boltà ◽

Albert Clavaguera ◽

Miguel Angel Calero ◽

Teresa Vegas-Vilarrúbia

Keyword(s):

Environmental Changes ◽

Ice Age ◽

Peat Bog ◽

High Mountain ◽

Last Millennium ◽

Medieval Climate Anomaly ◽

Human Pressure ◽

Climate Anomaly ◽

Vegetation Shifts ◽

Central Pyrenees

High-mountain lakes are suitable ecosystems for studying local environmental shifts driven by large-scale climate changes, with potential applications to predict future scenarios. The precise features in the response of species assemblages are not fully understood, and human pressure may often hide climatic signals. To investigate the origin and impact of past environmental changes in high-mountain ecosystems and apply this palaeoecological knowledge to anticipate future changes, we performed a multi-proxy study of a sediment core from Bassa Nera, a pond located close to montane–subalpine ecotone in the southern central Pyrenees. Combining pollen and diatom analysis at multidecadal resolution, we inferred vegetation shifts and peat bog development during the past millennium. We introduced a montane pollen ratio as a new palaeoecological indicator of altitudinal shifts in vegetation. Our results emphasize the sensitivity of the montane ratio to detect upward migrations of deciduous forest and the presence of the montane belt close to Bassa Nera pond during the Medieval Climate Anomaly. Changes in aquatic taxa allowed to date the onset of the surrounding peat bog which appeared and infilled the coring site around AD 1565. Overall, our results suggest a low-intensity human pressure and changes in management of natural resources during the last millennium, where farming was the main activity from the Medieval Climate Anomaly until AD 1500. Afterwards, people turned to highland livestock raising coinciding with the ‘Little Ice Age’.

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Szczyt górski jako miejsce transgresji. Wersja romantyczna

Góry, Literatura, Kultura ◽

10.19195/2084-4107.11.5 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 57-67

Author(s):

Ewa Kolbuszewska

Keyword(s):

High Mountain ◽

Physical Sense ◽

Mountain Landscape ◽

Symbolic Meanings

MOUNTAIN PEAKS AS PLACES OF TRANSGRESSION. A ROMANTIC VERSIONThe author of the article uses Mircea Eliade’s and Yi Fu-Tuan’s methodological concepts concerning interpretation and poetics of space to apply them in her analysis of characteristic forms of reaction and behaviour of Romantic tourists in the mountains. She discusses the frenetic, fantastic and phantasmagorical visions evoked by the landscape in the mountains. What became a carrier of important meanings in interpretations of landscape was the top-bottom/high-low opposition. The vastness of mountain landscape seen from a high mountain peak the highest peak in a given area stimulated the imagination to see it not only in the physical sense but also through the “eyes of the soul”, going beyond the horizon. This created a possibility of attributing important symbolic meanings to landscape.

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The Role of Environmental Geohistory in High-Mountain Landscape Conservation

High Mountain Conservation in a Changing World - Advances in Global Change Research ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-55982-7_5 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 107-129 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Albert Pèlachs ◽

Ramon Pérez-Obiol ◽

Joan Manuel Soriano ◽

Raquel Cunill ◽

Marie-Claude Bal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Mountain ◽

Landscape Conservation ◽

Mountain Landscape

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Investigating Neolithic caprine husbandry in the Central Pyrenees: Insights from a multi-proxy study at Els Trocs cave (Bisaurri, Spain)

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0244139 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. e0244139

Author(s):

Cristina Tejedor-Rodríguez ◽

Marta Moreno-García ◽

Carlos Tornero ◽

Alizé Hoffmann ◽

Íñigo García-Martínez de Lagrán ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High Mountain ◽

Management Skills ◽

Early Neolithic ◽

Progressive Decline ◽

Faunal Assemblages ◽

First Time ◽

Central Pyrenees ◽

Vertical Mobility

Sheep remains constitute the main archaeozoological evidence for the presence of Early Neolithic human groups in the highlands of the Southern Pyrenees but understanding the role of herding activities in the Neolithisation process of this mountain ecosystem calls for the analysis of large and well-dated faunal assemblages. Cova de Els Trocs (Bisaurri, Huesca, Spain), a cave located at 1564 m a.s.l on the southern slopes of the Central Pyrenees, is an excellent case study since it was seasonally occupied throughout the Neolithic (ca. 5312–2913 cal. BC) and more than 4000 caprine remains were recovered inside. The multi-proxy analytical approach here presented has allowed us to offer new data elaborating on vertical mobility practices and herd management dynamics as has not been attempted up until now within Neolithic high-mountain sites in the Iberian Peninsula. For the first time, δ18O and δ13C stable isotope analyses offer direct evidence on both the regular practice of altitudinal movements of sheep flocks and the extended breeding season of sheep. Autumn births are recorded from the second half of the fifth millennium cal. BC onwards. Age-at-death distributions illustrate the progressive decline in caprine perinatal mortality together with the rising survival rate of individuals older than six months of age and the larger frequency of adults. This trend alongside the ‘off-season’ lambing signal at the implementation of husbandry techniques over time, probably aiming to increase the size of the flocks and their productivity. Palaeoparasitological analyses of sediment samples document also the growing reliance on herding activities of the human groups visiting the Els Trocs cave throughout the Neolithic sequence. In sum, our work provides substantial arguments to conclude that the advanced herding management skills of the Early Neolithic communities arriving in Iberia facilitated the anthropisation process of the subalpine areas of the Central Pyrenees.

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Anthropization of valuable natural territorial complexes of the subalpine and alpine highlands of Chornohora under the influence of recreational and tourist activities in the vicinity of Brebeneskul Lake (Ukrainian Carpathians)

Physical Geography and Geomorphology ◽

10.17721/phgg.2020.1-2.02 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 99 (1-2) ◽

pp. 13-25

Author(s):

Mykola Karabiniuk ◽

Ihor Hnatiak ◽

Yana Markanych

Keyword(s):

Vegetation Cover ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Field Research ◽

High Mountain ◽

Pinus Mugo ◽

Ecological Situation ◽

The South ◽

Recreational Activities ◽

Mountain Landscape ◽

South Eastern

The results of the study of anthropization of valuable natural territorial complexes of the subalpine and alpine highlands of Chornohora under the influence of recreational and tourist activities in the vicinity of Brebeneskul Lake (Ukrainian Carpathians) are presented. Anthropization is caused by continuous cutting of bushes, clogging and trampling. The study is based on the results of expeditionary field research. A map of degradation centers of natural territorial complexes of the subalpine and alpine highlands of Chornohora in the vicinity of Brebeneskul Lake on a scale of 1 : 10 000 at the level of simple tracts and subtracts with the use of modern mapping methods is made. Peculiarities of formation, area and configuration, as well as landscape differentiation of centers of development of degradation processes of high-mountain landscape complexes in the vicinity of Brebeneskul Lake are analyzed. It is established that the most recreational load is experienced by the complex tract of my-boulder moraine-scree bottom of the Brebeneskul Cirque of the south-eastern exposition. The cutting of mountain pine (Pinus mugo Turra) and littering on the area of about 0,8 ha, trampling of the soil and vegetation cover on the area of 1,0 ha were recorded here. The deterioration of the ecological situation in the vicinity of Brebeneskul Lake is the result of unorganized recreational and tourist activities. Recommendations for reducing the negative impact of recreational activities and reducing the degradation of natural territorial complexes subalpine and alpine highlands of Chornohora in the vicinity of Brebeneskul Lake are outlined.

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