La pedoantracología se define como la búsqueda, tratamiento y análisis taxonómico de carbón procedente de vegetación leñosa incendiada en suelos no arqueológicos. Sus aplicaciones han permitido ...cubrir un amplio espectro de temáticas, sobre todo cuando ha formado parte de aproximaciones paleoecológicas multidisciplinares. En líneas generales, esta metodología ha manifestado un interés creciente dentro de las disciplinas paleoecológicas, aunque actualmente existen enormes diferencias territoriales, de manera que Francia –territorio pionero en la aplicación de esta metodología–produce buena parte de las publicaciones pedoantracológicas europeas. En España, su aplicación en Pirineos, Sistema Central, Cordillera Bética y Cordillera Cantábrica ha sido relativamente reciente, no conociéndose en consecuencia ni su trayectoria ni su estado actual. Por ello, en este trabajo se presenta un análisis detallado y comparativo de todas aquellas investigaciones de carácter pedoantracológico llevadas a cabo en este último país, lo que ha permitido conocer cuáles han sido las conclusiones más relevantes obtenidas por los diferentes grupos de trabajo. Este análisis ha puesto de manifiesto que se trata de una metodología que ha obtenido resultados de gran interés a la hora de resolver debates fitosociológicos clásicos, reconstruir antiguas áreas de distribución de especies o determinar cambios en el límite superior del bosque, resultados que han contribuido y pueden seguir contribuyendo al desarrollo de una gestión forestal sostenible más eficaz. Por su parte, el futuro de la disciplina muestra un progresivo avance hacia otros sistemas montañosos, constatando que se trata de una metodología que ha sabido ganarse su lugar dentro de las disciplinas paleoecológicas.
One of the conservation priorities of the Natura 2000 Network is the ecological connectivity of forests and species of community interest to facilitate compliance with the obligations of the EU ...Habitats Directive. The location of paleo-populations and past distribution areas is a first step towards creating an ecological corridor which, with the protection enjoyed by Special Areas of Conservation, could positively impact the resilience of forest species in the face of Climate Change. The endangered relict forests of Spanish fir (
Abies pinsapo
) are endemic in the Serranía de Ronda (Baetic Cordillera, Southern Spain) and form a highly fragmented habitat of community interest. Amongst these forests, the Spanish fir forests that grow on serpentine soils are particularly interesting. This ultramafic mountain range has suffered the highest recurrence of forest fires in all the Serranía de Ronda, and as a result, the Spanish fir forests have been subject to processes of local extinction throughout history. In this research, we used pedoanthracology to uncover ancient locations of
Abies pinsapo
; in this way, forest fires are the main cause of the disappearance of this emblematic species in Sierra Bermeja, and their charcoal remains allowed us to make a precise reconstruction of its past distribution area. On the basis of the data obtained, an ecological corridor linking these relict forests was proposed. This corridor has now begun to be implemented with the participation of public and private social agents.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The Serrania de Ronda is an exceptional palaeoecological laboratory for studying the dynamics of vegetation over time, due to its strategic geographical location at a biogeographical crossroads and ...its proven historical legacy. Many of the mountains that form part of this territory are today practically deforested, such as Sierra Blanca, whose geographic location at the heart of the Serranía de Ronda means that it has enormous potential as a biogeographical crossroads: the occasional presence of Abies pinsapo, Pinus pinaster and Quercus rotundifolia suggests that it was once covered by a mixed forest of conifers and broad-leaved trees. The lack of environmental research in Sierra Blanca has facilitated the installation of large quarries, which have led to its exclusion from the Sierra de las Nieves National Park, which was created in 2021. We applied the pedoanthracological methodology, which has enabled us to discover paleo-populations of A. pinsapo and Pinus sylvestris-type. The results confirm that coniferous forests previously covered a much wider area during the Holocene. These findings reinforce the role of Sierra Blanca as a high-altitude refuge for conifers during the warm stages of the Holocene and as a sentinel for the local extinction of mountain conifers. This information could help improve its management and conservation.
•Use of charcoals present in natural soils to study vegetation dynamics.•New Abies sp. and Pinus sylvestris-type paleo-populations in the south of the Iberian Peninsula.•Importance of Sierra Blanca as a post-glacial refuge for certain relict conifer species.•Setting priorities leading to the conservation of endangered species.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
En este trabajo se presentan los primeros datos de la composición holocena de los bosques de montaña en el Parque Natural Sierra de las Nieves (Málaga, España). La información obtenida resulta de la ...aplicación del método pedoantracológico en 10 enclaves del espacio natural protegido. La búsqueda e identificación de los fragmentos de carbón recuperados y su posterior datación radiocarbónica han permitido una primera aproximación paleoecológica al ámbito de estudio: el hallazgo de diferentes paleopoblaciones de coníferas; la comprobación de la antigüedad de determinados bosques y su consideración como paleoendémicos; y el conocimiento inicial de las dinámicas forestales en relación a ciclos climáticos y alteraciones antrópicas. La implementación de los resultados en la gestión conservacionista y adaptativa de los bosques más amenazados y sus hábitats, frente al cambio climático, debe ser una prioridad en el marco de protección de estos espacios naturales de alto valor ecológico.
Physical activity is an increasingly frequent part of our leisure time. Within this context, hiking is a popular form of tourism which has a positive impact on the quality of life. In spite of the ...importance of climate conditions for this recreational activity, relatively little research has been done on hiking from the perspective of climate and tourism. With this in mind in this paper we make the first detailed extensive assessment of climate preferences for the practice of hiking tourism in Spain. To this end a review of the theoretical/methodological body of literature on tourism climatology was conducted together with a survey aimed at evaluating the stated climate preferences of hiking tourists. The results are offered within the framework of international research on climate preferences for a range of tourism activities. The comparative analysis of these results with regard to those obtained in previous research highlights various similarities but also certain factors specific to hiking in Spain. Overall, the climate preferences of hiking tourists are similar to those of other segments of the tourism market in terms of the aesthetic and physical aspects of the climate, although they also have certain specific preferences as regards thermal aspects, especially regarding the optimal daily thermal conditions for hiking. The results obtained are useful for assessing the suitability of the climate for the practice of hiking tourism in Spain and for promoting proper management and planning of this leisure activity in tourist destinations, including the development of climate calendars detailing the most suitable times of the year for hiking at these destinations. These issues will be addressed in future research studies.
Plant material culture can offer unique insights into the ways of life of prehistoric societies; however, its perishable nature has prevented a thorough understanding of its diverse and complex uses. ...Sites with exceptional preservation of organic materials provide a unique opportunity for further research. The burial site of Cueva de los Murciélagos in southern Iberia, uncovered during 19th-century mining activities, contained the best-preserved hunter-gatherer basketry in southern Europe, together with other unique organic artifacts associated with the first farming communities, such as sandals and a wooden hammer. We present 14
14
C dates for the perishable artifacts (
N
= 76), situating the assemblage between the Early and Middle Holocene (c. 7500 to 4200 cal BCE). Our integrated analysis includes raw material determination and technological and chrono-cultural contextualization of this unique and important set of materials.
Direct evidence of basketry among hunter-gatherer and farming societies in South Europe is uncovered and analyzed.
Background
Abies pinsapo
Clemente ex Boiss. is a species classified as endangered and currently occupies a very small and fragmented area of distribution in the southwest of the Baetic System. The ...uniqueness of these relict forests has motivated their study from different perspectives: phytogeography, faunal and floristic communities or biotic and abiotic risks. However, the paleoecological characterisation of this fir is still clearly deficient. Consequently, there is hardly any information on the impact that fire has had on this conifer during the Holocene nor the real effect that this disturbance has had on the Spanish fir in recent decades. To fill this knowledge gap, the present research uses the pedoanthracological network developed over the last 10 years in Sierra Bermeja, one of the natural habitats of the Spanish fir forest most affected by fire. This discipline is based on the analysis of the charcoals present in the natural soils, which are an unexplored resource and particularly useful for the reconstruction of paleo-fires and the knowledge of the dynamics of the vegetation. This paleoecological approach has also been complemented by the mapping of recent forest fires. Both approaches constitute the methodological body of this study.
Results
The identification of
Abies
charcoal in places where this taxon is not present today supports the idea that the Spanish fir was more widely distributed in the past. Likewise, the available dates (between 9931−9616 and 294−102 years cal BP) have revealed the existence of up to 28 events of forest fires that have affected the Spanish fir during the Holocene. The recurrence of fire could have caused its local extinction in the Sierra Palmitera. This reduction of the distribution area of the Spanish fir as a consequence of fire, as can be inferred from the cartography carried out, has been particularly intense during the last few decades, with almost 4500 fir trees affected.
Conclusions
Results report on the important role played by fire in the dynamics of the serpentine-soil Spanish firs of Sierra Bermeja from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present day. This is a phenomenon that has intensified in recent decades, affecting the Spanish fir in a very worrying way. Consequently, we insist on the need to include the whole of Sierra Bermeja in the Spanish National Park Network to help ensure effective protection for the most important serpentine-tolerant ecosystem in Spain.
Pinus pinaster es una conífera nativa del Mediterráneo Occidental que ocupa una amplia área corológica, apareciendo en gran diversidad de hábitats. En el caso de Sierra Bermeja (provincia de Málaga, ...sur de España), la especie integra, junto con los abetales de Abies pinsapo, las formaciones forestales predominantes en la actualidad sobre suelos serpentiníticos. Sin embargo, esta conífera también ha sido considerada por ciertos autores una especie introducida en este territorio. Este hecho y la aparición aislada de distintas especies de Quercus arbóreos han justificado diversas teorías fitosociológicas defensoras de la marginalidad de P. pinaster frente a los árboles latifolios. Este trabajo, mediante el análisis pedoantracológico y posterior datación radiométrica C14 de muestras de carbón, ha permitido establecer el origen natural de la especie sobre los sustratos ultramáficos y su presencia en el macizo a lo largo de gran parte del Holoceno. Asimismo, de los resultados obtenidos parece inferirse además el rol de refugio –probablemente el más meridional de Europa– que pudo tener este macizo para P. pinaster durante el último máximo glaciar, en un contexto en el que parece que el fuego tuvo un papel destacado en la configuración del paisaje vegetal bermejense a lo largo del Holoceno.
Mountain forests are sensitive ecosystems. This is why in recent years the dynamics of these forest ecotones have been researched from several different approaches. One of these has been the ...paleoecological perspective, which is particularly interesting in the mountainous areas of the Mediterranean region, where interactions between climate, vegetation and anthropic activities have been documented for millennia. This is the case of the Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park (southwestern Baetic Cordillera), a mountainous area that constitutes an important refuge for flora in southern Iberian Peninsula. At present, endemic trees such as Abies pinsapo and Quercus faginea subs. alpestris are found. However, its strategic geographical location may also have served in the past as a refuge for other tree taxa. In order to reconstruct the vegetation history in this protected natural area, this research aims to use pedoanthracological analysis in an unexplored area of this mountainous system. The results obtained have allowed to identify a new paleopopulation of Abies, a finding that provides new keys on the paleobiogeography of this species. This is the oldest evidence of this genus and at the highest altitude of those found to date in the southwestern Baetic Cordillera, which would confirm that this fir tree was present in high elevations of the Sierra de las Nieves during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Likewise, the first anthracological evidence of Pinus nigra/sylvestris type in the southwestern end of the Baetic Cordillera has been obtained. Forest fires could have been one of the main factors which would be determined the shaping and evolution of the vegetation landscape, as suggested by the fire events identified from the soil analysis. This information can be useful for the conservation and adaptive management of the most threatened forests and their habitats in the face of global change.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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