The Holocene vegetation history of the northern coastal Arabian Peninsula is of long-standing interest, as this Mediterranean/semiarid/arid region is known to be particularly sensitive to climatic ...changes. Detailed palynological data from an 800-cm alluvial sequence cored in the Jableh plain in northwest Syria have been used to reconstruct the vegetation dynamics in the coastal lowlands and the nearby Jabal an Nuşayriyah mountains for the period 2150 to 550 B.C. Corresponding with the 4.2 to 3.9 and 3.5 to 2.5 cal kyr BP abrupt climate changes (ACCs), two large-scale shifts to a more arid climate have been recorded. These two ACCs had different impacts on the vegetation assemblages in coastal Syria. The 3.5 to 2.5 cal kyr BP ACC is drier and lasted longer than the 4.2 to 3.9 cal kyr BP ACC, and is characterized by the development of a warm steppe pollen-derived biome (1100-800 B.C.) and a peak of hot desert pollen-derived biome at 900 B.C. The 4.2 to 3.9 cal kyr BP ACC is characterized by a xerophytic woods and shrubs pollen-derived biome ca. 2050 B.C. The impact of the 3.5 to 2.5 cal kyr BP ACC on human occupation and cultural development is important along the Syrian coast with the destruction of Ugarit and the collapse of the Ugarit kingdom at ca. 1190 to 1185 B.C.
The ancient harbour of Pisa, Portus Pisanus, was one of Italy's most influential seaports for many centuries. Nonetheless, very little is known about its oldest harbour and the relationships between ...environmental evolution and the main stages of harbour history. The port complex that ensured Pisa's position as an economic and maritime power progressively shifted westwards by coastal progradation, before the maritime port of Livorno was built in the late 16
century AD. The lost port is, however, described in the early 5
century AD as being "a large, naturally sheltered embayment" that hosted merchant vessels, suggesting an important maritime structure with significant artificial infrastructure to reach the city. Despite its importance, the geographical location of the harbour complex remains controversial and its environmental evolution is unclear. To fill this knowledge gap and furnish accurate palaeoenvironmental information on Portus Pisanus, we used bio- and geosciences. Based on stratigraphic data, the area's relative sea-level history, and long-term environmental dynamics, we established that at ~200 BC, a naturally protected lagoon developed and hosted Portus Pisanus until the 5
century AD. The decline of the protected lagoon started at ~1350 AD and culminated ~1500 AD, after which time the basin was a coastal lake.
The alluvial deposits of a small spring valley near Jableh, in north-western coastal Syria, provides a unique record of environmental history covering the last 1000
years. The pollen-derived climatic ...proxy inferred from a 315
cm deep core of alluvial deposits suggests that a shift towards wetter climatic conditions occurred from circa (
ca.) 1000 to 1250 calibrated (cal) yr
AD. This period is situated within the time frame of the Medieval Climate Anomaly. The reconstructed temperature trends show that the warming during this medieval episode was not as high as the modern scores, except for short intervals during the early 12th century AD. The core also recorded a shift towards drier conditions starting during the late 12th century AD, which represents the Eastern Mediterranean expression of the European “Great Famine” climatic event. The main dry and cool interval recorded in coastal Syria occurred from
ca. 1520 to 1870
cal
yr
AD, a time frame encompassing the Little Ice Age. In Mediterranean Syria, the Little Ice Age is not only cooler, but also much drier than the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the present-day climate. Despite a strong human presence in coastal Syria throughout the last millennia, climate rather than anthropogenic activity seems to be the driving force behind the natural vegetation dynamics in this region.
► We present a rare climatic proxy based on a detailed pollen record for the last millennium in Syria. ► Our data demonstrate that climate plays a major role in the composition and distribution of biomes in coastal Syria. ► The Medieval Climate Anomaly is in Syria warmer and wetter than the Little Ice Age. ► Only three peaks centred on circa 1115, 1130 and 1170
cal
yr
AD suggest similar or warmer temperatures compared to AD 2000.
To investigate the human impact on eastern Mediterranean ecosystems in a subhumid to semi-arid region of the Near East. This paper considers data from Bereket (1410-1440 m a.s.l.), an intramontane ...basin surrounded by the Kokayanık Tepe (1830 m a.s.l.) and the Beşparmak Dağları (2280 m a.s.l.), in the western Taurus Mountains of south-west Turkey. Late Holocene samples were collected along an 800-cm-deep sediment profile cored in the secondary valley of the Bereket basin. Descriptive vegetation data and modern pollen samples (moss polsters) were collected at elevational intervals of c. 15 m along an altitudinal transect from the Bereket basin (over Tepe Düzen, 1600 m a.s.l.) to Ağlasun Dağı (1700 m a.s.l.). Information about the spatial distribution of the present land cover was obtained from ASTER satellite imagery. Digital elevation-derived data and geological information were used to examine the relationship between actual land cover and other environmental variables. The well dated Bereket sequence provides a unique record of biennial-to-decadal landscape changes driven primarily by intensive human impact from 360 cal. yr bc to 650 cal. yr ad. Since 360 cal. yr bc, over-exploitation of the land has led to altitudinal variation of tree lines, a destruction of the natural forest ecosystems (Pinus-Quercus cerris mixed forest), and an extensive spread of forest-steppe in the highlands. The present-day distribution of vegetation in the basin area shows that human activities remain the major factor influencing the character of modern ecosystems. This research demonstrates the long-term local destructive effects of human impacts on the mountainous ecosystems in a small Anatolian intramontane basin since 360 cal. yr bc, and the capacity of these ecosystems to recover during periods of reduced human impact. The late Holocene history and modern vegetation characteristics show that the past and present-day distribution and composition of vegetation are influenced primarily by human activity, and that substrate, elevation, slope and orientation are of secondary significance.
The coastal area of Jableh, in the vicinity of the Saladin and Al-Marquab castles, is a fertile alluvial plain located on the northwestern part of Syria, in what was once the crusader Principality of ...Antioch. In order to detail the coastal environment during the crusader period in the Middle East, palynological analyses have been conducted on the underlying coastal-alluvial deposits. The recovered sediments represent a continuous record of the environmental history of the area spanning a c. AD 850—1850 cal. yr period, from the Muslim Era up to and including the late Ottoman times. During the local crusader period (AD 1100—1270), the area was dominated by an arborescent mattoral mixed with a xerophytic shrub-steppe. The alluvial plain was slightly waterlogged and colonized by a wetland meadow with an open vegetation of steppe-like character on bare surfaces and fresh arable soils. The riparian and open deciduous riverine forests were weakly developed. Signs of agricultural activities are mainly recorded for the High Medieval period (AD 1000—1300), with an increase of vineyards in the coastal area. Since c. AD 1250 cal. yr until the end of the crusader period, agricultural activities never reached the same intensity as during the Mameluke Sultanate and the Ottoman Empire.
The Holocene colonisation of islands by humans has invariably led to deep-seated changes in landscape dynamics and ecology. In particular, burning was a management tool commonly used by prehistoric ...societies and it acted as a major driver of environmental change, particularly from the Neolithic onwards. To assess the role of early human impacts (e.g. livestock grazing, forest clearance and the cultivation of marginal land) in shaping “pristine” island landscapes, we here present a 350-year record of fire history and erosion from Malta, straddling the earliest peopling of the island. We show that recurrent anthropogenic burning related to Neolithic agro-pastoral practices began ∼7500 years ago, with well-defined fire-return intervals (FRI) of 15–20 years that engendered erosion and rapid environmental degradation. As early as the Neolithic, this study implies that, in sensitive insular contexts, just a few generations of human activities could rapidly degrade natural islandscapes.
•We reconstruct fire history during the early Neolithic peopling of Malta.•Anthropogenic burning related to agro-pastoral practices began ∼7500 years ago.•Human-induced fire led to erosion and rapid environmental degradation.•A few generations of human activities could rapidly degrade natural islandscapes.
This study presents a short local vegetation history of Western Liguria (San Remo), northwest Italy, based on a palynological analyses of an 8.30-m-long archaeological section in the dune covering ...Madonna dell'Arma cave. Madonna dell'Arma is one of the Mousterian caves currently located on the Ligurian coastal zone. The site contains Levallois-type Mousterian tools, four pieces of skull attributed to
Homo neanderthalensis and fauna remains belonging to
Rhinoceros mercki,
Elephas sp. and
Hippopotamus amphibius. This study is of interest as the site is situated in an area where data on palaeovegetation are scarce. In fact, the archaeopollen analyses of Madonna dell'Arma cave's surroundings provide a rare local picture of vegetation during the beginning of OIS 4, posterior to 73,100
yr BP.
The palynological taxa are grouped into three vegetation units by PCA (principal components analysis). These data suggest a huge Mediterranean pre-steppic forest (
Pinus,
Quercus ilex and several herbs) colonizing the area during this substage. The adjacent valleys were colonized by a caducifoliate–alluvial forest and Mediterranean scrub vegetation. These vegetation characteristics suggest a semi-arid coastal climate with an increase of precipitation according to altitude. The PCA analyses of the palynological sections inside and outside the cave suggest a nearly continuous vegetation succession from OIS 5a to OIS 4.
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