Holocene changes in vegetation composition in northern Europe: Why quantitative pollen-based vegetation reconstructions matter

Laurent Marquer; Marie José Gaillard; Shinya Sugita; Anna Kari Trondman; Florence Mazier; Anne Birgitte Nielsen; Ralph M. Fyfe; Bent Vad Odgaard; Teija Alenius; H. John B Birks; Anne E. Bjune; Jörg Christiansen; John Dodson; Kevin John Edwards; Thomas Giesecke; Ulrike Herzschuh; Mihkel Kangur; Sebastian Lorenz; Anneli Poska; Manuela Schult; Heikki Seppä

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.02.013

Holocene changes in vegetation composition in northern Europe: Why quantitative pollen-based vegetation reconstructions matter

Laurent Marquer^*, Marie José Gaillard, Shinya Sugita, Anna Kari Trondman, Florence Mazier, Anne Birgitte Nielsen, Ralph M. Fyfe, Bent Vad Odgaard, Teija Alenius, H. John B Birks, Anne E. Bjune, Jörg Christiansen, John Dodson, Kevin John Edwards, Thomas Giesecke, Ulrike Herzschuh, Mihkel Kangur, Sebastian Lorenz, Anneli Poska, Manuela SchultHeikki Seppä

^*Corresponding author for this work

Geography & Environment

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108 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present pollen-based reconstructions of the spatio-temporal dynamics of northern European regional vegetation abundance through the Holocene. We apply the Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites (REVEALS) model using fossil pollen records from eighteen sites within five modern biomes in the region. The eighteen sites are classified into four time-trajectory types on the basis of principal components analysis of both the REVEALS-based vegetation estimates (RVs) and the pollen percentage (PPs). The four trajectory types are more clearly separated for RVs than PPs. Further, the timing of major Holocene shifts, rates of compositional change, and diversity indices (turnover and evenness) differ between RVs and PPs. The differences are due to the reduction by REVEALS of biases in fossil pollen assemblages caused by different basin size, and inter-taxonomic differences in pollen productivity and dispersal properties. For example, in comparison to the PPs, the RVs show an earlier increase in Corylus and Ulmus in the early-Holocene and a more pronounced increase in grassland and deforested areas since the mid-Holocene. The results suggest that the influence of deforestation and agricultural activities on plant composition and abundance from Neolithic times was stronger than previously inferred from PPs. Relative to PPs, RVs show a more rapid compositional change, a largest decrease in turnover, and less variable evenness in most of northern Europe since 5200calyrBP. All these changes are primarily related to the strong impact of human activities on the vegetation. This study demonstrates that RV-based estimates of diversity indices, timing of shifts, and rates of change in reconstructed vegetation provide new insights into the timing and magnitude of major human disturbance on Holocene regional vegetation, features that are critical in the assessment of human impact on vegetation, land-cover, biodiversity, and climate in the past.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	199-216
Number of pages	18
Journal	Quaternary Science Reviews
Volume	90
Early online date	25 Mar 2014
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.02.013
Publication status	Published - 15 Apr 2014

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements
This work is a part of the LANDCLIM (LAND cover – CLIMate interactions in NW Europe during the Holocene) project and research network coordinated by M.-J. Gaillard and sponsored by the Swedish (VR) and Nordic (NordForsk) Research Councils 2009–2011. LANDCLIM is also a contribution to the Strategic Research Area MERGE (ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system; http://www.cec.lu.se/research/merge) coordinated by M. Rummukainen (Lund University, Sweden) and sponsored by the Swedish Research Council (VR) 2010–2014, and to the IGBP-PAGES-Focus 4 programme 2009–2014 (http://www.pages-igbp.org/science/foci/focus-4). We thank all members of the LANDCLIM network who contributed pollen data and for useful discussions and advices, as well as J.S. Carrión and the anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and suggestions. Other funding sources include the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences of Linnaeus University (L. Marquer, M.-J. Gaillard, A.-K. Trondman, S. Sugita), the French CNRS (F. Mazier) and the King Carl XVI Gustaf's Foundation for Environmental Sciences in Sweden (S. Sugita.). H.J.B. Birks acknowledges the assistance of C.R. Jenks. This is a contribution from the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (H.J.B. Birks and A.E. Bjune).

Keywords

Holocene
Human impact
Northern Europe
Pollen
Quantitative regional plant abundance
Rate of compositional change
REVEALS (Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites) model
Vegetation diversity indices

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.02.013Licence: Unspecified

Cite this

Marquer, L., Gaillard, M. J., Sugita, S., Trondman, A. K., Mazier, F., Nielsen, A. B., Fyfe, R. M., Odgaard, B. V., Alenius, T., Birks, H. J. B., Bjune, A. E., Christiansen, J., Dodson, J., Edwards, K. J., Giesecke, T., Herzschuh, U., Kangur, M., Lorenz, S., Poska, A., ... Seppä, H. (2014). Holocene changes in vegetation composition in northern Europe: Why quantitative pollen-based vegetation reconstructions matter. Quaternary Science Reviews, 90, 199-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.02.013

Marquer, L, Gaillard, MJ, Sugita, S, Trondman, AK, Mazier, F, Nielsen, AB, Fyfe, RM, Odgaard, BV, Alenius, T, Birks, HJB, Bjune, AE, Christiansen, J, Dodson, J, Edwards, KJ, Giesecke, T, Herzschuh, U, Kangur, M, Lorenz, S, Poska, A, Schult, M & Seppä, H 2014, 'Holocene changes in vegetation composition in northern Europe: Why quantitative pollen-based vegetation reconstructions matter', Quaternary Science Reviews, vol. 90, pp. 199-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.02.013

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title = "Holocene changes in vegetation composition in northern Europe: Why quantitative pollen-based vegetation reconstructions matter",

abstract = "We present pollen-based reconstructions of the spatio-temporal dynamics of northern European regional vegetation abundance through the Holocene. We apply the Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites (REVEALS) model using fossil pollen records from eighteen sites within five modern biomes in the region. The eighteen sites are classified into four time-trajectory types on the basis of principal components analysis of both the REVEALS-based vegetation estimates (RVs) and the pollen percentage (PPs). The four trajectory types are more clearly separated for RVs than PPs. Further, the timing of major Holocene shifts, rates of compositional change, and diversity indices (turnover and evenness) differ between RVs and PPs. The differences are due to the reduction by REVEALS of biases in fossil pollen assemblages caused by different basin size, and inter-taxonomic differences in pollen productivity and dispersal properties. For example, in comparison to the PPs, the RVs show an earlier increase in Corylus and Ulmus in the early-Holocene and a more pronounced increase in grassland and deforested areas since the mid-Holocene. The results suggest that the influence of deforestation and agricultural activities on plant composition and abundance from Neolithic times was stronger than previously inferred from PPs. Relative to PPs, RVs show a more rapid compositional change, a largest decrease in turnover, and less variable evenness in most of northern Europe since 5200calyrBP. All these changes are primarily related to the strong impact of human activities on the vegetation. This study demonstrates that RV-based estimates of diversity indices, timing of shifts, and rates of change in reconstructed vegetation provide new insights into the timing and magnitude of major human disturbance on Holocene regional vegetation, features that are critical in the assessment of human impact on vegetation, land-cover, biodiversity, and climate in the past.",

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note = "Acknowledgements This work is a part of the LANDCLIM (LAND cover – CLIMate interactions in NW Europe during the Holocene) project and research network coordinated by M.-J. Gaillard and sponsored by the Swedish (VR) and Nordic (NordForsk) Research Councils 2009–2011. LANDCLIM is also a contribution to the Strategic Research Area MERGE (ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system; http://www.cec.lu.se/research/merge) coordinated by M. Rummukainen (Lund University, Sweden) and sponsored by the Swedish Research Council (VR) 2010–2014, and to the IGBP-PAGES-Focus 4 programme 2009–2014 (http://www.pages-igbp.org/science/foci/focus-4). We thank all members of the LANDCLIM network who contributed pollen data and for useful discussions and advices, as well as J.S. Carri{\'o}n and the anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and suggestions. Other funding sources include the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences of Linnaeus University (L. Marquer, M.-J. Gaillard, A.-K. Trondman, S. Sugita), the French CNRS (F. Mazier) and the King Carl XVI Gustaf's Foundation for Environmental Sciences in Sweden (S. Sugita.). H.J.B. Birks acknowledges the assistance of C.R. Jenks. This is a contribution from the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (H.J.B. Birks and A.E. Bjune).",

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AU - Marquer, Laurent

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AU - Mazier, Florence

AU - Nielsen, Anne Birgitte

AU - Fyfe, Ralph M.

AU - Odgaard, Bent Vad

AU - Alenius, Teija

AU - Birks, H. John B

AU - Bjune, Anne E.

AU - Christiansen, Jörg

AU - Dodson, John

AU - Edwards, Kevin John

AU - Giesecke, Thomas

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AU - Kangur, Mihkel

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AU - Poska, Anneli

AU - Schult, Manuela

AU - Seppä, Heikki

N1 - Acknowledgements This work is a part of the LANDCLIM (LAND cover – CLIMate interactions in NW Europe during the Holocene) project and research network coordinated by M.-J. Gaillard and sponsored by the Swedish (VR) and Nordic (NordForsk) Research Councils 2009–2011. LANDCLIM is also a contribution to the Strategic Research Area MERGE (ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system; http://www.cec.lu.se/research/merge) coordinated by M. Rummukainen (Lund University, Sweden) and sponsored by the Swedish Research Council (VR) 2010–2014, and to the IGBP-PAGES-Focus 4 programme 2009–2014 (http://www.pages-igbp.org/science/foci/focus-4). We thank all members of the LANDCLIM network who contributed pollen data and for useful discussions and advices, as well as J.S. Carrión and the anonymous reviewers for valuable comments and suggestions. Other funding sources include the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences of Linnaeus University (L. Marquer, M.-J. Gaillard, A.-K. Trondman, S. Sugita), the French CNRS (F. Mazier) and the King Carl XVI Gustaf's Foundation for Environmental Sciences in Sweden (S. Sugita.). H.J.B. Birks acknowledges the assistance of C.R. Jenks. This is a contribution from the Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (H.J.B. Birks and A.E. Bjune).

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N2 - We present pollen-based reconstructions of the spatio-temporal dynamics of northern European regional vegetation abundance through the Holocene. We apply the Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites (REVEALS) model using fossil pollen records from eighteen sites within five modern biomes in the region. The eighteen sites are classified into four time-trajectory types on the basis of principal components analysis of both the REVEALS-based vegetation estimates (RVs) and the pollen percentage (PPs). The four trajectory types are more clearly separated for RVs than PPs. Further, the timing of major Holocene shifts, rates of compositional change, and diversity indices (turnover and evenness) differ between RVs and PPs. The differences are due to the reduction by REVEALS of biases in fossil pollen assemblages caused by different basin size, and inter-taxonomic differences in pollen productivity and dispersal properties. For example, in comparison to the PPs, the RVs show an earlier increase in Corylus and Ulmus in the early-Holocene and a more pronounced increase in grassland and deforested areas since the mid-Holocene. The results suggest that the influence of deforestation and agricultural activities on plant composition and abundance from Neolithic times was stronger than previously inferred from PPs. Relative to PPs, RVs show a more rapid compositional change, a largest decrease in turnover, and less variable evenness in most of northern Europe since 5200calyrBP. All these changes are primarily related to the strong impact of human activities on the vegetation. This study demonstrates that RV-based estimates of diversity indices, timing of shifts, and rates of change in reconstructed vegetation provide new insights into the timing and magnitude of major human disturbance on Holocene regional vegetation, features that are critical in the assessment of human impact on vegetation, land-cover, biodiversity, and climate in the past.

AB - We present pollen-based reconstructions of the spatio-temporal dynamics of northern European regional vegetation abundance through the Holocene. We apply the Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites (REVEALS) model using fossil pollen records from eighteen sites within five modern biomes in the region. The eighteen sites are classified into four time-trajectory types on the basis of principal components analysis of both the REVEALS-based vegetation estimates (RVs) and the pollen percentage (PPs). The four trajectory types are more clearly separated for RVs than PPs. Further, the timing of major Holocene shifts, rates of compositional change, and diversity indices (turnover and evenness) differ between RVs and PPs. The differences are due to the reduction by REVEALS of biases in fossil pollen assemblages caused by different basin size, and inter-taxonomic differences in pollen productivity and dispersal properties. For example, in comparison to the PPs, the RVs show an earlier increase in Corylus and Ulmus in the early-Holocene and a more pronounced increase in grassland and deforested areas since the mid-Holocene. The results suggest that the influence of deforestation and agricultural activities on plant composition and abundance from Neolithic times was stronger than previously inferred from PPs. Relative to PPs, RVs show a more rapid compositional change, a largest decrease in turnover, and less variable evenness in most of northern Europe since 5200calyrBP. All these changes are primarily related to the strong impact of human activities on the vegetation. This study demonstrates that RV-based estimates of diversity indices, timing of shifts, and rates of change in reconstructed vegetation provide new insights into the timing and magnitude of major human disturbance on Holocene regional vegetation, features that are critical in the assessment of human impact on vegetation, land-cover, biodiversity, and climate in the past.

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JO - Quaternary Science Reviews

JF - Quaternary Science Reviews

ER -

Holocene changes in vegetation composition in northern Europe: Why quantitative pollen-based vegetation reconstructions matter

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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Kevin Edwards, MA, PhD, FRGS, CGeog, FSA, FSAScot, FRSE, MAE

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Holocene changes in vegetation composition in northern Europe: Why quantitative pollen-based vegetation reconstructions matter

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

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Kevin Edwards, MA, PhD, FRGS, CGeog, FSA, FSAScot, FRSE, MAE

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