3rd prize of the year 2024
Palaeoenvironmental evolution of SW Iberia during the Holocene based on palynologycal data
Dr. Cristina Val-Peón
RWTH Aachen, Chair of Organic Biogeochemistry in Geo-Systems
Coastal areas are of great environmental and economic importance and are particularly sensitive to climate fluctuations. Dr Cristina Val-Peón studied these regions in her dissertation in order to understand long-term environmental changes and draw connections between past and present climatic challenges.
The study analysed pollen, sediment and geochemical data from two land cores in La Janda, Spain, and a marine core in the Algarve, Portugal. The aim was to reconstruct the environmental development in south-west Iberia during the Holocene (the last 11,700 years or so) and compare it with phases of prehistoric human colonisation.
The results of the study identified several important environmental phases:
1. Forest development (~11.7-7.7 ka BP): A phase of increased temperature and humidity led to the expansion of forests.
2. forest decline (~7.7-5.5 ka BP): Diminishing summer insulation and increasingly drier conditions caused the forests to gradually decline.
3. Changing climate conditions and human influence (~5.5-3.7 ka BP): Drier climatic conditions alternated with wetter phases, accompanied by increasing human pressure through agricultural activities.
4. Anthropogenic influence and arid conditions (~3.7-1.2 ka BP): Human land use and persistent arid conditions characterised this phase.
5. Development of cultural landscapes (from ~1.2 ka BP): From about 1,200 years before present, landscapes were increasingly shaped by human activities.
The research also highlighted several periods of increased aridity, particularly at 8.2, 7.6, 5.9 and 4.3 ka BP, which were also observed in other regions of southern Iberia. From the Neolithic onwards (~7 ka BP), human impact steadily increased through agricultural activities and intensified over time.
This study shows how important interdisciplinary approaches are for understanding the dynamics of the environment and developing strategies for sustainable adaptation to current climate challenges.
