The annually-laminated (varved) sediments of Pyrenean Lake Montcortès (Pallars Sobirà, Catalonia, Spain) contain the most complete, continuous, and well-dated high-resolution (decadal, on average) record of vegetation and landscape dynamics over the last 3000 years in the Mediterranean region. The Montcortès record was discovered by IBB researcher Valentí Rull (VR) twenty years ago. Since then, this sequence has been intensively studied from paleoenvironmental and paleoecological perspectives and compared with available archaeological and historical information, covering the period from the Late Bronze Age to the present. The results of these investigations have been published in numerous papers in specialized journals, but a comprehensive integrated view has remained unavailable.
In a newly published Springer Nature book, VR and aquatic ecologist Teresa Vegas-Vilarrúbia (University of Barcelona) summarize the development of local and regional vegetation over the last three millennia using pollen analysis. They compare these results with archaeological and historical records to provide a holistic socioecological framework for understanding the genesis of the mid-elevation Pyrenean landscape.
The first three chapters explain the present physiographical and vegetational features (Chapter 1), the cultural history of the Pallars region, where the lake is located (Chapter 2), and the main methods used for paleoecological reconstruction (Chapter 3). The following chapters disclose the reconstruction of vegetation trends and their potential environmental and anthropogenic drivers, subdivided chronologically into the prehistoric/protohistoric phase (Chapter 4), the Middle Ages (Chapter 5), and Modern-Contemporary times (Chapter 6).
Chapter 7 compares the three major historical deforestation cycles (Roman, Medieval, Modern) and analyzes forest change in terms of resilience in the face of anthropogenic pressure. Finally, Chapter 8 summarizes the results and main conclusions obtained, situates the Montcortès paleoecological sequence within the Iberian and Mediterranean contexts, and suggests future research lines that could enhance and improve the available knowledge.
The Montcortès sequence has been proposed as a reference paleoecological record of the last millennia for the Mediterranean region, especially for the western subregion, due to the biogeographical features of the flora and vegetation encountered.
The electronic version of the book is available here, and can be downloaded by chapters under subscription. The front matter, containing the introduction and the detailed table of contents, can be downloaded for free from the same website.
Reference
Rull, V., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T. 2024. Vegetation and Landscape Dynamics of the Iberian Pyrenees During The Last Three Millennia: The Montcortès Paleoecological Record. Srpinger Nature, Cham. ISBN 978-3-031-57440-5