RT Journal Article
T1 Long-term persistence of Mediterranean pine forests in the Duero Basin (central Spain) during the Holocene: The case of Pinus pinaster Aiton
A1 Morales-Molino, César
A1 Postigo Mijarra, José
A1 Morla, Carlos
A1 García-Antón, Mercedes
AB In the southern Duero Basin of central Spain, there are vast areas of aeolian sand sheets and dune fields. A comprehensive survey of the sand quarries in this area identified a number of palaeosols in sedimentary sequences. The identification and AMS radiocarbon dating of soil charcoal fragments collected in these palaeosols indicate the persistence of Pinus pinaster in this area throughout most of the Holocene. Although potential natural vegetation models have usually considered the Pinus pinaster forests in this inland area of artificial origin, soil charcoal analysis provides firm evidence of a natural origin. Our data fit perfectly with the pattern of Holocene vegetation development for inland areas of Iberia, which are characterised by stability of pine forests throughout the Holocene. Finally, the growing body of palaeobotanical evidence from Iberia (macrofossils and pollen) is contributing to improve our knowledge of P. pinaster ecology, showing that this species has been present in most Iberian regions during the Holocene, where it has inhabited areas characterised by a very diverse set of climatic and soil conditions.
PB SAGE Publications
SN 0959-6836
YR 2011
FD 2011
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/96186
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/96186
LA eng
NO Morales-Molino, C., Postigo-Mijarra, J.Mª, Morla Juaristi, C., García-Antón, M., 2011. Long-term persistence of Mediterranean pine forests in the Duero Basin (central Spain) during the Holocene: The case of Pinus pinaster Aiton. The Holocene 22 (5): 561–570.
NO C. Morales-Molino holds a Universidad Politécnica de Madrid pre-doctoral grant. This study was funded by the research projects CGL2008-06005 BOS – SensCom (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain) and ‘Estudio de turberas en la Cuenca del Duero’ (code 43711816057, Junta de Castilla y León, Spain)
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
NO Junta de Castilla y León
DS Docta Complutense
RD 31 jul 2025