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Orbital- and sub-orbital-scale climate impacts on vegetation of the western Mediterranean basin over the last 48,000 yr

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

William J. Fletcher  and
Maria Fernanda Sánchez Goñi
William J. Fletcher*
Affiliation:
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, UMR 5805 CNRS EPOC, Université Bordeaux 1, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence Cedex, France
Maria Fernanda Sánchez Goñi
Affiliation:
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, UMR 5805 CNRS EPOC, Université Bordeaux 1, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence Cedex, France
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +33 5 56 84 08 48. E-mail address:w.fletcher@epoc.u-bordeaux1.fr (W.J. Fletcher).
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Abstract

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High-resolution pollen analysis of Alborán Sea core MD95-2043 provides a 48-ka continuous vegetation record that can be directly correlated with sea surface and deep-water changes. The reliability of this record is supported by comparison with that of Padul (Sierra Nevada, Spain). Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 was characterised by fluctuations in Quercus forest cover in response to Dansgaard-Oeschger climate variability. MIS 2 was characterised by the dominance of semi-desert vegetation. Despite overall dry and cold conditions during MIS 2, Heinrich events (HEs) 2 and 1 were distinguished from the last glacial maximum by more intensely arid conditions. Taxon-specific vegetation responses to a tripartite climatic structure within the HEs are observed. In MIS 1, the Bölling-Allerød was marked by rapid afforestation, while a re-expansion of semi-desert environments occurred during the Younger Dryas. The maximum development of mixed Quercus forest occurred between 11.7 and 5.4 cal ka BP, with forest decline since 5.4 cal ka BP. On orbital timescales, a long-term expansion of semi-desert vegetation from MIS 3 into MIS 2 reflects global ice-volume trends, while Holocene arboreal decline reflects summer insolation decrease. The influence of precession on the amplitude of forest development and vegetation composition is also detected.

Keywords

Marine palynologyLand–sea correlationIberian marginMediterranean regionDansgaard-Oeschger variabilityHeinrich eventsLGMHolocenePrecession
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 70 , Issue 3 , November 2008 , pp. 451 - 464
Copyright
University of Washington

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