The Holocene history of Pinus forests in the Spanish Northern Meseta

Pollen analysis from a 14.1 m core recovered from a valley mire at Espinosa de Cerrato (Palencia, Spain), suggests that Pinus woodland has dominated this area of the Northern Meseta throughout almost the entire Holocene, in contrast to many other locations in Iberia where early-Holocene conifer woodland was progressively replaced by deciduous taxa. This unique pattern of vegetation development is attributable to a combination of continental climate, edaphic conditions of these Mesetas, and perhaps fire. These data suggest that vegetation in this area has been remarkably stable over an extended timescale and that arguments concerning Pinus communities not being native in the region are unfounded. Anthropogenic impact can be detected at c. 4500 14C yr BP, affecting evergreen Quercus woodlands, and between c. 3000 and 2000 14 C yr BP affecting Pinus woodlands. The pine forests were replaced by plant communities resembling the present-day landscape (shrubs and cereals) from c. 1500 14 C yr BP.