Late Quaternary Vegetational History at Navarres, Eastern Spain. A Two Core Approach

Percentage and concentration pollen diagrams are presented for two cores (taken 5 m apart) at an upper Pleistocene and Holocene site at Navarres (Valencia, eastern Spain). Chronological information is provided by an internally consistent radiocarbon dating series that extends from c. 20 700 to 3075 yr BP. The results highlight the dangers of relying on a single core in interpreting the patterns of variation of particular taxa. Significant palynological differences, seemingly locational, are described between the two cores. The upper Pleistocene records accords well with the widely recognized European sequence of (a) upper Pleniglacial, (b) Bolling-Allerod warm period, and (c) Younger Dryas crisis. However, the sequence does not show disruption of vegetation patterns following the commencement of the Holocene, and Pinus continues to be dominant up to c. 5500-6000 yr BP. Later, there is evidence for Quercus forest, mesophilous trees, and xerosclerophyllous Mediterranean vegetation, which is coincident with eutrophication of the study site. These vegetation changes are discussed in the context of anthropogenic disturbance by Neolithic people, competitive exclusion, and climatic change.