Palynological evidence for climatic change along the eastern Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands

Abstract

Climate evolution during the Holocene was studied based on six pollen sequences extracted along the Mediterranean slope of the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands. The climatic features of these landscapes differed as a function of latitude. The aim of the present work was to use this information to determine the history of the vegetation in the Western Mediterranean during the last millennia. The evolution of the pollen concentration precisely reflected the landscape biomass, which allowed the timing, profusion, and rate of desertification in southwestern Europe to be evaluated in relation to natural climatic trends. Changes in the structure and biomass of the vegetation were generally visible at a regional scale and occurred in relation to hydrological crises. The response elicited by these changes with respect to forest recovery differed depending on the region. A clear trend towards deforestation was visible in many sites along the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands beginning at 5000 years BP.