Substantial light woodland and open vegetation characterized the temperate forest biome before Homo sapiens

Elena A.  Pearce; Florence F Mazier; Signe  Normand; Corrie Bakels; Ralph Fyfe; Valérie  Andrieu; Zofia Balwierz; Krzysztof Bińka; Steve  Borham; Olga K Borisova; Anna Broström; Jacques-Luoise  de Beaulieu; Cunhai Gao; Penélope  González-Sampériz; Wojciech  Granoszewski; Anna  Hrynowiecka; Piotr  Kołaczek; Petr  Kuneš; Donatella  Magri; Małgorzata  Malkiewicz; Tim  Mighall; Alice M.  Milner; Per Möller; Małgorzata  Nita; Bożena  Noryśkiewicz; Irena Agnieszka  Pidek; Maurice  Reille; Ann-Marie  Robertsson; J. Sakari  Salonen; Patrick  Schläfli; Jeroen  Schokker; Paolo  Scussolini; Vaida  Šeirienė; Jaqueline  Strahl; Brigitte  Urban; Filip  Van Beirendonck; Hanna  Winter; Jens-Christian  Svenning

doi:10.1126/sciadv.adi9135

Substantial light woodland and open vegetation characterized the temperate forest biome before Homo sapiens

Elena A. Pearce, Florence F Mazier, Signe Normand, Corrie Bakels, Ralph Fyfe, Valérie Andrieu, Zofia Balwierz, Krzysztof Bińka, Steve Borham, Olga K Borisova, Anna Broström, Jacques-Luoise de Beaulieu, Cunhai Gao, Penélope González-Sampériz, Wojciech Granoszewski, Anna Hrynowiecka, Piotr Kołaczek, Petr Kuneš, Donatella Magri, Małgorzata MalkiewiczTim Mighall, Alice M. Milner, Per Möller, Małgorzata Nita, Bożena Noryśkiewicz, Irena Agnieszka Pidek, Maurice Reille, Ann-Marie Robertsson, J. Sakari Salonen, Patrick Schläfli, Jeroen Schokker, Paolo Scussolini, Vaida Šeirienė, Jaqueline Strahl, Brigitte Urban, Filip Van Beirendonck, Hanna Winter, Jens-Christian Svenning

Quaternary Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The extent of vegetation openness in past European landscapes is widely debated. In particular, the temperate forest biome has traditionally been defined as dense, closed-canopy forest; however, some argue that large herbivores maintained greater openness or even wood-pasture conditions. Here, we address this question for the Last Interglacial period (129,000–116,000 years ago), before Homo sapiens–linked megafauna declines and anthropogenic landscape transformation. We applied the vegetation reconstruction method REVEALS to 96 Last Interglacial pollen records. We found that light woodland and open vegetation represented, on average, more than 50% cover during this period. The degree of openness was highly variable and only partially linked to climatic factors, indicating the importance of natural disturbance regimes. Our results show that the temperate forest biome was historically heterogeneous rather than uniformly dense, which is consistent with the dependency of much of contemporary European biodiversity on open vegetation and light woodland.

Original language	English
Number of pages	14
Journal	Science Advances
Volume	9
Issue number	45
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi9135
Publication status	Published - 2023 Nov 10

Subject classification (UKÄ)

Ecology (including Biodiversity Conservation)
Climate Science

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Pearce, E. A., Mazier, F. F., Normand, S., Bakels, C., Fyfe, R., Andrieu, V., Balwierz, Z., Bińka, K., Borham, S., Borisova, O. K., Broström, A., de Beaulieu, J.-L., Gao, C., González-Sampériz, P., Granoszewski, W., Hrynowiecka, A., Kołaczek, P., Kuneš, P., Magri, D., ... Svenning, J.-C. (2023). Substantial light woodland and open vegetation characterized the temperate forest biome before Homo sapiens. Science Advances, 9(45). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi9135

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title = "Substantial light woodland and open vegetation characterized the temperate forest biome before Homo sapiens",

abstract = "The extent of vegetation openness in past European landscapes is widely debated. In particular, the temperate forest biome has traditionally been defined as dense, closed-canopy forest; however, some argue that large herbivores maintained greater openness or even wood-pasture conditions. Here, we address this question for the Last Interglacial period (129,000–116,000 years ago), before Homo sapiens–linked megafauna declines and anthropogenic landscape transformation. We applied the vegetation reconstruction method REVEALS to 96 Last Interglacial pollen records. We found that light woodland and open vegetation represented, on average, more than 50% cover during this period. The degree of openness was highly variable and only partially linked to climatic factors, indicating the importance of natural disturbance regimes. Our results show that the temperate forest biome was historically heterogeneous rather than uniformly dense, which is consistent with the dependency of much of contemporary European biodiversity on open vegetation and light woodland.",

author = "Pearce, {Elena A.} and Mazier, {Florence F} and Signe Normand and Corrie Bakels and Ralph Fyfe and Val{\'e}rie Andrieu and Zofia Balwierz and Krzysztof Bi{\'n}ka and Steve Borham and Borisova, {Olga K} and Anna Brostr{\"o}m and {de Beaulieu}, Jacques-Luoise and Cunhai Gao and Pen{\'e}lope Gonz{\'a}lez-Samp{\'e}riz and Wojciech Granoszewski and Anna Hrynowiecka and Piotr Ko{\l}aczek and Petr Kune{\v s} and Donatella Magri and Ma{\l}gorzata Malkiewicz and Tim Mighall and Milner, {Alice M.} and Per M{\"o}ller and Ma{\l}gorzata Nita and Bo{\.z}ena Nory{\'s}kiewicz and Pidek, {Irena Agnieszka} and Maurice Reille and Ann-Marie Robertsson and Salonen, {J. Sakari} and Patrick Schl{\"a}fli and Jeroen Schokker and Paolo Scussolini and Vaida {\v S}eirienė and Jaqueline Strahl and Brigitte Urban and {Van Beirendonck}, Filip and Hanna Winter and Jens-Christian Svenning",

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month = nov,

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doi = "10.1126/sciadv.adi9135",

language = "English",

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Pearce, EA, Mazier, FF, Normand, S, Bakels, C, Fyfe, R, Andrieu, V, Balwierz, Z, Bińka, K, Borham, S, Borisova, OK, Broström, A, de Beaulieu, J-L, Gao, C, González-Sampériz, P, Granoszewski, W, Hrynowiecka, A, Kołaczek, P, Kuneš, P, Magri, D, Malkiewicz, M, Mighall, T, Milner, AM, Möller, P, Nita, M, Noryśkiewicz, B, Pidek, IA, Reille, M, Robertsson, A-M, Salonen, JS, Schläfli, P, Schokker, J, Scussolini, P, Šeirienė, V, Strahl, J, Urban, B, Van Beirendonck, F, Winter, H & Svenning, J-C 2023, 'Substantial light woodland and open vegetation characterized the temperate forest biome before Homo sapiens', Science Advances, vol. 9, no. 45. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi9135

TY - JOUR

T1 - Substantial light woodland and open vegetation characterized the temperate forest biome before Homo sapiens

AU - Pearce, Elena A.

AU - Mazier, Florence F

AU - Normand, Signe

AU - Bakels, Corrie

AU - Fyfe, Ralph

AU - Andrieu, Valérie

AU - Balwierz, Zofia

AU - Bińka, Krzysztof

AU - Borham, Steve

AU - Borisova, Olga K

AU - Broström, Anna

AU - de Beaulieu, Jacques-Luoise

AU - Gao, Cunhai

AU - González-Sampériz, Penélope

AU - Granoszewski, Wojciech

AU - Hrynowiecka, Anna

AU - Kołaczek, Piotr

AU - Kuneš, Petr

AU - Magri, Donatella

AU - Malkiewicz, Małgorzata

AU - Mighall, Tim

AU - Milner, Alice M.

AU - Möller, Per

AU - Nita, Małgorzata

AU - Noryśkiewicz, Bożena

AU - Pidek, Irena Agnieszka

AU - Reille, Maurice

AU - Robertsson, Ann-Marie

AU - Salonen, J. Sakari

AU - Schläfli, Patrick

AU - Schokker, Jeroen

AU - Scussolini, Paolo

AU - Šeirienė, Vaida

AU - Strahl, Jaqueline

AU - Urban, Brigitte

AU - Van Beirendonck, Filip

AU - Winter, Hanna

AU - Svenning, Jens-Christian

PY - 2023/11/10

Y1 - 2023/11/10

N2 - The extent of vegetation openness in past European landscapes is widely debated. In particular, the temperate forest biome has traditionally been defined as dense, closed-canopy forest; however, some argue that large herbivores maintained greater openness or even wood-pasture conditions. Here, we address this question for the Last Interglacial period (129,000–116,000 years ago), before Homo sapiens–linked megafauna declines and anthropogenic landscape transformation. We applied the vegetation reconstruction method REVEALS to 96 Last Interglacial pollen records. We found that light woodland and open vegetation represented, on average, more than 50% cover during this period. The degree of openness was highly variable and only partially linked to climatic factors, indicating the importance of natural disturbance regimes. Our results show that the temperate forest biome was historically heterogeneous rather than uniformly dense, which is consistent with the dependency of much of contemporary European biodiversity on open vegetation and light woodland.

AB - The extent of vegetation openness in past European landscapes is widely debated. In particular, the temperate forest biome has traditionally been defined as dense, closed-canopy forest; however, some argue that large herbivores maintained greater openness or even wood-pasture conditions. Here, we address this question for the Last Interglacial period (129,000–116,000 years ago), before Homo sapiens–linked megafauna declines and anthropogenic landscape transformation. We applied the vegetation reconstruction method REVEALS to 96 Last Interglacial pollen records. We found that light woodland and open vegetation represented, on average, more than 50% cover during this period. The degree of openness was highly variable and only partially linked to climatic factors, indicating the importance of natural disturbance regimes. Our results show that the temperate forest biome was historically heterogeneous rather than uniformly dense, which is consistent with the dependency of much of contemporary European biodiversity on open vegetation and light woodland.

U2 - 10.1126/sciadv.adi9135

DO - 10.1126/sciadv.adi9135

M3 - Article

C2 - 37948521

SN - 2375-2548

VL - 9

JO - Science Advances

JF - Science Advances

IS - 45

ER -

Substantial light woodland and open vegetation characterized the temperate forest biome before Homo sapiens

Abstract

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