More than agriculture: Analysing time-cumulative human impact on European land-cover of second half of the holocene

Anhelina Zapolska*, Maria Antonia Serge, Florence Mazier, Aurélien Quiquet, Hans Renssen, Mathieu Vrac, Ralph Fyfe, Didier M. Roche

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Assessment of past anthropogenic modifications of land-cover dynamics is key to understanding the human role in the Earth system. Recent advances in palaeoenvironmental sciences allow us to assess the long-term impacts of anthropization on ecosystems, landscapes, and land-cover. Our study aims to evaluate the role of human impact on European land-cover over the past 6000 years by comparing two independent datasets. First, we use a dynamic vegetation model forced by debiased climate model outputs. The climate model uses natural forcings only and therefore the computed vegetation distribution is interpreted as the potential natural vegetation. Second, we use pollen-based reconstructions, which intrinsically include anthropogenic influence. The discrepancies between the two datasets are attributed to human activity and quantified in a form of a human pressure index (HPI). Patterns of spatio-temporal evolution of the HPI agree with previously published data about the spread of agriculture in Europe. In particular, both HPI and anthropogenic land-cover change (ALCC) scenarios indicate a rapid increase of the human pressure around 1200–1700 BP, and a significant increase of agriculture-related land-cover modifications by nearly 60% throughout the second half of the Holocene. However, initially high HPI values (up to 70%) at 5700–6200 BP, which correlate with population estimates (r = 0.75, p-value <0.005), suggest high levels of anthropogenic land-cover transformations, introduced by earlier agricultural as well as non-agricultural activities. The results of our study suggest that vegetation cover of the Mid-Holocene substantially differed from the state of potential natural vegetation (PNV) due to cumulative effect of early human alterations on the land-cover. This challenges the hypothesis that vegetation in the Mid-Holocene was in a relatively natural state and contributes valuable insights to the onset of agriculture as the start of the Anthropocene.

Original languageEnglish
Article number108227
Pages (from-to)1-16
Number of pages16
JournalQuaternary Science Reviews
Volume314
Early online date24 Jul 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Aug 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The study is also a contribution to the Past Global Change ( PAGES ) project and its working group LandCover6k that in turn received support from the Swiss National Science Foundation , the Swiss Academy of Sciences , the U.S. National Science Foundation , and the Chinese Academy of Sciences .

Funding Information:
The research is financed through the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme within the TERRANOVA project, No 813904, and supported by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The paper reflects the views only of the authors, and the European Union cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.The study is also a contribution to the Past Global Change (PAGES) project and its working group LandCover6k that in turn received support from the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Swiss Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Funding Information:
The research is financed through the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme within the TERRANOVA project , No 813904, and supported by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam . The paper reflects the views only of the authors, and the European Union cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors

Funding

The study is also a contribution to the Past Global Change ( PAGES ) project and its working group LandCover6k that in turn received support from the Swiss National Science Foundation , the Swiss Academy of Sciences , the U.S. National Science Foundation , and the Chinese Academy of Sciences . The research is financed through the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme within the TERRANOVA project, No 813904, and supported by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The paper reflects the views only of the authors, and the European Union cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.The study is also a contribution to the Past Global Change (PAGES) project and its working group LandCover6k that in turn received support from the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Swiss Academy of Sciences, the U.S. National Science Foundation, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The research is financed through the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme within the TERRANOVA project , No 813904, and supported by the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam . The paper reflects the views only of the authors, and the European Union cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

FundersFunder number
National Science Foundation
European Commission
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Akademie der Naturwissenschaften
Horizon 2020813904
Horizon 2020

    Keywords

    • Anthropogenic land-cover change
    • Climate-forced vegetation modelling
    • Europe
    • Pollen-based reconstructions

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