The Legacy of Human Impact on European Landscapes: Insights from Holocene Vegetation Change

This thesis focuses on exploring the extensification of anthropogenic land use in Europe during the second half of the Holocene (the last 6 thousand years) and its profound impact on landscape development. The study investigates human-landscape interactions by analysing existing anthropogenic land cover change scenarios and comparing them with archaeological knowledge to track the timing and spatial distribution of two major energy regime transitions: the transition to agriculture (Agricultural energy regime) and the shift to the era of fossil fuels (Industrial energy regime). To quantify the cumulative human impact on European land cover, the study compares modelled potential natural vegetation (without human impact) with reconstructed land cover derived from pollen-based reconstructions (include human impact). A novel methodology for mitigating model biases in palaeoclimate modelling is tested and applied to ensure a meaningful comparison between the two data types within the study's intercomparison workflow. The findings highlight significant differences between mid-Holocene vegetation cover and the state of potential natural vegetation, leading to further investigation into the effects of pre-agricultural foraging societies on landscapes during the Eemian and early Holocene periods through the assessment of available proxies to reflect human impact.