Natural development and anthropogenic impacts on the vegetation of the Passeiertal, South Tyrol, during the Late-Glacial and Holocene

Abstract

This study presents pollen and sediment analyses from a subalpine fen in northwestern South Tyrol. A complete sequence from Oldest Dryas to Subatlantic is preserved there. After the retreating of ice, pioneer vegetation and alpine meadows spread followed by immigration of larch and Siberian cedar even during the Allerød. Both were replaced during the early Atlantic by spruce. At the start of the Subatlantic, anthropogenic impact become evident through forest fires and increasing pastures. Another period of clearing - strongly connected with the spreading of larch - occurs at the beginning of the High Middle Ages.