A paleoecological contribution to assess the natural vegetation of Switzerland

作者：Gobet Erika^*; Vescovi Elisa; Tinner Willy

来源：Botanica Helvetica, 2010, 120(2): 105-115.

DOI：10.1007/s00035-010-0080-2

• Vegetation history
• Fire history
• Climate history
• Climate change
• Environmental change
• Sylviculture
• Nature protection

How natural is a plant community or landscape in a given region? This question is essential for understanding the origin of today's vegetation as well as for nature conservation and vegetation management. Here we summarize results of over 30 recent paleoecological studies about postglacial vegetation development in Switzerland. The combination of pollen and macrofossil analyses, charcoal analyses and climatic indicators allows the reconstruction of vegetation development with high spatial and temporal resolution. Natural changes, largely related to climatic fluctuations, could be distinguished from changes induced by human land use. Results show general trends across Switzerland as well as remarkable regional differences in vegetation development according to local climate, altitude, bedrock, fire regime and human activity. Several forest types, which used to be regarded as natural vegetation under the current climate, could only establish after extensive human disturbance, so that their dominance is partly anthropogenic. Conversely, local isolated stands were not recognized to be relicts of formerly widespread natural forest types. The diversity of the forests strongly decreased whereas total biodiversity increased, mainly as a consequence of the creation of open land for agricultural purposes. Thus, paleoecology has shed new light on the naturalness of plant communities and their vulnerability to disturbance. We conclude by giving examples of how paleoecological knowledge can be applied in nature conservation, forest management and projects for national parks.

• 出版日期2010-11