A forest on the edge: Causes of synchronous Early Holocene forest declines in northern Greece and the implications for the introduction of farming to Europe
We present a high-resolution continuous palaeoecological study covering the transition from foraging to farming at Limni Vegoritis, a large lake in western Macedonia, Greece. We show how the pristine mixed deciduous oak woodlands from the Early Holocene were severely affected by a climate anomaly in...
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| Format: | Article |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Quaternary Environments and Humans |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950236525000088 |
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| author | Lieveke van Vugt Erika Gobet Jacqueline F.N. van Leeuwen Kathrin Ganz Tryfon Giagkoulis Sönke Szidat Hendrik Vogel César Morales-Molino Amy Bogaard Kostas Kotsakis Albert Hafner Willy Tinner |
| author_facet | Lieveke van Vugt Erika Gobet Jacqueline F.N. van Leeuwen Kathrin Ganz Tryfon Giagkoulis Sönke Szidat Hendrik Vogel César Morales-Molino Amy Bogaard Kostas Kotsakis Albert Hafner Willy Tinner |
| author_sort | Lieveke van Vugt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present a high-resolution continuous palaeoecological study covering the transition from foraging to farming at Limni Vegoritis, a large lake in western Macedonia, Greece. We show how the pristine mixed deciduous oak woodlands from the Early Holocene were severely affected by a climate anomaly in the Eastern Mediterranean between 8600 and 7800 cal yr BP (6650–5850 cal BCE). A strong reduction in moisture availability pushed the deciduous oak woodlands across a tipping point, significantly reducing their abundance. As the woodlands declined, the vegetation became more open, and drought-adapted steppe vegetation and juniper brushlands expanded around the lake. The marked forest disruption at ca. 8600 cal yr BP (6650 cal BCE) provided favourable conditions for the introduction of Neolithic farming to mainland Greece and Europe, as suggested by pollen and spores indicative of arable and pastoral farming. We hypothesise that the temporary climate-driven development of steppe-like grasslands and shrublands advantaged the introduction of drought-adapted crops (e.g. cereals) and domesticated animals from regions in southwest Asia with similar vegetation and climate conditions. After 7800 cal yr BP (5850 cal BCE) when the climate impact on the vegetation declined, pine forests spread, followed by increases of trees like Ostrya and Fagus from ca. 7000 cal yr BP (5050 cal BCE). The combination of climate change with Neolithic land use likely continued to affect vegetation and facilitated such changes in forest composition, promoting more oceanic and/or disturbance-adapted species. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7e6c14dcb0b14567bd8d34f7d809b350 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2950-2365 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Quaternary Environments and Humans |
| spelling | doaj-art-7e6c14dcb0b14567bd8d34f7d809b3502025-08-20T02:37:01ZengElsevierQuaternary Environments and Humans2950-23652025-06-013210006410.1016/j.qeh.2025.100064A forest on the edge: Causes of synchronous Early Holocene forest declines in northern Greece and the implications for the introduction of farming to EuropeLieveke van Vugt0Erika Gobet1Jacqueline F.N. van Leeuwen2Kathrin Ganz3Tryfon Giagkoulis4Sönke Szidat5Hendrik Vogel6César Morales-Molino7Amy Bogaard8Kostas Kotsakis9Albert Hafner10Willy Tinner11Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, Bern 3013, Switzerland; Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, Bern 3012, Switzerland; Corresponding author at: Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, Bern 3013, Switzerland.Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, Bern 3013, Switzerland; Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, Bern 3012, SwitzerlandInstitute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, Bern 3013, Switzerland; Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, Bern 3012, SwitzerlandInstitute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, Bern 3013, Switzerland; Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, Bern 3012, SwitzerlandDepartment of Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, GreeceOeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, Bern 3012, Switzerland; Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, Bern 3012, SwitzerlandOeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, Bern 3012, Switzerland; Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 1+ 3, Bern 3012, SwitzerlandInstitute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, Bern 3013, Switzerland; Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, Bern 3012, Switzerland; Grupo de Ecología y Restauración Forestal (FORECO), Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares 28805, SpainSchool of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3TG, United KingdomDepartment of Archaeology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, GreeceOeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, Bern 3012, Switzerland; Institute of Archaeological Sciences, University of Bern, Mittelstrasse 43, Bern 3012, SwitzerlandInstitute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, Bern 3013, Switzerland; Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, Bern 3012, SwitzerlandWe present a high-resolution continuous palaeoecological study covering the transition from foraging to farming at Limni Vegoritis, a large lake in western Macedonia, Greece. We show how the pristine mixed deciduous oak woodlands from the Early Holocene were severely affected by a climate anomaly in the Eastern Mediterranean between 8600 and 7800 cal yr BP (6650–5850 cal BCE). A strong reduction in moisture availability pushed the deciduous oak woodlands across a tipping point, significantly reducing their abundance. As the woodlands declined, the vegetation became more open, and drought-adapted steppe vegetation and juniper brushlands expanded around the lake. The marked forest disruption at ca. 8600 cal yr BP (6650 cal BCE) provided favourable conditions for the introduction of Neolithic farming to mainland Greece and Europe, as suggested by pollen and spores indicative of arable and pastoral farming. We hypothesise that the temporary climate-driven development of steppe-like grasslands and shrublands advantaged the introduction of drought-adapted crops (e.g. cereals) and domesticated animals from regions in southwest Asia with similar vegetation and climate conditions. After 7800 cal yr BP (5850 cal BCE) when the climate impact on the vegetation declined, pine forests spread, followed by increases of trees like Ostrya and Fagus from ca. 7000 cal yr BP (5050 cal BCE). The combination of climate change with Neolithic land use likely continued to affect vegetation and facilitated such changes in forest composition, promoting more oceanic and/or disturbance-adapted species.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950236525000088PalaeoecologyClimate change8.2 ka eventMediterranean vegetationIntroduction of farming |
| spellingShingle | Lieveke van Vugt Erika Gobet Jacqueline F.N. van Leeuwen Kathrin Ganz Tryfon Giagkoulis Sönke Szidat Hendrik Vogel César Morales-Molino Amy Bogaard Kostas Kotsakis Albert Hafner Willy Tinner A forest on the edge: Causes of synchronous Early Holocene forest declines in northern Greece and the implications for the introduction of farming to Europe Quaternary Environments and Humans Palaeoecology Climate change 8.2 ka event Mediterranean vegetation Introduction of farming |
| title | A forest on the edge: Causes of synchronous Early Holocene forest declines in northern Greece and the implications for the introduction of farming to Europe |
| title_full | A forest on the edge: Causes of synchronous Early Holocene forest declines in northern Greece and the implications for the introduction of farming to Europe |
| title_fullStr | A forest on the edge: Causes of synchronous Early Holocene forest declines in northern Greece and the implications for the introduction of farming to Europe |
| title_full_unstemmed | A forest on the edge: Causes of synchronous Early Holocene forest declines in northern Greece and the implications for the introduction of farming to Europe |
| title_short | A forest on the edge: Causes of synchronous Early Holocene forest declines in northern Greece and the implications for the introduction of farming to Europe |
| title_sort | forest on the edge causes of synchronous early holocene forest declines in northern greece and the implications for the introduction of farming to europe |
| topic | Palaeoecology Climate change 8.2 ka event Mediterranean vegetation Introduction of farming |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950236525000088 |
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