Non-reversible geosystem destabilisation at 4200 cal. BP

Sedimentological, geochemical and botanical markers of soil erosion recorded in a Mediterranean alpine lake

Bibliographic Data

ID12266861
AuthorsE Brisset (0000-0001-8706-0505, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, corresponding author), Cécile Miramont (0000-0001-5462-0131, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, UMR 7263 IMBE (Technopôle de l’Arbois BP 80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex 04, France)), Frédéric Guiter (0000-0003-0044-2426, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, UMR 7263 IMBE (Technopôle de l’Arbois BP 80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex 04, France)), Edward J Anthony (0000-0001-6822-2417, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, Collège de France, UM 34 CEREGE (Technopôle de l’Arbois BP 80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex 04, France)), Kazuyo Tachikawa (0000-0002-9522-8600, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, Collège de France, UM 34 CEREGE (Technopôle de l’Arbois BP 80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex 04, France)), Jérôme Poulenard (0000-0003-0810-0308, Université de Savoie, CNRS, UMR 5204 EDYTEM (Pôle Montagne Campus scientifique, 73376 le-Bourget-du-Lac cedex, France)), Fabien Arnaud (0000-0002-8784-1384, Université de Savoie, CNRS, UMR 5204 EDYTEM (Pôle Montagne Campus scientifique, 73376 le-Bourget-du-Lac cedex, France)), Claire Delhon (0000-0002-7216-0148, Université Sophia Antipolis, CNRS, UMR 7264 CEPAM (Campus Saint-Jean-d’Angély, SJA3, 24 avenue des Diables Bleus, 06357 Nice cedex 04, France)), Jean‐Dominique Meunier (0000-0002-0017-5877, Centre de Recherche et d’Enseignement de Géosciences de l’Environnement), Jean-Dominique Meunier (Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, Collège de France, UM 34 CEREGE (Technopôle de l’Arbois BP 80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex 04, France)), Edouard Bard (0000-0002-7237-8622, Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, Collège de France, UM 34 CEREGE (Technopôle de l’Arbois BP 80, 13545 Aix-en-Provence cedex 04, France)), Franck Suméra (Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, UMR 7299 CCJ (Maison Méditerranéenne des Sciences de l’Homme, 5 rue du Château de l’Horloge BP 647, 13094 Aix-en-Provence, France))
Year2013
Volume23
Issue12
Pages1863-1874
Publication date2013-10-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Holocene (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0959-6836 • E-ISSN: 1477-0911
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0959683613508158
OpenAlexW2145067598
LanguageEN
Citations received21
References cited62

A 144-cm-long core was obtained in Lake Petit (2200 m a.s.l., Mediterranean French Alps) in order to reconstruct past interactions between humans, the environment and the climate over the last five millennia using a multidisciplinary approach involving sedimentological, geochemical and botanical analyses. We show a complex pattern of environmental transformation. From 4800 to 4200 cal. BP, podzol-type soils progressively developed under forest cover. This stable situation was interrupted by a major detrital pulse at 4200 cal. BP that we consider as a tipping point in the environmental history. At this point, pedogenetic processes drastically regressed, leading to the development of moderately weathered soils. More frequent detrital inputs are recorded since 3000 cal. BP (ad 1050) as the human impact significantly increased in the catchment area. We conclude that destabilisation of the environment was triggered by climate and exacerbated by human activities to a stage beyond resilience

Archaeology · Climate change · Drainage basin · Earth science · Erosion · Geography · Geomorphology · Holocene · Mediterranean climate · Physical geography · Podzol · Soil water · Vegetation (pathology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology · Oceanography · Soil Science