Christopher Carcaillet
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 3453378 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Christopher Carcaillet |
| NOMBRES | Christopher |
| APELLIDO | Carcaillet |
| FIRMA | CARCAILLET C |
| AFILIACIONES | Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6632-1507 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 26 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 104 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 26 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 1996 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2025 |
| ÍNDICE H | 6 |
Evenness peaks in fire-resilient vegetation preceded ecosystem shifts in East Africa
Fire is often assumed to be a key driver in shaping tropical vegetation structure and composition in grass-dominated ecosystems, while forests experience infrequent but impactful fires that influence ecosystem resilience. Although short-term interactions between fire and vegetation are well-documented, long-term dynamics remain underexplored. This study examines fire regimes, vegetation dynamics, and its biodiversity over the past 17 000 years in…
Geochemistry and Sedimentology of a Minerotrophic Peat in a Western Mediterranean Mountain Wilderness Area
Sedimentological and biogeochemical measurements were conducted on minerotrophic peat in a wilderness area on a granitic plateau to reconstruct the local ecosystem’s history and clarify the peat’s response to local and global changes. The peat is less than 1900 years old. Its clay and iron (Fe) concentration profiles revealed an increasing atmospheric influx over time, whereas the levels of its nutrients (P, K, Ca, Mg) have increased since the 19…
The reconstruction of burned area and fire severity using charcoal from boreal lake sediments
Although lacustrine sedimentary charcoal has long been used to infer paleofires, their quantitative reconstructions require improvements of the calibration of their links with fire regimes (i.e. occurrence, area, and severity) and the taphonomic processes that affect charcoal particles between the production and the deposition in lake sediments. Charcoal particles >150 μm were monitored yearly from 2011 to 2016 using traps submerged in seven head…
Global Modern Charcoal Dataset (GMCD)
Unlimited fuel wood during the middle Mesolithic (9650–8300 cal. yr BP) in northern Sweden
A fuel wood analysis based on the ‘Principle of Least Effort’ helps to decipher the ecological limitations imposed on prehistoric hunter-gatherers. This study is based on botanical identification of wood charcoal from ‘Swedish middle Mesolithic’ archaeological sites dating from between ca. 9650 and 8300 cal. yr BP in northern Sweden, a period when the land was freshly released from ice cover. Charcoal fragments were analysed based on their anatom…
Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire
As the permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon pool will be increasingly vulnerable to decomposition, combustion, and hydrologic export. Models predict that some portion of this release will be offset by increased production of Arctic and boreal biomass; however, the lack of robust estimates of net carbon balance increases the risk of further overshooting international emissions targets. Precise empirical or model-based assessments of t…
Estimating phytolith influx in lake sediments
So far, no phytolith extraction protocols have been tested for accuracy and repeatability. Here we aim to display a phytolith extraction method combining the strengths of two widely used protocols, supplemented with silica microspheres as exogenous markers for quantifying phytolith concentrations. Phytolith concentrations were estimated for samples from two sedimentary sequences in which numerical age–depth models make it possible to calculate ph…
A comparison of charcoal measurements for reconstruction of Mediterranean paleo-fire frequency in the mountains of Corsica
Fire-history reconstructions inferred from sedimentary charcoal records are based on measuring sieved charcoal fragment area, estimating fragment volume, or counting fragments. Similar fire histories are reconstructed from these three approaches for boreal lake sediment cores, using locally defined thresholds. Here, we test the same approach for a montane Mediterranean lake in which taphonomical processes might differ from boreal lakes through fr…
Calibration of charcoal production from trees biomass for soil charcoal analyses in subalpine ecosystems
Tracking land-cover changes with sedimentary charcoal in the Afrotropics
Fires have played an important role in creating and maintaining savannas over the centuries and are also one of the main natural disturbances in forests. The functional role of fires in savannas and forests can be investigated through examining sedimentary charcoal in order to reconstruct long-term fire history. However, the relationship between charcoal and vegetation structure in tropical grassy ecosystems remains to be elucidated. Here, we com…
Woody vegetation, fuel and fire track the melting of the Scandinavian ice-sheet before 9500 cal yr BP
New studies indicate the presence of early Holocene ice-free areas far north in Scandinavia. Post-glacial fire and vegetation were investigated based on sedimentary charcoal and pollen from two small lakes in northern Sweden. Accumulation of organic sediment started around 10,900 and 9200 cal yr BP, showing that both lake valleys were ice-free extremely early given their northerly location. Fire events started after 9600 cal yr BP and became less…
Climatic control of the biomass-burning decline in the Americas after ad 1500
The significance and cause of the decline in biomass burning across the Americas after ad 1500 is a topic of considerable debate. We synthesized charcoal records (a proxy for biomass burning) from the Americas and from the remainder of the globe over the past 2000 years, and compared these with paleoclimatic records and population reconstructions. A distinct post-ad 1500 decrease in biomass burning is evident, not only in the Americas, but also g…
Needle accumulation rate model-based reconstruction of palaeo-tree biomass in the western subalpine Alps
An appropriate bioproxy is required to decipher Holocene tree biomass dynamics from the stand scale in relation to local processes such as disturbance or global climate change. Here we used plant litter collected in traps placed in subalpine forests, and data on the surrounding stands, to develop calibration equations for converting the observed macroremain accumulation rates to tree biomass (basal area) values. The needle accumulation rate (NAR)…
The Traversette (Italia) Rockfall
Numerous small, low volume rockfalls around the crest of the Italian and French Alps, principally formed from calcareous mica schist and metabasalt, have impeded travel across the major cols for millennia. As documented by Polybius and Livy in the ancient literature, Hannibal's Army was blocked by a two‐tier rockfall on the lee side of the Alps, a rubble sheet of considerable volume that delayed his exit into the upper Po River Country. An in‐dep…
Hannibal's Invasion Route
The point of Hannibal's departure from New Carthage in Iberia, in 218 bc , and his subsequent march along the Mediterranean coast to the Pyrénées and on to the Rhône Basin, has been reconstructed by ancient historians with considerable accuracy. The latter 400‐km phase through the Alps, however, has been the subject of some controversy as to whether the Punic Army followed a southern versus a northern invasion route, or some intermediate variant.…
Comparing fire-history interpretations based on area, number and estimated volume of macroscopic charcoal in lake sediments
Sedimentary charcoal particles from lakes are commonly used to investigate fire history. Fire-history reconstructions are based on measuring the surface area or counting the number of charcoal fragments in adjacent samples. Recently, the volume of charcoal particles was advised as a more accurate method for quantifying past charcoal production. Large charcoal datasets, used to synthesize global fire history, include these different types of charc…
Trees in the subalpine belt since 11 700 cal. BP
High altitude alpine ecosystems are likely to be highly sensitive to future climate change. Understanding long-term tree stand dynamics may be a key requirement for forecasting such changes. Here, we present a high resolution record of paleobotanical macroremains covering the last 11 700 years, from a small subalpine pond situated in the inner French Alps, at 2035 m a.s.l. The early presence of larch ( Larix decidua), arolla pine ( Pinus cembra) …
Changes in fire regimes since the Last Glacial Maximum
Climate and human influences on global biomass burning over the past two millennia
Changes in fire regime explain the Holocene rise and fall of Abies balsamea in the coniferous forests of western Québec, Canada
The coniferous boreal forest of northeastern North America is characterized by large and severe fire events and dominated by black spruce ( Picea mariana ), with scattered patches of balsam fir ( Abies balsamea), a species otherwise predominant in the more southern mixedwood boreal forests, characterized by smaller and less severe fire events. Because balsam fir is a late-successional species ill-adapted to fire, this study aimed at determining i…
Sedimentary charcoal pattern in a karstic underground lake, Vercors massif, French Alps
Knowledge on processes of charcoal transportation is crucial for fire reconstruction based on sedimentary charcoal. Charcoal is susceptible to long-distance transport by water. A lake basin with a large and long catchment area is likely to accumulate charcoal from many fires, not only those produced by fires nearby the lakeshore. Here we test the potential of charcoal transportation by analysing sedimentary charcoal accumulated in an underground …
Comments on “The Full-Glacial Forests of Central and Southeastern Europe” by Willis et al .
Are Holocene wood-charcoal fragments stratified in alpine and subalpine soils? Evidence from the Alps based on AMS 14C dates
The possible stratification of charcoal particles buried in well-drained soil in the subalpine and alpine belts in an inner valley of the northwestern Alps (Savoy, France) is examined. Radiocarbon dating and quantification of charcoal fragments more than 400 μm in diameter were used to analyse the soil-depth distribution of charred wood particles between 1700 and 2600 m a.s.l. in two study areas 10 km apart in the same valley. Above 2100 m a.s.l.…
Comparison of pollen-slide and sieving methods in lacustrine charcoal analyses for local and regional fire history
The charcoal content from laminated lake sediments in Québec, Canada, was estimated from pollen slides and by a sieving method. The resulting charcoal series are compared to estimate the suitability of these two methods to provide a local or regional fire history. The replication of five different charcoal series from the sieving method shows that this method is suitable for fire-history reconstruction. In our laminated sediments, 1cm 3 is repres…
Variability in Fire Frequency and Forest Composition in Canada's Southeastern Boreal Forest
Bergeron, Y., P. Richard, C. Carcaillet, S. Gauthier, M. Flannigan and Y. T. Prairie 1998. Variability in Fire Frequency and Forest Composition in Canada's Southeastern Boreal Forest: A Challenge for Sustainable Forest Management. Conservation Ecology 2(2):6. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-00049-020206
Comparison of pollen-slide and sieving methods in lacustrine charcoal analyses for local and regional fire history
The charcoal content from laminated lake sediments in Québec, Canada, was estimated from pollen slides and by a sieving method. The resulting charcoal series are compared to estimate the suitability of these two methods to provide a local or regional fire history. The replication of five different charcoal series from the sieving method shows that this method is suitable for fire-history reconstruction. In our laminated sediments, 1cm 3 is repres…
Are Holocene wood-charcoal fragments stratified in alpine and subalpine soils? Evidence from the Alps based on AMS 14C dates
The possible stratification of charcoal particles buried in well-drained soil in the subalpine and alpine belts in an inner valley of the northwestern Alps (Savoy, France) is examined. Radiocarbon dating and quantification of charcoal fragments more than 400 μm in diameter were used to analyse the soil-depth distribution of charred wood particles between 1700 and 2600 m a.s.l. in two study areas 10 km apart in the same valley. Above 2100 m a.s.l.…
Tracking land-cover changes with sedimentary charcoal in the Afrotropics
Fires have played an important role in creating and maintaining savannas over the centuries and are also one of the main natural disturbances in forests. The functional role of fires in savannas and forests can be investigated through examining sedimentary charcoal in order to reconstruct long-term fire history. However, the relationship between charcoal and vegetation structure in tropical grassy ecosystems remains to be elucidated. Here, we com…
Climatic control of the biomass-burning decline in the Americas after ad 1500
The significance and cause of the decline in biomass burning across the Americas after ad 1500 is a topic of considerable debate. We synthesized charcoal records (a proxy for biomass burning) from the Americas and from the remainder of the globe over the past 2000 years, and compared these with paleoclimatic records and population reconstructions. A distinct post-ad 1500 decrease in biomass burning is evident, not only in the Americas, but also g…
Changes in fire regime explain the Holocene rise and fall of Abies balsamea in the coniferous forests of western Québec, Canada
The coniferous boreal forest of northeastern North America is characterized by large and severe fire events and dominated by black spruce ( Picea mariana ), with scattered patches of balsam fir ( Abies balsamea), a species otherwise predominant in the more southern mixedwood boreal forests, characterized by smaller and less severe fire events. Because balsam fir is a late-successional species ill-adapted to fire, this study aimed at determining i…
The reconstruction of burned area and fire severity using charcoal from boreal lake sediments
Although lacustrine sedimentary charcoal has long been used to infer paleofires, their quantitative reconstructions require improvements of the calibration of their links with fire regimes (i.e. occurrence, area, and severity) and the taphonomic processes that affect charcoal particles between the production and the deposition in lake sediments. Charcoal particles >150 μm were monitored yearly from 2011 to 2016 using traps submerged in seven head…
The Traversette (Italia) Rockfall
Numerous small, low volume rockfalls around the crest of the Italian and French Alps, principally formed from calcareous mica schist and metabasalt, have impeded travel across the major cols for millennia. As documented by Polybius and Livy in the ancient literature, Hannibal's Army was blocked by a two‐tier rockfall on the lee side of the Alps, a rubble sheet of considerable volume that delayed his exit into the upper Po River Country. An in‐dep…
Hannibal's Invasion Route
The point of Hannibal's departure from New Carthage in Iberia, in 218 bc , and his subsequent march along the Mediterranean coast to the Pyrénées and on to the Rhône Basin, has been reconstructed by ancient historians with considerable accuracy. The latter 400‐km phase through the Alps, however, has been the subject of some controversy as to whether the Punic Army followed a southern versus a northern invasion route, or some intermediate variant.…
Trees in the subalpine belt since 11 700 cal. BP
High altitude alpine ecosystems are likely to be highly sensitive to future climate change. Understanding long-term tree stand dynamics may be a key requirement for forecasting such changes. Here, we present a high resolution record of paleobotanical macroremains covering the last 11 700 years, from a small subalpine pond situated in the inner French Alps, at 2035 m a.s.l. The early presence of larch ( Larix decidua), arolla pine ( Pinus cembra) …
Sedimentary charcoal pattern in a karstic underground lake, Vercors massif, French Alps
Knowledge on processes of charcoal transportation is crucial for fire reconstruction based on sedimentary charcoal. Charcoal is susceptible to long-distance transport by water. A lake basin with a large and long catchment area is likely to accumulate charcoal from many fires, not only those produced by fires nearby the lakeshore. Here we test the potential of charcoal transportation by analysing sedimentary charcoal accumulated in an underground …
Needle accumulation rate model-based reconstruction of palaeo-tree biomass in the western subalpine Alps
An appropriate bioproxy is required to decipher Holocene tree biomass dynamics from the stand scale in relation to local processes such as disturbance or global climate change. Here we used plant litter collected in traps placed in subalpine forests, and data on the surrounding stands, to develop calibration equations for converting the observed macroremain accumulation rates to tree biomass (basal area) values. The needle accumulation rate (NAR)…
Pedoanthracological contribution to the study of the evolution of the upper treeline in the Maurienne valley (North French Alps)
Variability in Fire Frequency and Forest Composition in Canada's Southeastern Boreal Forest
Bergeron, Y., P. Richard, C. Carcaillet, S. Gauthier, M. Flannigan and Y. T. Prairie 1998. Variability in Fire Frequency and Forest Composition in Canada's Southeastern Boreal Forest: A Challenge for Sustainable Forest Management. Conservation Ecology 2(2):6. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-00049-020206
Comments on “The Full-Glacial Forests of Central and Southeastern Europe” by Willis et al .
Are Holocene wood-charcoal fragments stratified in alpine and subalpine soils? Evidence from the Alps based on AMS 14C dates
The possible stratification of charcoal particles buried in well-drained soil in the subalpine and alpine belts in an inner valley of the northwestern Alps (Savoy, France) is examined. Radiocarbon dating and quantification of charcoal fragments more than 400 μm in diameter were used to analyse the soil-depth distribution of charred wood particles between 1700 and 2600 m a.s.l. in two study areas 10 km apart in the same valley. Above 2100 m a.s.l.…
Comparison of pollen-slide and sieving methods in lacustrine charcoal analyses for local and regional fire history
The charcoal content from laminated lake sediments in Québec, Canada, was estimated from pollen slides and by a sieving method. The resulting charcoal series are compared to estimate the suitability of these two methods to provide a local or regional fire history. The replication of five different charcoal series from the sieving method shows that this method is suitable for fire-history reconstruction. In our laminated sediments, 1cm 3 is repres…
Sedimentary charcoal pattern in a karstic underground lake, Vercors massif, French Alps
Knowledge on processes of charcoal transportation is crucial for fire reconstruction based on sedimentary charcoal. Charcoal is susceptible to long-distance transport by water. A lake basin with a large and long catchment area is likely to accumulate charcoal from many fires, not only those produced by fires nearby the lakeshore. Here we test the potential of charcoal transportation by analysing sedimentary charcoal accumulated in an underground …
Changes in fire regimes since the Last Glacial Maximum
Climate and human influences on global biomass burning over the past two millennia
Changes in fire regime explain the Holocene rise and fall of Abies balsamea in the coniferous forests of western Québec, Canada
The coniferous boreal forest of northeastern North America is characterized by large and severe fire events and dominated by black spruce ( Picea mariana ), with scattered patches of balsam fir ( Abies balsamea), a species otherwise predominant in the more southern mixedwood boreal forests, characterized by smaller and less severe fire events. Because balsam fir is a late-successional species ill-adapted to fire, this study aimed at determining i…
Comparing fire-history interpretations based on area, number and estimated volume of macroscopic charcoal in lake sediments
Sedimentary charcoal particles from lakes are commonly used to investigate fire history. Fire-history reconstructions are based on measuring the surface area or counting the number of charcoal fragments in adjacent samples. Recently, the volume of charcoal particles was advised as a more accurate method for quantifying past charcoal production. Large charcoal datasets, used to synthesize global fire history, include these different types of charc…
Trees in the subalpine belt since 11 700 cal. BP
High altitude alpine ecosystems are likely to be highly sensitive to future climate change. Understanding long-term tree stand dynamics may be a key requirement for forecasting such changes. Here, we present a high resolution record of paleobotanical macroremains covering the last 11 700 years, from a small subalpine pond situated in the inner French Alps, at 2035 m a.s.l. The early presence of larch ( Larix decidua), arolla pine ( Pinus cembra) …
The Traversette (Italia) Rockfall
Numerous small, low volume rockfalls around the crest of the Italian and French Alps, principally formed from calcareous mica schist and metabasalt, have impeded travel across the major cols for millennia. As documented by Polybius and Livy in the ancient literature, Hannibal's Army was blocked by a two‐tier rockfall on the lee side of the Alps, a rubble sheet of considerable volume that delayed his exit into the upper Po River Country. An in‐dep…
Hannibal's Invasion Route
The point of Hannibal's departure from New Carthage in Iberia, in 218 bc , and his subsequent march along the Mediterranean coast to the Pyrénées and on to the Rhône Basin, has been reconstructed by ancient historians with considerable accuracy. The latter 400‐km phase through the Alps, however, has been the subject of some controversy as to whether the Punic Army followed a southern versus a northern invasion route, or some intermediate variant.…
Needle accumulation rate model-based reconstruction of palaeo-tree biomass in the western subalpine Alps
An appropriate bioproxy is required to decipher Holocene tree biomass dynamics from the stand scale in relation to local processes such as disturbance or global climate change. Here we used plant litter collected in traps placed in subalpine forests, and data on the surrounding stands, to develop calibration equations for converting the observed macroremain accumulation rates to tree biomass (basal area) values. The needle accumulation rate (NAR)…
Woody vegetation, fuel and fire track the melting of the Scandinavian ice-sheet before 9500 cal yr BP
New studies indicate the presence of early Holocene ice-free areas far north in Scandinavia. Post-glacial fire and vegetation were investigated based on sedimentary charcoal and pollen from two small lakes in northern Sweden. Accumulation of organic sediment started around 10,900 and 9200 cal yr BP, showing that both lake valleys were ice-free extremely early given their northerly location. Fire events started after 9600 cal yr BP and became less…
Climatic control of the biomass-burning decline in the Americas after ad 1500
The significance and cause of the decline in biomass burning across the Americas after ad 1500 is a topic of considerable debate. We synthesized charcoal records (a proxy for biomass burning) from the Americas and from the remainder of the globe over the past 2000 years, and compared these with paleoclimatic records and population reconstructions. A distinct post-ad 1500 decrease in biomass burning is evident, not only in the Americas, but also g…
Estimating phytolith influx in lake sediments
So far, no phytolith extraction protocols have been tested for accuracy and repeatability. Here we aim to display a phytolith extraction method combining the strengths of two widely used protocols, supplemented with silica microspheres as exogenous markers for quantifying phytolith concentrations. Phytolith concentrations were estimated for samples from two sedimentary sequences in which numerical age–depth models make it possible to calculate ph…
A comparison of charcoal measurements for reconstruction of Mediterranean paleo-fire frequency in the mountains of Corsica
Fire-history reconstructions inferred from sedimentary charcoal records are based on measuring sieved charcoal fragment area, estimating fragment volume, or counting fragments. Similar fire histories are reconstructed from these three approaches for boreal lake sediment cores, using locally defined thresholds. Here, we test the same approach for a montane Mediterranean lake in which taphonomical processes might differ from boreal lakes through fr…
Calibration of charcoal production from trees biomass for soil charcoal analyses in subalpine ecosystems
Tracking land-cover changes with sedimentary charcoal in the Afrotropics
Fires have played an important role in creating and maintaining savannas over the centuries and are also one of the main natural disturbances in forests. The functional role of fires in savannas and forests can be investigated through examining sedimentary charcoal in order to reconstruct long-term fire history. However, the relationship between charcoal and vegetation structure in tropical grassy ecosystems remains to be elucidated. Here, we com…
Biomass offsets little or none of permafrost carbon release from soils, streams, and wildfire
As the permafrost region warms, its large organic carbon pool will be increasingly vulnerable to decomposition, combustion, and hydrologic export. Models predict that some portion of this release will be offset by increased production of Arctic and boreal biomass; however, the lack of robust estimates of net carbon balance increases the risk of further overshooting international emissions targets. Precise empirical or model-based assessments of t…
Unlimited fuel wood during the middle Mesolithic (9650–8300 cal. yr BP) in northern Sweden
A fuel wood analysis based on the ‘Principle of Least Effort’ helps to decipher the ecological limitations imposed on prehistoric hunter-gatherers. This study is based on botanical identification of wood charcoal from ‘Swedish middle Mesolithic’ archaeological sites dating from between ca. 9650 and 8300 cal. yr BP in northern Sweden, a period when the land was freshly released from ice cover. Charcoal fragments were analysed based on their anatom…
Global Modern Charcoal Dataset (GMCD)
The reconstruction of burned area and fire severity using charcoal from boreal lake sediments
Although lacustrine sedimentary charcoal has long been used to infer paleofires, their quantitative reconstructions require improvements of the calibration of their links with fire regimes (i.e. occurrence, area, and severity) and the taphonomic processes that affect charcoal particles between the production and the deposition in lake sediments. Charcoal particles >150 μm were monitored yearly from 2011 to 2016 using traps submerged in seven head…
Geochemistry and Sedimentology of a Minerotrophic Peat in a Western Mediterranean Mountain Wilderness Area
Sedimentological and biogeochemical measurements were conducted on minerotrophic peat in a wilderness area on a granitic plateau to reconstruct the local ecosystem’s history and clarify the peat’s response to local and global changes. The peat is less than 1900 years old. Its clay and iron (Fe) concentration profiles revealed an increasing atmospheric influx over time, whereas the levels of its nutrients (P, K, Ca, Mg) have increased since the 19…
Geography (22 obras) · Physical geography (19 obras) · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research (18 obras) · Environmental Science (16 obras) · Ecology (14 obras) · Fire effects on ecosystems (13 obras) · Archaeology (12 obras) · Charcoal (12 obras) · Ecosystem (12 obras) · Geology (12 obras)