Macrorremains evidence of anthropogenic recession of Pinus nigra Aiton in Northern Spain

Abstract

The natural forest landscape of the Duero Basin in Spain¿s Northern Meseta is now reduced to small masses, its demise largely owed to the intense agricultural and stock-raising use made of its lands. The composition of the scant natural masses suggests that formations dominated by broadleaved species once occupied a much greater area. This idea has led to the believe that pine trees have few place within the natural dynamics of this area (Carrión and Fernández, 2009). However, P. pinaster Aiton and P.pinea L. on low-land sandy areas, P. sylvestris L. and P.uncinata Ramond ex DC on mountain high areas have been demonstrated to have played an important role during the Holocene (Franco et al., 2005; Rubiales et al., 2010). The abundant plant remains and moulds of pine wood and cones found on Northern Meseta peat bogs and travertines, now demonstrate its presence on mid-lands during the Quaternary until the last millennia