Holocene Vegetation Dynamics and First Land-Cover Estimates in the Auvergne Mountains (Massif Central, France): Key Tools to Landscape Management

Abstract

A multi-proxy palaeoecological investigation has been undertaken at high spatio-temporal resolution in the Lower Auvergne Mountains (France). It allows us to investigate the Holocene trajectories of landscape evolution arising from the interplay between human impact and adaptability, climate oscillations and environmental evolution. The mechanistic models for the regional vegetation reconstruction applied here provide the first quantification of land cover changes in this region. The results obtained allow an improved understanding of past vegetation dynamics and a discussion of: (1) the natural variability of the vegetation to climate oscillations; (2) the development of the cultural landscape and the land uses involved; (3) the timing and the extent of the landscape openness; and (4) the richness in vegetation units within the landscape mosaic measured by the floristic diversity. These long-term changes highlight the sensitivity of these mountainous landscapes: having formed socio-ecosystems that have been shaped over millennia. It is therefore crucial to consider this ecological and cultural heritage when directing future sustainable management plans.