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Anthropogenic indicators in pollen diagrams in eastern France: a critical review

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Abstract

The focus of palaeoenvironmental sciences on past human activities and their impact on the environment necessitates a precise understanding of the history and functioning of past and present anthropogenic ecosystems. A process is outlined which uses palaeoenvironmental and historical documentation as well as present-day observations of vegetational changes from two different plant communities, which are characterised by a very specific anthropogenic flora: arable weeds and ruderals. This study is coupled with modern pollen deposition data to deduce a set of pollen types characteristic of the range of human activities practised in eastern France, a region rich in pollen data. First, phytogeographical analysis of the evolution of these plant communities since the Neolithic enables the comparison to be validated. By distinguishing between native plants and aliens introduced long ago (archaeophytes), or more recently (neophytes), and by refining their ecological characteristics, the method also enables identification of species that are strong indicators of human activities. Next, local pollen deposition in these vegetation types is examined with a number of statistical analyses (PCIA, Davis indices), confirming the relationships between a given vegetation community, its theoretical pollen rain and its actual pollen rain, thus distinguishing local and regional pollen indicators. Lastly, comparison of the results obtained by these two approaches leads to a critical synthesis of the traditional anthropogenic pollen indicators (Behre’s “indicator species”) in the study area and to the establishment of more specific local pollen indicators.

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Acknowledgments

Very special thanks are due to Fabrice Dessaint for conducting statistical analyses and to Stéphanie Thiébault and Véronique Zech-Matterne for valuable comments and discussion. Emmanuelle Rey, Michael Ilett and Margareta Tengberg commented on the manuscript and kindly improved our English. This investigation is a part of our doctoral thesis carried out under the supervision of Hervé Richard (LCE, University of Besançon, France) and François Bretagnolle (laboratory “Biologie et Gestion des Adventices”, INRA/University of Burgundy, France).

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  1. UMR 6566—Centre de Recherche en Archéologie, Archéosciences, Histoire (CReAAH), Laboratoire POLEN (Pôle Environnement Nantais), Université de Nantes, 2 Rue de la Houssinière, BP 92208, 44322, Nantes Cedex 3, France

    Cécile Brun

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  1. Cécile Brun
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Correspondence to Cécile Brun.

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Communicated by K.-E. Behre.

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Brun, C. Anthropogenic indicators in pollen diagrams in eastern France: a critical review. Veget Hist Archaeobot 20, 135–142 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-010-0277-8

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