Holocene climates of the Iberian Peninsula: pollen-based reconstructions of changes in the west–east gradient of temperature and moisture
-
Published:2023-04-05
Issue:4
Volume:19
Page:803-834
-
ISSN:1814-9332
-
Container-title:Climate of the Past
-
language:en
-
Short-container-title:Clim. Past
Author:
Liu Mengmeng, Shen YichengORCID, González-Sampériz Penelope, Gil-Romera GracielaORCID, ter Braak Cajo J. F., Prentice Iain ColinORCID, Harrison Sandy P.ORCID
Abstract
Abstract. The Iberian Peninsula is characterized by a steep west–east moisture gradient at present, reflecting the dominance of maritime influences along the Atlantic coast and more Mediterranean-type climate further east. Holocene pollen records from the Peninsula suggest that this gradient was less steep during the mid-Holocene, possibly reflecting the impact of orbital changes on circulation and thus regional patterns in climate. Here, we use 7214 pollen samples from 117 sites covering part or all of the last 12 000 years to reconstruct changes in seasonal temperature and in moisture across the Iberian Peninsula quantitatively. We show that there is an increasing trend in winter temperature at a regional scale, consistent with known changes in winter insolation. However, summer temperatures do not show the decreasing trend through the Holocene that would be expected if they were a direct response to insolation forcing. We show that summer temperature is strongly correlated with plant-available moisture (α), as measured by the ratio of actual evapotranspiration to equilibrium evapotranspiration, which declines through the Holocene. The reconstructions also confirm that the west–east gradient in moisture was considerably less steep during the mid-Holocene than today, indicating that atmospheric circulation changes (possibly driven by orbital changes) have been important determinants of the Holocene climate of the region.
Funder
H2020 European Research Council Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Subject
Paleontology,Stratigraphy,Global and Planetary Change
Reference194 articles.
1. Abel-Schaad, D. and López-Sáez, J. A.:
Vegetation changes in relation to fire history and human activities at the Peña Negra mire (Bejar Range, Iberian Central Mountain System, Spain) during the past 4,000 years,
Veg. Hist. Archaeobot., 22, 199–214, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-012-0368-9, 2013. 2. Abel-Schaad, D., Hernández-Carretero, A. M., López-Merino, L., Pulido-Díaz, F. J., and López-Sáez, J. A.: Cabras y quemorros: tres siglos de cambios en el paisaje de la vertiente extremeña de la Sierra de Gredos, Rev. Estud. Extremenos, 65, 449–478, 2009a. 3. Abel-Schaad, D., Hernández, A., López-Sáez, J. A., Pulido-Díaz, F. J., López-Merino, L., and Martínez-Cortizas, A.: Evolución de la vegetación en la Sierra de Gata (Cáceres–Salamanca, España) durante el Holoceno reciente. Implicaciones biogeográficas, Rev. Española Micropaleontol., 41, 91–105, 2009b. 4. Abel-Schaad, D., Alba-Sánchez, F., Pérez-Díaz, S., and López-Sáez, J. A.:
36. Praillos de Boissier mire, Tejeda Natural Park (Baetic Range, southern Spain),
Grana, 56, 475–477, 2017. 5. Alba-Sánchez, F., López-Sáez, J. A., Abel-Schaad, D., Sabariego-Ruiz, S., Pérez-Díaz, S., González-Hernández, A., and Linares, J. C.: The impact of climate and land-use changes on the most southerly fir forests (Abies pinsapo) in Europe, The Holocene, 29, 1176–1188, 2019.
Cited by
3 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献
|
|