Fires Control Spatial Variability of Subalpine Vegetation Dynamics During the Holocene in the Maurienne Valley (French Alps)

Due to stresses resulting from their high altitudes, subalpine forests are sensitive to disturbances, including fire. This study analyzes the long-term relationships between fire and subalpine vegetation in the western Alps. High-resolution analyses of charcoal, pollen, macroremains, and other palyn...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Écoscience (Sainte-Foy) 2009-01, Vol.16 (1), p.13-22
Main Authors: Genries, Aurélie, Muller, Serge D., Mercier, Lény, Bircker, Loïc, Carcaillet, Christopher
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acer
Alnus
altitude
charbon de bois
Charcoal
Climate change
disturbance
dynamique végétale
Ecosystems
fires
Forest ecology
lakes
Larix decidua
macroremains
macrorestes
montagne
mountain
Numéro thématique / Special feature
Paleoclimatology
perturbation
Pinus cembra
Pinus uncinata
plant communities
plant dynamics
Plants
Pollen
ponds
subalpine forests
Taxa
Trajectories
Vegetation
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Summary:Due to stresses resulting from their high altitudes, subalpine forests are sensitive to disturbances, including fire. This study analyzes the long-term relationships between fire and subalpine vegetation in the western Alps. High-resolution analyses of charcoal, pollen, macroremains, and other palynomorphs were performed on sedimentary cores from 2 small peaty ponds located above 2000 m asl. in the Maurienne valley, France. Results reveal similar long-term vegetation dynamics, with differences concerning the structure and composition of local and surrounding plant communities. The vegetation pattern appears partially related to local fire occurrence, which was most frequent between 8900 and 6500 cal. BP at one lake and between 4100 and 1800 cal. BP at the second. Fires notably triggered the development and occurrence of populations of Acer and Alnus incana-type during a 2000-y period and the asynchronous alteration of Pinus cembra forests at both sites. Results show that the low-competitive species, i.e., Larix decidua or Pinus uncinata, were never stimulated by increasing fire frequency. This highlights the past importance of local-scale processes such as fire, which favoured pioneer broad-leaved species but did not threaten the resilience of the subalpine forests dominated by the cembra pine. Nomenclature: Tutin et al., 1968–1993.
ISSN:1195-6860
2376-7626
DOI:10.2980/16-1-3180