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Vegetation and environmental conditions in the Doñana Natural Park coastal area (SW Iberia) at the beginning of the last glacial cycle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

César Morales-Molino ,
José María Postigo-Mijarra ,
Mercedes García-Antón  and
Cari Zazo
César Morales-Molino*
Affiliation:
Dpto. de Silvopascicultura, E.T.S.I. Montes, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain Dpto. de Biología (Botánica), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
José María Postigo-Mijarra
Affiliation:
Dpto. de Silvopascicultura, E.T.S.I. Montes, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain
Mercedes García-Antón
Affiliation:
Dpto. de Biología (Botánica), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain
Cari Zazo
Affiliation:
Dpto. de Geología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, C.S.I.C., c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal no. 2, 28006-Madrid, Spain
*
⁎Corresponding author. Dpto. de Silvopascicultura, E.T.S.I. Montes, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
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Abstract

Detailed reconstructions of the vegetation of Iberia during the last glacial inception are rare due to the limited number of terrestrial sites recording this period. Active retreat of El Asperillo cliff, located on the Atlantic coast of southwestern Iberia, has exposed a fossil organic level dating back to one of the early stades of the last glacial cycle. Pollen and macrofossil analyses from this site show that the Doñana area was covered mainly by steppic vegetation; temperate trees survived the coldest periods, albeit in reduced numbers. Mediterranean taxa are extremely reduced, in contrast with other dry areas of southern Iberia over this time span. This vegetation suggests cold and arid climatic conditions, in accordance with paleoclimatic reconstructions based on several Atlantic marine cores.

Keywords

Late PleistoceneBiogeographyMyricaPollenCoastal geomorphologyCold stageFossil woodMacrofossil
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 75 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 205 - 212
Copyright
University of Washington

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