Can we characterise ‘openness’ in the Holocene palaeoenvironmental record? Modern analogue studies of insect faunas and pollen spectra from Dunham Massey deer park and Epping Forest, England

Smith, David; Whitehouse, Nicki J.; Bunting, M. Jane; Chapman, Henry

doi:10.1177/0959683609350392

Cited by 46 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…1. Case studies in the application of archaeological science methods to understand past human-mediated biological translocations and transformations relating to the following: global colonization, origins and spread of food production, island colonization, and trade and urbanization (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18).…”

Section: Four Key Phases Of Anthropogenic Transformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological consequences of human niche construction: Examining long-term anthropogenic shaping of global species distributions

Boivin

Zeder

Fuller

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

674

490

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The exhibition of increasingly intensive and complex niche construction behaviors through time is a key feature of human evolution, culminating in the advanced capacity for ecosystem engineering exhibited by Homo sapiens. A crucial outcome of such behaviors has been the dramatic reshaping of the global biosphere, a transformation whose early origins are increasingly apparent from cumulative archaeological and paleoecological datasets. Such data suggest that, by the Late Pleistocene, humans had begun to engage in activities that have led to alterations in the distributions of a vast array of species across most, if not all, taxonomic groups. Changes to biodiversity have included extinctions, extirpations, and shifts in species composition, diversity, and community structure. We outline key examples of these changes, highlighting findings from the study of new datasets, like ancient DNA (aDNA), stable isotopes, and microfossils, as well as the application of new statistical and computational methods to datasets that have accumulated significantly in recent decades. We focus on four major phases that witnessed broad anthropogenic alterations to biodiversity-the Late Pleistocene global human expansion, the Neolithic spread of agriculture, the era of island colonization, and the emergence of early urbanized societies and commercial networks. Archaeological evidence documents millennia of anthropogenic transformations that have created novel ecosystems around the world. This record has implications for ecological and evolutionary research, conservation strategies, and the maintenance of ecosystem services, pointing to a significant need for broader cross-disciplinary engagement between archaeology and the biological and environmental sciences.biodiversity | extinctions | invasive species | novel ecosystems | Anthropocene The reshaping of global biodiversity is one of the most significant impacts humans have had on Earth's ecosystems. As our planet experiences its sixth "mass extinction event" (1), the effect of anthropogenic landscape modification, habitat fragmentation, overexploitation, and species invasions could not be more apparent (2, 3). These transformations are linked largely to the industrial economies, burgeoning populations, and dense transport networks of contemporary human societies. Accordingly, the humanmediated alteration of species distributions has been characterized as a modern phenomenon with limited, and largely insignificant, historical antecedents. This conventional understanding fails to account for several decades of archaeological, paleoecological, and genetic research that reveal a long and widespread history of human transformation of global biodiversity (4-6). The evolutionary trajectory of Homo sapiens has seen growing capacities for advanced cognition and demographic and geographic expansion, along with an exponential increase in the scope and impact of human niche constructing activities (7) that have culminated in fundamental changes to planetary ecosystems.Drawing upon findings from ...

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Section: Four Key Phases Of Anthropogenic Transformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological consequences of human niche construction: Examining long-term anthropogenic shaping of global species distributions

Boivin

Zeder

Fuller

et al. 2016

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

674

490

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The impact of such practices on vegetation cover is difficult to interpret from dung beetle data (see Smith et al, 2010Smith et al, , 2014 but the presence of cattle or important density of endemic mammals such as Prolagus sardus could have played a significant role in the opening of the vegetation.…”

Section: An Early Human Imprint Inferred From Beetles?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene environmental history of a small Mediterranean island in response to sea-level changes, climate and human impact

Poher

Ponel

Mèdail

et al. 2017

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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“…To provide enough territories for allowing their crop plants to grow and their livestock to feed, agriculturalist humans have cleared originally forested areas (e.g., Godwin, 1944;Iversen, 1956;Williams, 2000Williams, , 2008Smith et al, 2010c;Alenius et al, 2013), in many cases with the help of fire (e.g., Iversen, 1956;Bennett et al, 1990;Moore, 2000). Improving the recycling of soil nutrients through plowing or adding animal organic waste (manuring) modified the local nutrient balance to increase the productivity and yield of the planted crops (e.g., Bogaard, 2005;Bogaard et al, 2013;Lauer et al, 2014).…”

Section: Ecological Functions Of Agricultural Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Rise of the Anthroposphere since 50,000 Years: An Ecological Replacement of Megaherbivores by Humans in Terrestrial Ecosystems?

Bocherens

2018

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Megaherbivores fulfilled a number of important ecological functions in terrestrial ecosystems and behaved as ecological engineers since 300 million years until around 12,000 years ago. These essential ecological functions include opening vegetation cover, selective seed dispersal and nutrient recycling and spreading. Thanks to these effects, megaherbivores change the vegetation structure where they live, with cascading effects on smaller herbivores and also on climate. The late Pleistocene extinction strongly impacted the megaherbivores almost all over the world and led to the loss of these important ecological functions in terrestrial ecosystems. These functions were partially restored by agriculturist humans through an ecological replacement that occurred through an ecological shift within the species Homo sapiens. A better understanding of the differences and similarities between the ecological impacts of megaherbivores and those of agricultural humans should help to predict the future of terrestrial ecosystems.

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Can we characterise ‘openness’ in the Holocene palaeoenvironmental record? Modern analogue studies of insect faunas and pollen spectra from Dunham Massey deer park and Epping Forest, England

Cited by 46 publications

References 52 publications

Ecological consequences of human niche construction: Examining long-term anthropogenic shaping of global species distributions

Ecological consequences of human niche construction: Examining long-term anthropogenic shaping of global species distributions

Holocene environmental history of a small Mediterranean island in response to sea-level changes, climate and human impact

The Rise of the Anthroposphere since 50,000 Years: An Ecological Replacement of Megaherbivores by Humans in Terrestrial Ecosystems?

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