Origin and evolution of the Mediterranean vegetation and climate in Europe

Suc, Jean‐Pierre

doi:10.1038/307429a0

Cited by 630 publications

(421 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…These Mediterranean conditions developed during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene when summer rainfall decreased greatly (Suc 1984). At present, Mediterranean regions occupy only about 1% of the Earth's surface mostly around the Mediterranean Basin.…”

Section: Evolution Of Vegetation In the Iberian Peninsula And The Cormentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways for resilience in Mediterranean cork oak land use systems

Acácio¹,

Holmgren²

2012

Annals of Forest Science

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Context Loss of woodlands and degradation of vegetation and soil have been described for all Mediterranean-type ecosystems worldwide. In the Western Iberian Peninsula, overexploitation of evergreen cork oak land use systems has led to soil erosion, failures in oak recruitment, and loss of forests. Degraded and dry sites are quickly colonised by pioneer heathland rockrose (Cistus spp.) shrubs forming highly persistent patches. Aims Although traditionally shrublands have been considered as a transient successional state, we present evidence that they can represent persistent alternative states to former cork oak forests. Review trends and conclusions We first describe how Mediterranean vegetation evolved in the Iberian Peninsula and the role of fire and long-term human management as main disturbances. We then discuss alternative pathways through state-and-transition models indicating the ecological and land use variables that halt cork oak regeneration and recruitment and drive vegetation transitions towards persistent shrublands. Unless concerted management actions and restoration programmes are undertaken, the cork oak land use systems will not be sustainable.

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Section: Evolution Of Vegetation In the Iberian Peninsula And The Cormentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways for resilience in Mediterranean cork oak land use systems

Acácio¹,

Holmgren²

2012

Annals of Forest Science

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“…Some of the factors that were previously thought to have somewhat increased terrigenous sedimentation, such as climate and tectonic uplift, are now considered to have had only a minor effect. Indeed, the climate varied very little from 5.46 to 3.37 Ma (Suc, 1984;Suc et al, 1995b;Popescu et al, 2010). Most of the modern altitude of the Eastern Pyrenees was acquired at the earliest Zanclean and the uplift then continued in a constant but moderate way (Suc and Fauquette, 2012).…”

Section: Attempt At Correlation With Sea Level Fluctuationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Roussillon Basin (S. France): A case-study to distinguish local and regional events between 6 and 3 Ma

Clauzon

Strat²,

Duvail³

et al. 2015

Marine and Petroleum Geology

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The Roussillon Basin is a non-silled Miocene sedimentary basin filling a late Oligocene-early Miocene graben. The basin was intensively impacted by the 2 Messinian fluvial erosion, as evidenced in exposed sections, in seismic profiles and in deep boreholes drilled for hydrocarbon exploration. As the basin was open to the Mediterranean Sea, the huge drop in sea level at the peak of the Messinian Salinity Crisis is clearly recorded, along with the subsequent sudden marine reflooding and the resulting prograding sedimentary filling, particularly in Gilbert-type fan deltas. Here, the Messinian Erosional Surface (MES) is accurately mapped in a high-resolution document, which corrects the confusion resulting from the set of 1:50,000 scale regional maps. Aim of the 3D reconstruction of the MES is to modernize geological mapping, a crucial challenge for Mediterranean and peripheral areas. Thanks to a reliable chronostratigraphy provided by planktonic foraminifers, calcareous nannofossils, micro-and macro-mammal remains, paleomagnetism and a 10 Be cosmogenic nuclide-derived study, our reconstruction is one of the most comprehensive models of changes in sea level from 6 to 3 Ma. After the marine reflooding of the Mediterranean Basin at 5.46 Ma, the fluctuations in sea level recorded in the Roussillon Basin were forced by global changes. Following reflooding, the Prades large olistostrome collapsed prepared by the previous exhumation along the Canigou fault. The olistostrome is a good example of a local accident resulting from Messinian events. The exceptional changes in sea level at the peak of the Messinian Salinity Crisis deeply marked the Roussillon Basin, momentarily overprinting the Pyrenean orogenesis.

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“…Cerling et al, 1997;Krijgsman et al, 1999). However, very few endemic Iberian species seem to have originated during the period in which the Mediterranean climate time was established, or at the start of the glaciations (3.2-2.3 Myr ago, Suc, 1984) (Table 2; Ribera & Vogler, in press).…”

Section: Geographical Origin Of the Iberian Endemicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Iberian endemics Iberian? A case-study using water beetles of family Dytiscidae (Coleoptera)

Ribera¹

2003

GRAELLSIA

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The phylogenetic relationships and the geographical origin of 27 of the 34 species and of 3 of the 9 subspecies of Iberian endemic Dytiscidae are studied, based on species level phylogenies constructed with two mitochondrial gene fragments (16S rRNA and Cytochrome Oxidase I). All Iberian endemic species for which more than one specimen was included were monophyletic with the exception of the complex Deronectes aubei sanfilippoi Fery & Brancucci, 1997-D. delarouzei (Jac. Du Val, 1857 (Sharp, 1872) and Hydroporus normandi normandi Régimbart, 1903 do not form well characterised lineages, as measured with the mitochondrial markers used in this study.The Iberian endemic species of Dytiscidae are divided in three groups according to the type of vicariant origin: 1) within-Iberian species, when the sister species (or clade) of the Iberian endemic is also and Iberian endemic; 2) Iberian/European, when the sister occurs in Europe north of the Pyrenees; and 3) Iberian/North African, when the sister occurs in North Africa. Within-Iberian endemics are found to be on average older than Iberian/European and Iberian/North African species, they have more restricted distributions within the Iberian peninsula (they occur typically in only one of the main biogeographical regions), and tend to occur exclusively in running waters. The withinIberian species are best represented by the "Iberian" clade of the genus Deronectes, formed by six endemic species plus two species with wider distributions. Most species in this group originated in rapid succession in the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene boundary by repeated vicariant events in the three main mountain massifs in the Iberian peninsula: the Pyrenees, the Baetic ranges, and the Sistema Central plus mountain massifs of the NW. On the contrary, most of the Iberian/European species seem to be the recent (Pleistocene) vicariants of a species with a widespread distribution encompassing the Iberian peninsula, at present restricted to south and west of the Ebro valley. The results of these analyses suggest that the Iberian peninsula was an isolated refuge during the Quaternary glaciations, in where allopatric speciation was frequent among some lineages of Dytiscidae diving beetles.

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Origin and evolution of the Mediterranean vegetation and climate in Europe

Cited by 630 publications

References 12 publications

Pathways for resilience in Mediterranean cork oak land use systems

Pathways for resilience in Mediterranean cork oak land use systems

The Roussillon Basin (S. France): A case-study to distinguish local and regional events between 6 and 3 Ma

Are Iberian endemics Iberian? A case-study using water beetles of family Dytiscidae (Coleoptera)

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