A study of the post-glacial vegetation in "Montes do Buio" (NW Spain)

Resumen

Although recent works have utilized longer sequences and contain a number of absolute dates, there is still insufficient information to provide a full ac-count of the vegetation history in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. This work presents palynological analysis of three peat-bogs and a coastal organic-sediment de-posit that were carried out the goal to complete the data of the vegetation change after the transition Younger Dryas/Holocene in the NW of the Iberian Peninsula. This work presents four pollen sequences from Montes do Buio covering the last ca. 10000 yrs. The most important results are: I.-The taxa that best reflect the climatic changes and main stages of vegetation dynamics, since the last phases of the Lateglacial until the present are oak, hazelnut, birch, scot-pine, gramineae, heather and certain other more specific elements. 2.-To confirm the early retreat of scot-pine as a main component of the regional vegetation (9000 years ago), which did not occur in the higher mountains situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. 3.-To confirm the early expansion of oak, almost synchronously with the presence of the hazelnut (9800 years ago). To confirm the early development of hazelnut (8770 years ago), the presence of elm, so the early appearance of alder (9800 years ago) and its expansion after 6000 yr BR