Dapples, Florence; Lotter, André F.; van Leeuwen, Jacqueline; van der Knaap, Willem Oscar; Dimitriadis, Sophia; Oswald, Daniel (2002). Paleolimnological evidence for increased landslide activity due to forest clearing and land-use since 3600 cal BP in the western Swiss Alps. Journal of Paleolimnology, 27(2), pp. 239-248. Springer 10.1023/A:1014215501407
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Schwarzsee is located in the western Swiss Alps, in a region that has been affected by numerous landslides during the Holocene, as evidenced by geological surveys. Lacustrine sediments were cored to a depth of 13 m. The vegetation history of the lake's catchment was reconstructed and investigated to identify possible impacts on slope stability. The pollen analyses record development of forest cover during the middle and late Holocene, and provide strong evidence for regional anthropogenic influence such as forest clearing and agricultural activity. Vegetation change is characterized by continuous landscape denudation that begins at ca. 4300 cal. yrs BP, with five distinct pulses of increased deforestation, at 3650, 2700, 1500, 900, and 450 cal. yrs BP. Each pulse can be attributed to increased human impact, recorded by the appearance or increase of specific anthropogenic indicator plant taxa. These periods of intensified deforestation also appear to be correlated with increased landslide activity in the lake's catchment and increased turbidite frequency in the sediment record. Therefore, this study gives new evidence for a strong influence of vegetation changes on slope stability during the middle and late Holocene in the western Swiss Alps, and may be used as a case study for anthropogenically induced landslide activity.
Item Type: |
Journal Article (Original Article) |
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Division/Institute: |
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) > Palaeoecology 08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) |
UniBE Contributor: |
Lotter, André Franz, van Leeuwen, Jacqueline Francisca, van der Knaap, Pim |
Subjects: |
500 Science > 580 Plants (Botany) |
ISSN: |
0921-2728 |
Publisher: |
Springer |
Language: |
English |
Submitter: |
Peter Alfred von Ballmoos-Haas |
Date Deposited: |
02 Jun 2016 08:08 |
Last Modified: |
02 Mar 2023 23:27 |
Publisher DOI: |
10.1023/A:1014215501407 |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
lake deposits, vegetation history, pollen, landslides, western Swiss Alps, late-Holocene |
BORIS DOI: |
10.7892/boris.81030 |
URI: |
https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/81030 |
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