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Landscape evolution and agro-sylvo-pastoral activities on the Gorgan Plain (NE Iran)in the last 6000 years

Shumilovskikh, Lyudmila S.; Hopper, Kristen; Djamali, Morteza; Ponel, Philippe; Demory, Franҫois; Rostek, Frauke; Tachikawa, Kazuyo; Bittmann, Felix; Golyeva, Alexandra; Guibal, Frédéric; Talon, Brigitte; Wang, Liang-Chi; Nezamabadi, Masoud; Bard, Edouard; Lahijani, Hamid; Nokandeh, Jebrael; Rekavandi, Hamid Omrani; de Beaulieu, Jacques-Louis; Sauer, Eberhard; Andrieu-Ponel, Valérie

Authors

Lyudmila S. Shumilovskikh

Morteza Djamali

Philippe Ponel

Franҫois Demory

Frauke Rostek

Kazuyo Tachikawa

Felix Bittmann

Alexandra Golyeva

Frédéric Guibal

Brigitte Talon

Liang-Chi Wang

Masoud Nezamabadi

Edouard Bard

Hamid Lahijani

Jebrael Nokandeh

Hamid Omrani Rekavandi

Jacques-Louis de Beaulieu

Eberhard Sauer

Valérie Andrieu-Ponel



Abstract

The Gorgan Plain (NE Iran) is characterized by fertile soils formed on a loess plateau and is at present primarily exploited for intensive agriculture. However, the timing and intensity of the human impact on the landscape in the past are still unclear. A sediment core, taken from the centre of the eastern Gorgan Plain in the Kongor Lake covering the major part of the Holocene from 6.1 to 0.8 ka (all ages are calibrated before present), has been studied for pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, botanical macroremains, insects, charcoal, geochemistry, biomarkers and magnetism in order to provide new insights into the evolution of the landscape and to estimate the intensity of human activities. The data obtained suggest a dry period between 5.9 and 3.9 ka and an increase in regional humidity afterwards with a maximum between 2.7 and 0.7 ka, during the period of the Persian empires (Achaemenid through Sasanian) and the Islamic era. The eastern part of the Gorgan Plain was characterized by open steppe landscapes during the last 6 ka, which most likely were used for pasture and at least since 2.7 ka for agriculture including arboriculture. The strongest anthropogenic impact on the environment around the Kongor site is documented during the Parthian and Sasanian Empires (200 BC–651 AD) and the Islamic era up to the eve of the Mongol invasion.

Citation

Shumilovskikh, L. S., Hopper, K., Djamali, M., Ponel, P., Demory, F., Rostek, F., …Andrieu-Ponel, V. (2016). Landscape evolution and agro-sylvo-pastoral activities on the Gorgan Plain (NE Iran)in the last 6000 years. Holocene, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683616646841

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 22, 2016
Online Publication Date Jun 1, 2016
Publication Date 2016
Deposit Date Jul 19, 2016
Journal Holocene
Print ISSN 0959-6836
Electronic ISSN 1477-0911
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Pages 1-16
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683616646841