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Ein paläoökologischer Beitrag zum besseren Verständnis der natürlichen Vegetation der Schweiz

A paleoecological contribution to assess the natural vegetation of Switzerland

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An Erratum to this article was published on 11 February 2011

An Erratum to this article was published on 11 February 2011

Zusammenfassung

Wie natürlich oder naturnah ist eine Pflanzengemeinschaft oder eine Landschaft? Diese Frage ist von Interesse, wenn wir verstehen wollen, wie unsere heutigen Landschaften entstanden sind. Noch wichtiger ist sie aber, wenn abgeschätzt werden muss, welche Massnahmen zum Schutz und zur Bewahrung der Funktionen eines bestimmten Vegetations-, Umwelt- oder Landschaftstyps notwendig sind. Wir fassen hier die Erkenntnisse aus über 30 paläoökologischen Untersuchen zur postglazialen Vegetationsgeschichte in der Schweiz zusammen. Die Kombination von Pollen- und Makrorestauswertungen sowie die Untersuchung von mikro- und makroskopischen Holzkohle-Partikeln und der Vergleich mit Klimaindikatoren ermöglicht es, die Vegetationsentwicklung mit hoher zeitlicher und räumlicher Auflösung zu rekonstruieren. Gemeinsame Trends bei der Vegetationsentwicklung gehen vorwiegend auf die Klimadynamik zurück, es gibt aber nennenswerte Unterschiede in Abhängigkeit vom Bodentyp, der menschlichen Aktivität (besonders unter Einsatz des Feuers) oder der Höhenlage. Verschiedene Waldtypen, die bis anhin unter den jeweiligen Klimabedingungen als natürlich betrachtet wurden, sind das Resultat menschlicher Landnutzung über die Jahrtausende, insbesondere ist die Dominanz einzelner weniger Baumarten in den Wäldern der Schweiz anthropogen bedingt. Umgekehrt wurden lokale, isolierte Bestände nicht als Relikte natürlicher Wälder betrachtet. Die Vielfalt der Waldvegetation hat also stark abgenommen, während dem die gesamte Biodiversität stark zugenommen hat, vorwiegend als Folge der Ausbreitung von Offenlandarten durch landwirtschaftliche Tätigkeiten. Die Paläoökologie hat also dazu beigetragen, die Natürlichkeit von Pflanzengesellschaften neu einzuschätzen und die Reaktionsweisen auf Störungen besser zu verstehen. In diesem Sinne stellen wir neue Projekte vor, in denen die Paläoökologie eingesetzt wird, um Kenntnisse zu gewinnen, die für Naturschutz, Waldbau und die Planung von Nationalparks unentbehrlich sind.

Abstract

How natural is a plant community or landscape in a given region? This question is essential for understanding the origin of today’s vegetation as well as for nature conservation and vegetation management. Here we summarize results of over 30 recent paleoecological studies about postglacial vegetation development in Switzerland. The combination of pollen and macrofossil analyses, charcoal analyses and climatic indicators allows the reconstruction of vegetation development with high spatial and temporal resolution. Natural changes, largely related to climatic fluctuations, could be distinguished from changes induced by human land use. Results show general trends across Switzerland as well as remarkable regional differences in vegetation development according to local climate, altitude, bedrock, fire regime and human activity. Several forest types, which used to be regarded as natural vegetation under the current climate, could only establish after extensive human disturbance, so that their dominance is partly anthropogenic. Conversely, local isolated stands were not recognized to be relicts of formerly widespread natural forest types. The diversity of the forests strongly decreased whereas total biodiversity increased, mainly as a consequence of the creation of open land for agricultural purposes. Thus, paleoecology has shed new light on the naturalness of plant communities and their vulnerability to disturbance. We conclude by giving examples of how paleoecological knowledge can be applied in nature conservation, forest management and projects for national parks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research and Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland

    Erika Gobet, Elisa Vescovi & Willy Tinner

  2. C.N.R., Institute for the Environmental Dynamics, via Pasubio 5, 24044, Dalmine, Italy

    Elisa Vescovi

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  1. Erika Gobet
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  2. Elisa Vescovi
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  3. Willy Tinner
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Correspondence to Erika Gobet.

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Responsible editor: Sabine Güsewell.

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00035-011-0088-2

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Gobet, E., Vescovi, E. & Tinner, W. Ein paläoökologischer Beitrag zum besseren Verständnis der natürlichen Vegetation der Schweiz. Bot. Helv. 120, 105–115 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00035-010-0080-2

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