OLEA · Olea expansion and mosaic Landscape formation in an island Environment since human Arrival
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2020-10-01 → 2022-09-30
- EU contribution
- €171,473
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Olea expansion and mosaic Landscape formation in an island Environment since human Arrival
The OLEA-project is focused on the study of mosaic landscape formation and olive tree cultivation in the Balearic Islands during the Holocene, with special focus after the human arrival. When investigating such landscapes, islands provide vital insights for understanding cultural and environmental processes through time because they tend to amplify geographical and cultural determinants, and they appear more vulnerable and less resilient to change than mainland. While several palynological studies in the Balearics have been carried out, the vegetation dynamics in response to the human practices and fire regime are not yet fully understood despite these being crucial for understanding the observed environmental changes. Mosaic landscapes are one of the main features of Mediterranean landscapes. Mosaic landscape implies a balance between peasant communities and the rural and natural environment. They also entail numerous direct and indirect benefits such as fire suppression, reduced erosion, sustainable management, etc. Understanding the when, why, and how of mosaic landscapes can be faced through palaeoecological research. Integrated palaeoecological and archaeological approaches are key tools to reconstruct landscape changes, anthropization rhythms and the understanding of sylvo-agropastoral practices through times. The olive tree is a prominent feature of current circum-Mediterranean landscapes and a fundamental element of the modern Mediterranean agricultural economy, it is one of the most important trees in the Mediterranean basin, economically and because of its cultural and symbolic value. This tree is one of the prominent species in maquis and garrigues from the Balearic Islands, but we do not have clear interpretations about its arrival or when the cultivation of olive trees started. OLEA-project aimed to: a) understand the drivers implied in the spread of Olea macchia; b) trace back the history of Olea horticulture and management since the earliest human arrival to the Balearic Islands; c) assess the role of human activities and climate change in the formation and evolution of mosaic landscapes in the Balearic Islands, and d) identify how newcomers and colonisation or abandonment processes produced new types of landscapes.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
The Mediterranean sylvo-agropastoral landscapes resulting from a long-term co-evolutionary process between socio-environmental and climate variables are at the centre of interest for environmental and social key issues linked to the creation of mosaic landscape. Islands provide vital insights for understanding cultural and environmental dynamics on a long-term perspective as they tend to amplify geographical and cultural determinants. The Balearic Islands constitute an invaluable laboratory for studying these interactions during the Holocene. OLEA project focuses on drivers and timing of the spread of Olea macchia as a central feature of the current Balearic landscape. The history of Olea horticulture and management since the earliest human arrival to these islands may be exemplar of Mediterranean dynamics. To attain these goals with a holistic approach, high-resolution palynological studies (coastal lagoon cores and archaeological sites), pollen morphology (Olea varieties), multi-proxy analysis (pollen, NPPs, sedimentary charcoal), fire history (natural or anthropic fires), paleoenvironmental-ecological-archaeobotanical-archaeological data integration and agent-based modelling (ABM) will be combined. In doing so, several Training Objectives will be achieved, including: improvement of morphological skills of microremains identification, new knowledge on Mediterranean vegetation, use of computational modelling and development of transdisciplinary and transferable skills. OLEA project will offer novel approaches and methods to understand mosaic landscape formation in the Mediterranean, history of managing and cultivation of cultural trees and how past societies faced climate oscillations and societal transformations in fragile island environments during the last millennia of changes.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MODENA E REGGIO EMILIA · ModenaCoordinatorItaly
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union