Paleoecology of Easter Island: evidence and uncertainties

The existence of palm-dominated forests covering the island since the last glaciation and the recent deforestation by humans are paradigmatic in Easter Island's paleoecological reconstructions. The timing and mode of the deforestation are controversial, but there is general agreement that it ac...

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Autores: Rull del Castillo, Valentí, Cañellas Boltà, Núria, Sáez, Alberto, Giralt Romeu, Santiago, Pla Rabés, Sergi, Margalef Marrasé, Olga
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2010
País:España
Institución:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repositorio:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:2445/101825
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2445/101825
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Paleoecologia
Polinèsia
Paleoecology
Polynesia
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spelling Paleoecology of Easter Island: evidence and uncertaintiesRull del Castillo, ValentíCañellas Boltà, NúriaSáez, AlbertoGiralt Romeu, SantiagoPla Rabés, SergiMargalef Marrasé, OlgaPaleoecologiaPolinèsiaPaleoecologyPolynesiaThe existence of palm-dominated forests covering the island since the last glaciation and the recent deforestation by humans are paradigmatic in Easter Island's paleoecological reconstructions. The timing and mode of the deforestation are controversial, but there is general agreement that it actually occurred, and it is often given as an example of a human-induced environmental catastrophe with philosophical implications for the future of the whole planet. To evaluate whether this is the only well-supported hypothesis or if there might be other scenarios compatible with the paleoecological data, this paper reviews all the available evidence on past vegetation changes on Easter Island. The discussion is centered on three main points: 1) the alleged nature and extension of the former forests, 2) the taxonomic identity of the dominant palms, and 3) the nature of the recent ecological changes leading to a treeless island. The potential causes of the assumed deforestation are beyond the scope of this study. Concerning the first point, palynological and anthracological results obtained so far are not only compatible with a forested island, but also with other scenarios, for example a mosaic vegetation pattern with forests restricted to sites with a high freshwater table (gallery forests), which are mostly around the permanent lakes and along the coasts. With regard to palm identity, some extant species have been proposed as potential candidates, but the palms that dominated these forests seem to have become extinct and their identity remains unknown. The existence of a sedimentary hiatus around the dates of forest decline complicates the picture and reinforce the possibility of climatic changes. It is concluded that the hypothesis of a previously forested island has yet to be demonstrated. Therefore, the recent ecological disaster, human-induced or not, is still speculative. Several types of future studies are proposed for a better understanding of Easter Island's ecological history, including: modern analog studies from similar situations, pollen dispersal modeling, high-resolution multi-proxy studies along the cores obtained so far, more coring campaigns in the search for older sediments, and DNA and isotopic analyses of plant remains for taxonomic identification purposes.Elsevier B.V.2016201620102016info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion36 p.application/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/2445/101825Articles publicats en revistes (Dinàmica de la Terra i l'Oceà)reponame:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunyainstname:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)InglésVersió postprint del document publicat a: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.02.003Earth-Science Reviews, 2010, vol. 99, num. 1-2, p. 50-60http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.02.003(c) Elsevier B.V., 2010info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:recercat.cat:2445/1018252026-05-29T05:05:01Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Paleoecology of Easter Island: evidence and uncertainties
title Paleoecology of Easter Island: evidence and uncertainties
spellingShingle Paleoecology of Easter Island: evidence and uncertainties
Rull del Castillo, Valentí
Paleoecologia
Polinèsia
Paleoecology
Polynesia
title_short Paleoecology of Easter Island: evidence and uncertainties
title_full Paleoecology of Easter Island: evidence and uncertainties
title_fullStr Paleoecology of Easter Island: evidence and uncertainties
title_full_unstemmed Paleoecology of Easter Island: evidence and uncertainties
title_sort Paleoecology of Easter Island: evidence and uncertainties
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Rull del Castillo, Valentí
Cañellas Boltà, Núria
Sáez, Alberto
Giralt Romeu, Santiago
Pla Rabés, Sergi
Margalef Marrasé, Olga
author Rull del Castillo, Valentí
author_facet Rull del Castillo, Valentí
Cañellas Boltà, Núria
Sáez, Alberto
Giralt Romeu, Santiago
Pla Rabés, Sergi
Margalef Marrasé, Olga
author_role author
author2 Cañellas Boltà, Núria
Sáez, Alberto
Giralt Romeu, Santiago
Pla Rabés, Sergi
Margalef Marrasé, Olga
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Paleoecologia
Polinèsia
Paleoecology
Polynesia
topic Paleoecologia
Polinèsia
Paleoecology
Polynesia
description The existence of palm-dominated forests covering the island since the last glaciation and the recent deforestation by humans are paradigmatic in Easter Island's paleoecological reconstructions. The timing and mode of the deforestation are controversial, but there is general agreement that it actually occurred, and it is often given as an example of a human-induced environmental catastrophe with philosophical implications for the future of the whole planet. To evaluate whether this is the only well-supported hypothesis or if there might be other scenarios compatible with the paleoecological data, this paper reviews all the available evidence on past vegetation changes on Easter Island. The discussion is centered on three main points: 1) the alleged nature and extension of the former forests, 2) the taxonomic identity of the dominant palms, and 3) the nature of the recent ecological changes leading to a treeless island. The potential causes of the assumed deforestation are beyond the scope of this study. Concerning the first point, palynological and anthracological results obtained so far are not only compatible with a forested island, but also with other scenarios, for example a mosaic vegetation pattern with forests restricted to sites with a high freshwater table (gallery forests), which are mostly around the permanent lakes and along the coasts. With regard to palm identity, some extant species have been proposed as potential candidates, but the palms that dominated these forests seem to have become extinct and their identity remains unknown. The existence of a sedimentary hiatus around the dates of forest decline complicates the picture and reinforce the possibility of climatic changes. It is concluded that the hypothesis of a previously forested island has yet to be demonstrated. Therefore, the recent ecological disaster, human-induced or not, is still speculative. Several types of future studies are proposed for a better understanding of Easter Island's ecological history, including: modern analog studies from similar situations, pollen dispersal modeling, high-resolution multi-proxy studies along the cores obtained so far, more coring campaigns in the search for older sediments, and DNA and isotopic analyses of plant remains for taxonomic identification purposes.
publishDate 2010
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2010
2016
2016
2016
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
format article
status_str acceptedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/2445/101825
url https://hdl.handle.net/2445/101825
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Versió postprint del document publicat a: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.02.003
Earth-Science Reviews, 2010, vol. 99, num. 1-2, p. 50-60
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2010.02.003
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv (c) Elsevier B.V., 2010
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv (c) Elsevier B.V., 2010
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv 36 p.
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier B.V.
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier B.V.
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv Articles publicats en revistes (Dinàmica de la Terra i l'Oceà)
reponame:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
instname:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
instname_str Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
reponame_str Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
collection Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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