Evolution and management of humid landscapes in Northern Dauphiné (Rhone valley, France): contribution of charcoal and wood studies

Using various archaeological and geoarchaeological operations, charcoal and waterlogged wood assemblages have been sampled in the marshy areas from the lower Dauphine (Rhone valley, France). Their identification allows reconstructing the evolution of the woody vegetation in relation to climatohydrological changes and with human practices in the plain since the mid Holocene. It appears that humid-land forests have experienced a shift from ash formations (dominating during Pre- and Protohistory) toward alder formations between the Bronze Age and Roman Period. That vegetation change seems to be linked with pastoral practices in which fire is used as a clearing and regeneration tool. The intense pastoral use of the plain, together with the humidity of the soils when not artificially drained, may also have prevented the development of dense and mature forests. Finally, we show that beech, which is currently absent from the plain, probably grew in the marshlands during the past.