Quantitative reconstruction of precipitation changes in the Iberian Peninsula during the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene

Abstract. Precipitation is a key climate driver of vegetation and ecosystems of the Iberian Peninsula. Here, we use a regional pollen-climate calibration model and fossil pollen data from seven sites from different parts of Spain to provide quantitative reconstructions of annual precipitation values for the last 15 000 years. Our records show that in the Late Pleistocene (~ 15 000 to 11 600 cal yr BP) precipitation changes took place markedly in tune with the temperature trends in northern Europe, with higher precipitation during the Greenland interstadial 1 (Bølling-Allerød) and lower precipitation during the Greenland stadial 1 (Younger Dryas). The early Holocene was characterized by a rapid precipitation increase after 11 600 cal yr BP, followed by a slowly declining trend until roughly 8000 cal yr BP. From 8000 to 4000 cal yr BP the reconstructed precipitation values are the highest in most records, with maximum values nearly 100 % higher that the modern reconstructed values. The results suggest a gradually declining precipitation over the last four millennia, although the late-Holocene reconstructions are biased by intensifying human impact on vegetation. In general, our results suggest that the main changes in precipitation in the Iberian Peninsula have occurred in pace with the main temperature changes in the North European-Atlantic region, with warm (cold) periods in the North corresponding with humid (dry) periods in the Iberian Peninsula.