The role of peat decomposition in patterned mires: a case study from the central Swiss Alps

A number of hydrological, botanical, macro- and micro-climatological processes are involved in the formation of patterned peatlands. La Grande Tsa at 2336 m a.s.l. is probably the highest bog in the central Swiss Alps and is unique in its pattern. In two of five pools there is in the contact zone between the basal peat and the overlying gyttja an unconformity in the depth-age models based on radiocarbon dates. Palynostratigraphies of cores from a ridge and a pool confirm the occurrence of an unconformity in the contact zone. We conclude that deepening of the pools results from decomposition of peat. The fact that the dated unconformities in the two pools and the unconformity in the ridge-core all fall within the Bronze Age suggest they were caused by events external to the bog. We hypothesize that early transhumance resulted in anthropogenic lowering of the timberline, which resulted in a reduction in the leaf-area index and evapotranspiration, and in higher water levels and thus pool formation.

Archaeological Discoveries on Schnidejoch and at Other Ice Sites in the European Alps

Only a few sites in the Alps have produced archaeological finds from melting ice. To date, prehistoric finds from four sites dating from the Neolithic period, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age have been recovered from small ice patches (Schnidejoch, Lötschenpass, Tisenjoch, and Gemsbichl/Rieserferner). Glaciers, on the other hand, have yielded historic finds and frozen human remains that are not more than a few hundred years old (three glacier mummies from the 16th to the 19th century and military finds from World Wars I and II). Between 2003 and 2010, numerous archaeological finds were recovered from a melting ice patch on the Schnidejoch in the Bernese Alps (Cantons of Berne and Valais, Switzerland). These finds date from the Neolithic period, the Early Bronze Age, the Iron Age, Roman times, and the Middle Ages, spanning a period of 6000 years. The Schnidejoch, at an altitude of 2756 m asl, is a pass in the Wildhorn region of the western Bernese Alps. It has yielded some of the earliest evidence of Neolithic human activity at high altitude in the Alps. The abundant assemblage of finds contains a number of unique artifacts, mainly from organic materials like leather, wood, bark, and fibers. The site clearly proves access to high-mountain areas as early as the 5th millennium BC, and the chronological distribution of the finds indicates that the Schnidejoch pass was used mainly during periods when glaciers were retreating.

Harmonised monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella and Campylobacter isolates from food animals in the European Union

Many Member States of the European Union (EU) currently monitor antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic agents, including Salmonella and Campylobacter. According to Directive 2003/99/EC, Member States shall ensure that the monitoring provides comparable data on the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance. The European Commission asked the European Food Safety Authority to prepare detailed specifications for harmonised schemes for monitoring antimicrobial resistance. The objective of these specifications is to lay down provisions for a monitoring and reporting scheme for Salmonella in fowl (Gallus gallus), turkeys and pigs, and for Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in broiler chickens. The current specifications are considered to be a first step towards a gradual implementation of comprehensive antimicrobial resistance monitoring at the EU level. These specifications propose to test a common set of antimicrobial agents against available cut-off values and a specified concentration range to determine the susceptibility of Salmonella and Campylobacter. Using isolates collected through programmes in which the sampling frame covers all epidemiological units of the national production, the target number of Salmonella isolates to be included in the antimicrobial resistance monitoring per Member State per year is 170 for each study population (i.e., laying hens, broilers, turkeys and slaughter pigs). The target number of Campylobacter isolates to be included in the antimicrobial resistance monitoring per Member State per year is 170 for each study population (i.e., broilers). The results of the antimicrobial resistance monitoring are assessed and reported in the yearly national report on trends and sources of zoonoses, zoonotic agents and antimicrobial resistance.

Excavation at Bakr Awa 2010 and 2011

The site of Bakr Awa is situated in north-eastern Iraq, in the Plain of Shahrizor. Excavations were undertaken in 1960/61by the Iraqi Department of Antiquities and 2010/11 by the University of Heidelberg/Germany. Occupation layers from the beginning of the Early Bronze Age tothe Ottoman period were uncoveredin the lower city and on the citadel. Archaeological evidence from the secondmillennium B.C. shows the most intensive settlement activities and apparent prosperity at Bakr Awa. Several forms of pottery, small finds and architecture reflect dynamic processes of cultural and political transformation at this site located in an area of transition between northern and southern Mesopotamia and western Iran.

News from an Old Excavation: Two Hitherto Unnoticed Measure Capacity Signs on an Egyptian Stone Vessel of the Middle Kingdom from Royal Tomb II at Byblos

Excavated by French Egyptologist P. Montet in the 1920s, Royal Tomb II at Byblos (Bronze Age Gubla) yielded a significant number of Egyptian objects of the Middle Kingdom. Among these finds is a stone vessel with lid that carries the cartouche of a king named Amenemhat, often believed to be Amenemhat IV of the late Middle Kingdom. Hitherto unnoticed by the scholarly community, however, are two Egyptian measure capacity signs on the stone vessel itself. Since measure capacity signs on stone vessels dating to the Middle Kingdom are only rarely attested even in Egypt, the signs on the stone vessel from Royal Tomb II at Byblos therefore contribute considerably to our understanding of the use and application of such signs. The article deals with the examination of these signs and tries to correlate them with the actual capacity of the vessel.

Holocene climate, fire and vegetation dynamics at the treeline in the Northwestern Swiss Alps

Treelines are expected to rise to higher elevations with climate warming; the rate and extent however are still largely unknown. Here we present the first multi-proxy palaeoecological study from the treeline in the Northwestern Swiss Alps that covers the entire Holocene. We reconstructed climate, fire and vegetation dynamics at Iffigsee, an alpine lake at 2,065 m a.s.l., by using seismic sedimentary surveys, loss on ignition, visible spectrum reflectance spectroscopy, pollen, spore, macrofossil and charcoal analyses. Afforestation with Larix decidua and tree Betula (probably B. pendula) started at ~9,800 cal. b.p., more than 1,000 years later than at similar elevations in the Central and Southern Alps, indicating cooler temperatures and/or a high seasonality. Highest biomass production and forest position of ~2,100–2,300 m a.s.l. are inferred during the Holocene Thermal Maximum from 7,000 to 5,000 cal. b.p. With the onset of pastoralism and transhumance at 6,800–6,500 cal. b.p., human impact became an important factor in the vegetation dynamics at Iffigsee. This early evidence of pastoralism is documented by the presence of grazing indicators (pollen, spores), as well as a wealth of archaeological finds at the nearby mountain pass of Schnidejoch. Human and fire impact during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages led to the establishment of pastures and facilitated the expansion of Picea abies and Alnus viridis. We expect that in mountain areas with land abandonment, the treeline will react quickly to future climate warming by shifting to higher elevations, causing drastic changes in species distribution and composition as well as severe biodiversity losses.

Placing unprecedented recent fir growth in a European-wide and Holocene-long context

Forest decline played a pivotal role in motivating Europe's political focus on sustainability around 35 years ago. Silver fir (Abies alba) exhibited a particularly severe dieback in the mid-1970s, but disentangling biotic from abiotic drivers remained challenging because both spatial and temporal data were lacking. Here, we analyze 14 136 samples from living trees and historical timbers, together with 356 pollen records, to evaluate recent fir growth from a continent-wide and Holocene-long perspective. Land use and climate change influenced forest growth over the past millennium, whereas anthropogenic emissions of acidic sulfates and nitrates became important after about 1850. Pollution control since the 1980s, together with a warmer but not drier climate, has facilitated an unprecedented surge in productivity across Central European fir stands. Restricted fir distribution prior to the Mesolithic and again in the Modern Era, separated by a peak in abundance during the Bronze Age, is indicative of the long-term interplay of changing temperatures, shifts in the hydrological cycle, and human impacts that have shaped forest structure and productivity.

New results and new ice-borne finds from high-alpine passes in the Bernese Alps (Switzerland)

Archaeological finds from Schnidejoch (2756 m a.s.l.) and Lötschenpass (2690 m a.s.l.) cover the periods from the Early Neolithic to the Middle Ages (4800 BC - 1000 AD). The numerous finds from Schnidejoch discovered since 2003 can now be seen in relationship with Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements in the Rhone valley and together with the early use of alpine meadows and early transhumance. Finds of Early Bronze Age bows from Lötschenpass go back to the 1930ies. New finds of wooden objects and objects made from birch bark melted out from the ice in the summer of 2011. The lecture presents these new finds and an actualized view of Schnidejoch finds.

Schnideoch, Alpes Bernoises, 2756 m: Découvertes archéologiques dans la glace du Néolithique au Haut Moyen Âge

Depuis que les glaciers fondent, la glace libère des objets hautement intéressants. C’est ainsi qu’en été 2003 une promeneuse a ramassé un objet qui a été remis au Service archéologique du canton de Berne. La datation au C14 révéla qu’il s’agit d’un fragment de carquois en écorce de bouleau datant du Néolithique Final. Depuis l’été 2004, le Service archéologique du canton de Berne étudie le site du Schnidejoch,un col situé à 2756 mètres d’altitude entre l’Oberland bernois et le Valais, et a ainsi pu récolter plus de 300 objets . L’éventail des objets découverts s’étend de bouts de vêtements préhistoriques en cuir et raphia à des épingles en bronze et des clous de souliers romains en passant par un carquois et des flèches. Les découvertes du Schnidejoch sont les plus anciennes du genre jamais faites dans les Alpes.

The role of human-induced fire and sweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) cultivation on the long-term landscape dynamics of the southern Swiss Alps

Changes in fire occurrence during the last decades in the southern Swiss Alps make knowledge on fire history essential to understand future evolution of the ecosystem composition and functioning. In this context, palaeoecology provides useful insights into processes operating at decadal-to-millennial time scales, such as the response of plant communities to intensified fire disturbances during periods of cultural change. We provide a high-resolution macroscopic charcoal and pollen series from Guèr, a well-dated peat sequence at mid-elevation (832 m.a.s.l.) in southern Switzerland, where the presence of local settlements is documented since the late Bronze Age and the Iron Age. Quantitative fire reconstruction shows that fire activity sharply increased from the Neolithic period (1–3 episodes/1000 year) to the late Bronze and Iron Age (7–9 episodes/1000 year), leading to extensive clearance of the former mixed deciduous forest (Alnus glutinosa, Betula, deciduous Quercus). The increase in anthropogenic pollen indicators (e.g. Cerealia-type, Plantago lanceolata) together with macroscopic charcoal suggests anthropogenic rather than climatic forcing as the main cause of the observed vegetation shift. Fire and controlled burning were extensively used during the late Roman Times and early Middle Ages to promote the introduction and establishment of chestnut (Castanea sativa) stands, which provided an important wood and food supply. Fire occurrence declined markedly (from 9 to 5–6 episodes/1000 year) during late Middle Ages because of fire suppression, biomass removal by human population, and landscape fragmentation. Land-abandonment during the last decades allowed forest to partly re-expand (mainly Alnus glutinosa, Betula) and fire frequency to increase.