Complementary use of pedoanthracology and peat macro-charcoal analysis for fire history assessment: Illustration from Central Germany

A combined analysis of macro-charcoal records from peat and soil samples was used to investigate Holocene fire history and correlated forest dynamics. Both soil and peat contexts are favorable to record past fire signals by archiving charcoal assemblages. It is postulated that this combination of charcoal data can provide relevant complements for fire history assessment.In the highest mountainous part of the Harz Mountains, in central Europe, two neighboring sites were investigated. At each site, one peat sequence was cored, and several soil profiles from the surroundings of the cored mire were sampled. Charcoal contents were assessed and a chronological framework of the charcoal records was established using 23 radiocarbon dates. The heterogeneity and asynchrony of the various charcoal records allowed identification of fire events occurring on variable spatial scales, and so to approach a reconstruction of the past fire regime. In total, 19 distinct fire events were detected, and several events were identified as unexpectedly older than medieval time. Climatic control of most of these fire events is discussed. The dominance of Picea charcoals in the soil, with small recordings of broadleaf taxa, points to the presence of a spruce forest at elevations of 800–1100 m a.s.l. since mid-Holocene. Overall, the complementarity of the multi-proxy approach was demonstrated, which opens promising perspectives for the investigation of past fire regime in central Europe.