Mid- to Late-Holocene coastal morphological evolution, vegetation history and land-use changes of the Porto Gulf UNESCO World Heritage site and its surroundings (NW Corsica Island, Western Mediterranean)

A significant decline in regional forest cover, the most intense event recorded in the Late-Holocene, occurred from the 11th to the 16th centuries CE in the Porto Gulf UNESCO World Heritage site (NW Corsica), coinciding with Pisan and Genoese dominations. This study reconstructs mid- to late-Holocene landscape evolution, shoreline migration, vegetation history, and land-use changes using boreholes, mollusc identification, pollen/NPP analysis, and sedimentological studies, supported by 18 radiocarbon datings. It reveals that anthropogenic activities began significantly impacting local vegetation around 2500 years BP at Girolata and 2000 years BP at Fangu, with Roman times marked by cereal, grapevine cultivation during the Republic (500 BCE–0) and exclusive olive cultivation during the Empire (0–500 CE). The research provides a comprehensive regional evolution of human-environment interactions over six millennia.

Ghilardi, M., Revelles, J., Mary, J.-B., Rita, F. D., Delhon, C., Delanghe¹, D., & Robresco, S. (2023). Mid- to Late-Holocene coastal morphological evolution, vegetation history and land-use changes of the Porto Gulf UNESCO World Heritage site and its surroundings (NW Corsica Island, Western Mediterranean). The Holocene, 33(9), 1023–1044. https://doi.org/10.1177/09596836231176492