Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley

La alta montaña pirenaica: génesis y configuración holocena de un paisaje cultural: Estudio paleoambiental en el valle del Madriu-Perafita-Claror (Andorra)

A groundbreaking study on the Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Eastern Pyrenees, reveals that social, economic, and cultural factors have significantly shaped the highland landscape since the Neolithic period. By integrating palaeoenvironmental data—including pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, and macrocharcoal analysis from natural basins—with archaeological findings, researchers identified distinct phases of landscape variability linked to human land-use practices. This interdisciplinary approach provides a rare long-term perspective on how European high mountains have evolved under the influence of human activity, offering insights into the complex interplay between culture and environment in high-altitude regions.