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L’étude de la dynamique végétale et anthropique des zones humides d’Algérie du nord-est, a été menée à partir d’une démarche basée sur la rétro-observation et utilisant la palynologie comme principal outil.Ainsi, l’étude multi-proxy de cinq séquences sédimentaires étayées par 9 datations radiocarbones et l’exploitation de référentiels polliniques contemporains destinés à définir une liste de taxons polliniques indicateurs de l’anthropisation permettent de reconstituer la dynamique de la végétation et de la diversité végétale passée au cours des derniers siècles dans des régions où les données paléobotaniques étaient inexistantes (exception faite pour la Numidie). Les données paléoécologiques acquises permettent d’écrire pour le secteur biogéographique Kabylie-Constantinois-Numidie une histoire de la végétation locale, de la biodiversité passée et de la dynamique environnementale des zones humides. L’ensemble de ces données pouvant être mobilisées dans le cadre de politiques contemporaines de gestion des zones humides, pour la restauration des habitats disparus ou la réintroduction d’espèces localement éteintes. Les résultats acquis, qui documentent pour l’essentiel une période récente ne remontant pas au delà du XVII° siècle, indiquent une activité humaine intense et marquée par le poids de l’agro-pastoralisme mais dont l’impact sur les écosystème et en particulier les mares temporaires est variable selon les secteurs et n’entraine pas nécessairement de dégradation majeures sur les communautés végétales ou leurs capacités de résilience. Dans une optique de gestion conservatoire, cette prise en compte des dynamiques passées des zones humides est fondamentale et peut constituer un outil essentiel pour définir les priorités de conservation. / The plant dynamic and anthropic study of northern Algeria wetlands was lead from an approach based on retro-observation and using palynology as main tool. Thus, the multi-proxy study of five sedimentary sequences supported by 9 radiocarbon dating and exploitation of contemporary pollen referential, devoted for defining a list of pollen taxa indicators of anthropisation, allow us to reconstruct the vegetation dynamics and past plant diversity in the last centuries in areas where paleobotanical data were do not exist (except for Numidia). Paleoecological data acquired allow us to write, for the biogeographical Kabylie-Constantine-Numidia sector, a local vegetation history, past biodiversity and environmental dynamics of wetlands. All these data can be used within contemporary political management of wetlands for missing habitat restoration or for reintroduction of locally extinct species. The results obtained, which document essentially a recent period not back beyond the XVII° century, indicate intense human activity, marked by the weight of agro-pastoralism but the impact on the ecosystem and on particular temporary ponds varies from sectors and does not necessarily lead to a major damages on plant communities and on their resilience. From the perspective of conservation management, the consideration of past wetland dynamics is fundamental and can be an essential tool to define conservation priorities.

The climate and vegetation history of the Middle Pleistocene transition in the interior of British Columbia (BC) is poorly understood due largely to the lack of records. Sediments from the overburden of the Teck Highland Valley Copper mine (HVC) of British Columbia straddle the Brunhes-Matuyama paleomagnetic transition, providing a opportunity to study this critical Pleistocene interval. The stratigraphy was described and sampled for paleomagnetic and pollen/spore analysis at reconnaissance scale. The HVC sediments consist mainly of (from bottom to top) a lower glacial drift, >50 m of lakebed sediments, ~50 m of gravel fan deposits, and a >60 m thick drift of mostly glacial till. These units were deposited by a valley glacier, lake, fluvial/debris flow events, and an ice sheet, respectively. Pollen and spore analyses, reveal at least 11 climate-vegetation intervals (9 zones, 2 more possible ones). These are broadly classified as either warm Pinus-Picea parkland and forest, cold Selaginella-rich steppe or arid Artemisia-Poaceae steppe. These intervals suggest a long paleo-environmental record at HVC and indicate fluctuations between glacial and interglacial climates which can tentatively be placed with Marine Isotope Stages 23 through 16 and younger. The HVC record is a unique sequence with the potential to reveal a much more detailed history of this critical time in Earth’s past. Implications of these findings are discussed. / Graduate / 2018-12-06

Palaeoenvironmental investigations from the Lake Plav catchment of the Prokletije Mountains in Montenegro and Albania, allowed primarily climatic change and anthropogenic influences during the Late Holocene and particularly the Little Ice Age (LIA) to be identified. Three sediment cores were analysed, two from Lake Plav (904 m a.s.l., cores LPCA and LPCB) and one from the upper catchment site of Lake C in Buni i Jezerces (1754 m a.s.l., core BJC1). These sediments were analysed for a variety of proxies including pollen, ostracoda, organic content, magnetic susceptibility and particle size. Chronologies for each sediment core were constructed using AMS radiocarbon, 210Pb and 137Cs dating techniques. The lower sites provided a record of past flood events, anthropogenic influences, lake development and infilling that have occurred since c. AD 500. Core BJC1 provided longer-term data since c. 2720 BC, providing complementary records of Pediastrum and thermophilous arboreal types, identified following a catchment vegetation survey. Glacial geomorphological mapping of the Maja e Koljaet glacier in Buni i Jezerces, Albania, enabled a catchment specific palaeotemperature record to be constructed from AD 1859 to the present. Glacial features were dated using lichenometry before degree-day modelling enabled temperature reconstruction. The palaeotemperature reconstruction for the Albanian Little Ice Age glacial maximum (LIAGM) suggests that temperatures were 0.9°C below the 1980-2008 annual temperature mean. This work also provided the first record of glacial extent during the LIA in Albania, indicating that the Albania LIAGM occurred c. AD 1859, around a decade after the European LIAGM and two decades before that of Montenegro. Anthropogenic indicators were used to reconstruct human activity in the catchment, which suggested that arable farming was pursued throughout the Medieval Warm Period (MWP; c. AD 800-1090) and continued during a period of transition to the LIA, between c. AD 1090 and AD 1300. The LIA (c. AD 1300 - 1860) was characterised by an abrupt Alnus decline, thought to be the result of anthropogenic clearance of the floodplain and reduction of both arable and thermophilous types. During the LIA sedimentation rates were up to 1.41 + 0.17 cm yr-1 at Lake Plav causing lake infilling and shallowing allowing wetland expansion c. AD 1570. The result of lake infilling is highlighted during the early 20th century, when the lake extent fell by around 42% as a result of climatic amelioration post-LIA causing lake levels to fall and wetland indicators to decline. The inferred past climatic changes from the Lake Plav catchment are compared to data from around the Mediterranean and Southern Europe. This allows identification of the climatic influences affecting the site during the Late Holocene. Catchment records have provided evidence of cooler and wetter conditions coeval to the occurrence of solar minima such as the Wolf, Spörer and Maunder minima. Overall, the records suggest that continental atmospheric circulation patterns such as the North Sea-Caspian Pattern (NCP) and East Atlantic-West Russia pattern (EA-WR), dominated the site until the late 1800s, when records become more synchronous with the NAO index and Mediterranean/Southern European data.

The strata of the Peace River coalfield, in the Foothills of northeasten British Columbia, formed in a tectonically active region near the western margin of the craton. The complex pattern of intertonguing marine and non-marine strata which resulted was subsequently deformed by folding and thrusting, making interpretation and correlation extremely difficult. The present palynologic study was undertaken in an attempt to resolve some of the stratigraphic problems, where sedimentological and geophysical methods have failed. The primary aim of the study is to generate a composite palynologic section that can be used to zone, correlate and date the coal-bearing strata in the southern half of the coalfield. Eleven drill holes representing nearly 3000 meters of section from the Gething, Moosebar and Gates formations were sampled at 15 meter intervals. The 199 samples examined for palynomorphs yielded a total assemblage containing 232 pollen and spore species, 96 dinoflagellate and acritarch species and 22 algal cyst and fungal spore species. 256 of the 350 species are restricted in their occurrence within the section, and have been used to zone and correlate the strata. Open marine, restricted marine and non-marine horizons are identified on the basis of type and relative abundance of palynomorphs. Contact relationships are examined and clarified, the palynologic section is compared with lithologic information, and a geologic age is established for the rocks. The Gething Formation consists of a thin basal marine unit, overlain by a thick non-marine succession characterized by poor preservation of palynomorphs, and two clearly defined marine tongues which occur in the northern and upper half of the formation. The marine unit at the base of the unit defines the Gething-Cadomin contact. The marine tongues near the top of the formation are palyno-logically distinct from the overlying marine strata of the Moosebar Formation, and represent a unique transgressive phase. The lower half of the Moosebar Formation consists of marine shales, with an abundant and diverse assemblage of dinocysts and acritarchs, representing open marine conditions for most of this phase of deposition. The upper half of the formation consists of a palynologically barren, coarsening-upward sequence which is interpreted as a relatively high energy (non-marine) regressive phase. The Gates Formation consists of a complex pattern of intertonguing marine and non-marine strata. The lower half of the Gates is open marine in the region of Bullmoose Mt., and intertonguing marine and non-marine in the region from Wolverine River to Monkman Pass. In the southeast, the terrestrial strata occurs between two resticted marine zones which are continuous with the open marine strata to the northwest. The restricted marine unit which underlies the terrestrial strata, has been previously identified in whole or in part as the 'Torrens Member', and is considered here to be part of the Gates Formation on the basis of palynologic evidence. The basal marine/non-marine unit is overlain by a middle terrestrial and middle marine unit, and an upper terrestrial and upper marine unit. The entire Gething through Gates section is middle Albian to early late Albian in age, based on the first appearance of early angiosperm monocolpate and tricolpate grains. / Science, Faculty of / Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of / Graduate

La carotte MD92-1002 prélevée dans le Golfe d’Aden (12°01’32 N- 44°19’02E -1327 m de profondeur) fournit un enregistrement paléoenvironnemental et paléoclimatique unique permettant de discuter l’évolution des milieux continentaux et océaniques depuis 20 000 ans BP. J’ai effectué l'analyse des palynomorphes continentaux (grains de pollen, spores, champignons, charbons et algues d'eau douces) et marins (kystes de dinoflagellés, œufs de copépodes) et j’ai combiné ces données à des paramètres géochimiques (δ¹⁸O, analyses élémentaires par Fluorescence X) et sédimentaires (taux de sédimentation, teneurs en carbone organique). Les grains de pollen révèlent des conditions régionales hyper-arides pendant la période glaciaire caractérisée par une végétation clairsemée d’origine Saharo-Sindienne. L'abondance des taxons steppiques associés aux microparticules de charbon suggère une activité éolienne élevée. Les marqueurs d’humidité augmentent dès 14 900 ans BP et atteignent leur maximum entre 9 000 et 7 500 ans BP, au moment où se développe une mangrove à Rhizophora dans le Golfe d’Aden reflétant des conditions tropicales avec une saison pluvieuse d’été. La chronologie des événements élaborée à partir des résultats polliniques et des enregistrements continentaux tels les témoins des lacs et marécages et les spéléothèmes de Socotra et d’Oman documente la progression vers le Nord et l’Ouest de la limite estivale de la Zone de Convergence Inter-Tropicale (ITCZ) au cours de la transition glaciaire-interglaciaire, au moment de la mise en place de la Période Humide Holocène (PHH). L'ITCZ est localisée au Sud de l'Ethiopie à 19 000 ans BP puis migre vers le Nord pour atteindre Socotra à 14 510 ans BP, Qunf à 10 400 ans BP et Hoti à 10 000 ans BP. Les mouvements de l'ITCZ vers l'Ouest sont documentés par le développement de la mangrove à Rhizophora à partir de 12 600 ans BP. La carotte MD 92-1002 permet également de documenter la fin de la PHH qui débute très tôt comparativement à ce qui est observé en Afrique nord tropicale, en deux étapes successivement datées de 7500 et 4000 BP. Les assemblages de dinoflagellés montrent que la période glaciaire est caractérisée par de faibles upwellings et des eaux profondes bien ventilées. La productivité primaire marine dans le Golfe d’Aden augmente à partir de 14 500 ans BP et atteint un maximum pendant la transition glaciaire/interglaciaire, entre 12 600 et 10 800 ans BP. Il survient ~ 3 000 ans avant le pic d’intensité des upwellings de la marge d’Oman associé au maximum des vents de la mousson du S-O. Cette singularité pourrait s’expliquer par les conditions très particulières du Golfe d’Aden qui est situé à l’intersection de deux systèmes de vents orthogonaux pendant l’été boréal (des vents du S-O à l’Est du golfe et des vents orientés du N-O en provenance de la Mer Rouge). La courbe de COT révèle une nette variabilité Glaciaire/Interglaciaire, largement découplée des variations des assemblages de dinoflagellés. Cela suggère que la teneur en matière organique est essentiellement contrôlée par la préservation sur le fond marin. / Core MD92-1002 retrieved from the Gulf of Aden (12°01’32 N- 44°19’02E -1327 m of water depth) provides a unique paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic record to study the evolution of continental and marine environments since 20 ka. I performed palynological analyses (pollen grains, spores, fungi, charcoal, freshwater algae, dinoflagellate cysts, copepod eggs) and combined those data with geochemical (δ¹⁸O, X-Ray Fluorescence) and sedimentological parameters (e.g. sedimentation rates, Total Organic Carbon (TOC)). Pollen grains reveal regional hyper-arid conditions during the glacial period, characterized by sparse vegetation cover of Saharo-Sindian origin. The abundance of steppic taxa associated with charcoal fragments suggests strong wind activity. Humidity tracers increased from 14.9 ka and reached their maximum between 9 and 7.5 ka. This maximum is characterized by the development of the tropical mangrove Rhizophora in the Gulf of Aden, reflecting tropical conditions with summer monsoon rains. The timing of events deduced from palynological records and continental data such as lacustrine and palustrine deposits and speleothems from Socotra and Oman, reveals a northward and westward shift of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) summer position at the onset of the Holocene Humid Period (HHP). The ITCZ was located in southern Ethiopia at 19 ka, then migrated northward to reach Socotra at 14.51 ka, Qunf at 10.4 ka and Hoti at 10 ka. Westward shift of ITCZ is suggested by the development of mangrove (Rhizophora) from 12.5 ka. Core MD 92-1002 reveals that HHP termination took place earlier than over tropical North Africa, in two main steps dated at 7.5 and 4 ka, respectively. Dinoflagellate cyst assemblages suggest that the glacial period was characterized by weakened upwellings and well-ventilated bottom water. Primary productivity in the Gulf of Aden increased from 14.5 ka and reached its maximum during the glacial/interglacial transition between 12.6 and 10.8 ka. It took place about ~ 3 ka earlier than the peak intensity of upwellings off the Oman margin, which is associated with the maximum of SW monsoonal winds. This singularity could be explained by the landlocked position of the gulf, at the junction between two orthogonal wind regimes during the boreal summer season (SW monsoon winds prevailing to the East of the Gulf, while NW winds blow along the main axis of the Red Sea to the west). TOC analysis reveals a Glacial-Interglacial variability that is largely decoupled from our reconstruction of surface productivity, suggesting that organic content is mainly controlled by preservation at the sea floor.

En s’appuyant sur les démarches récentes en palynologie appliquée à l’histoire rurale, la thèse pose trois objectifs : (1) questionner la chronologie des essors et déprises des paysages agropastoraux du nord de la Haute-Bretagne entre le XIe et le XVIe siècle, (2) réfléchir à l’originalité de ce secteur par rapport aux territoires environnants, (3) analyser le poids descontextes économiques et sociaux sur l’aménagement des paysages. Les dynamiques des paysages agropastoraux mettent en évidence une chronologie classique pour le début de la période. Un essor de la croissance touche l’ensemble du secteur aux XIe-XIIe s. Cet essor amène progressivement à une situation de blocage à partir du XIIIe s. Ces dynamiques se transcrivent dans les pratiques. On observe un glissement de pratiques de cultures temporaires et de prairies gérées extensivementà une intensification progressive des activités agricoles. L’originalité concerne les crises des XIVe-XVe s. qui ne sont perçues qu’à proximité de la frontière normande. Le secteur de Rennes est concerné par un dynamisme agricole qui prend la forme d’une intensification de la céréaliculture, avec la mise en place d’un système de rotation intégrant la culture du sarrasin. Ce changement dans les pratiques agropastorales est peut-être une réponse au blocage de la croissance. Il est surtout permis par le dynamisme économique qui touche le duché de Bretagne aux XIVe-XVe s. La croissance n’atteint la frontière normande qu’à compter de la seconde moitié du XVe s. Ce décalage s’observe également dans la production de chanvre textile qui a marqué les paysages des campagnes de Haute-Bretagne. Les données polliniques interrogent ainsi l’origine des zones de production de toiles connues à l’époque moderne. / Based on recent approaches in pollen analysis applied to rural history, this PhD dissertation has three objectives: (1) to question the chronology of agrarian expansion and regression in northern Upper Brittany between 11th and 16th century; (2) to ponder the originality of this area in relation to the surrounding areas; (3) to analyze the weight of economic and socialcontexts on the construction of landscapes. The changes in agro-pastoral landscapes reveal a rather classical chronology for the beginning of the period. The agricultural expansion affects the whole area in the 11th and 12th centuries. This expansion gradually leads to a stalling of growth in the 13th century. These changes affected practices. Thus we observe a shift from practices of temporary crops and extensively-managed grasslands towards a gradual intensification of agricultural activities. The originality concerns the late medieval agrarian crisis which is only detected close to the Norman border. The area of Rennes, on the other hand, is affected by an agricultural expansion which takes the form of an intensification of cereal farming, with the introduction of a new system of crop rotation integrating the cultivation of buckwheat. This change in agro-pastoral practices may be an answer to the stalling of growth. This change is mainly allowed by the economic dynamism that affects the duchy of Brittany in the 14th and 15th centuries. Growth doesn’t reach the Norman border until the second half of the 15th century. This time-lag can also be seen in the production of bastfibres of hemp which transformed the landscapes of rural Upper Brittany. Thus the palynological analysis questions the origin of the areas of production of canvases known in early modern times.

The Mesozoic is punctuated by several rapid global warming events that are marked by the worldwide deposition of organic-rich marine sediments. These events, known as oceanic anoxic events (OAEs), are characterised by intervals where the worldwide carbon cycle suffers a disruption due to major palaeoceanographic and climatic shifts, leading to anoxic marine environments and the creation of black shales. For this study, the Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE 1a), which occurred during the Early Cretaceous Aptian age (~120 Ma) was analysed. It was likely triggered by the Greater Ontong Java underwater volcanic event and is associated with major changes in marine environments and ecosystems, including nekton and plankton turnover, and sea water composition changes. The impact of this event on terrestrial land-based ecosystems is, however, less well understood. Here I document well preserved and diverse spore-pollen assemblages spanning OAE 1a from southern Sweden by examining the Höllviken I core. Before the OAE, palynofloras are dominated by conifers, suggestive of a relatively mild and dry coastal environment. At the onset of the OAE a fern spike occurs, where there is a shift to early successional stage vegetation. Gymnosperm diversity and abundance sharply decrease, and the palynofloral assemblages become dominated by ferns, indicating a shift to warm and wet conditions. Gymnosperms gradually recover thereafter, but the formerly abundant conifer pollen Classopollis does not recover and remains rare. Dinoflagellate cysts and microforaminiferal test linings increase in abundance after OAE 1a, suggesting a higher degree of marine influence. These findings show that OAE 1a had a substantial impact on the composition and diversity of high latitude terrestrial vegetation and marine plankton communities. / <p>The work for this thesis was financially supported by the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree PANGEA programme.</p>

The populations of wild pollinators have been declining worldwide, mainly due to habitat loss or change. Some farmers use honeybees to secure pollination of their crops, but honeybees can cause further problems effecting wild pollinators. Knowledge of foraging plants for honeybees can give a clue to the conditions of interactions and competition between honeybees and wild pollinators. The aim of this study was to identify plants visited by honeybees, and to compare classic morphological methods of identifying pollen to other modern palynological techniques. Samples of bee pollen from two hives in Västerbotten county, Sweden, was studied with light microscope. A selection of the samples were also studied in scanning electron microscope or by extraction of nucleic acid followed by PCR. All the identified pollen types originated from plants common in Sweden, for example, raspberry, rosebay willowherb, member of the genus Vaccinium and different types of clover. Due to similar morphology, many of the pollen types had more than one possible origin. Many types of pollen found in the samples remained unidentified. Regarding modern palynological techniques, one grain of bee pollen was substantial to extract enough nucleic acid to perform PCR. Positive PCR reactions were found for all but one of the seven PCR primers tested. Each primer gave positive reaction to only one color of bee pollen. One of the colors of bee pollen did not give any positive PCR reaction. The result of this study highlights the further need of reliable and available reference material in the palynological field.

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