Mediterranean-wide pollen-inferred Holocene vegetation classification

Fossil and modern pollen data sets are used to infer Holocene vegetation change for 6 case study regions across the Mediterranean and at a pan-Mediterranean scale (described by Fyfe et al., 2018 and Woodbridge et al. 2018). The approach to understanding land cover change employs hierarchical cluster analysis and community classification to derive 16 vegetation clusters from multiple pollen sequences. The results also include reconstructions for a selection of pollen indicator groups e.g. an Anthropogenic Pollen Index (API) and an index for cultivated trees (Olea, Juglans, Castanea and Vitis) (Mercuri et al., 2013). Major patterns in the data sets are summarized by non-metric Multi Dimensional Scaling (nMDS) and Simpson's diversity index. Most of the pollen data derive from the European Pollen Database (Fossil: Leydet, 2007-2018 and modern: Davis et al., 2013), supported by chronologies developed by Giesecke et al (2014) supplemented by additional pollen sites for individual case study regions.