Towards the reconstruction of the Holocene vegetation history of Lower Provence: two new pollen profiles from Marais des Baux

Two new C-14-dated Holocene pollen profiles from Marais dos Baux, Bouches-d u-Rhone, France, are presented. The record begins in the Younger Dryas, whe n the vegetation consisted mainly of grasses and mugwort (Artemisia). The P reboreal was marked by a transitory expansion of pine forests and was follo wed by the establishment of a rich deciduous oak-forest that included hazel (Corylus) and elm (Ulmus). During the Boreal, hazel played a dominant role within the oak-forest. The oak forests, which included Quercus ilex, achie ved a major expansion during the Atlantic period. The Subboreal was charact erised by the regional establishment of, firstly, fir (Abies) and then beec h (Fagus). The spread and expansion of beech coincides with the first clear evidence for farming. Agricultural activities brought about the decline of deciduous oak-forest. During the Subatlantic, forests in the vicinity of M arais des Baux were cleared for farming. Cereal growing, which included rye cultivation, was of considerable importance. Three noteworthy characterist ics that serve to differentiate the Holocene vegetation history of the low- lying Provence region fr om other French regions are as follows: 1) the ear ly establishment (from the onset of Preboreal) of low altitude mixed forest ; 2) the expansion during the Subboreal of fir and beech in low altitude ar eas with a Mediterranean climate and, 3) the exceptional taxonomic richness of the pollen assemblages (120 identified taxa) and the presence of boreal -alpine and Euro-Siberian taxa that no longer exist in Lower Provence.