Search publications of the members of the Royal Belgian institute of natural Sciences
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Geologisch en hydrogeologisch 3D model van het Cenozoïcum van de Roerdalslenk in Zuidoost-Nederland en Vlaanderen (H3O – Roerdalslenk)
- MANAGEMENTSAMENVATTING Geologische gegevens werden in het verleden hoofdzakelijk aangemaakt binnen de landsgrenzen. Hierdoor waren er steeds grote onzekerheden in de data aan de landsgrenzen, maar ook aansluitingsproblemen tussen de (hydro)geologische modellen van aangrenzende landen. Deze problemen worden nog uitvergroot in geologisch complexe gebieden zoals de Roerdalslenk die onder andere doorheen Zuidoost-Nederland en Noordoost-Vlaanderen loopt. Daarnaast zijn de indeling en de naamgeving van de eenheden in de ondergrond verschillend tussen Nederland en Vlaanderen, wat correlaties over de grens heen nog complexer maakt. Bovenstaande problemen bemoeilijken sterk het beheer van de ondergrond in de grensregio’s. Om die reden leefde bij partijen in Nederland (Provincie Limburg en Provincie Noord-Brabant) en Vlaanderen (Departement Leefmilieu, Natuur en Energie van de Vlaamse overheid en de Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij) de wens om de (hydro)geologische modellen van Nederland en Vlaanderen voor de Roerdalslenk op elkaar af te stemmen. In 2012 startte daarvoor het H3O-project, dat twee jaar zou lopen en zou uitgevoerd worden door de TNO, Geologische Dienst van Nederland en de Vlaamse organisatie VITO in samenwerking met de Belgische Geologische Dienst. De doelstelling van het H3O-project was om de verschillen tussen de bestaande (hydro)geologische interpretaties en modellen van het Nederlandse en Vlaamse deel van het projectgebied op een zodanige wijze vast te stellen, uit te zoeken en te verhelpen dat het resulterende grensoverschrijdende model één consistent geheel vormt. Beoogt werd om dit 3D geologische en hydrogeologische model voor het Cenozoïsche bereik samen te stellen op basis van de meest recente gegevens, kennis en inzichten zodat dit model geaccepteerd wordt als het referentiemodel van de Roerdalslenk. Om de opdrachtgevers te ondersteunen bij de inhoudelijke beoordeling van de tussen- en eindresultaten en om de acceptatie van het model te verzekeren, werd een Begeleidingscommissie in het leven geroepen die bestond uit geologische experts uit tal van domeinen. De eindresultaten van dit project zijn in 2014 opgeleverd. Niet alleen vormen de Nederlandse en Vlaamse delen van deze grensoverschrijdende modellen nu één consistent geheel, maar ook zijn beide modellen, door de wijze waarop ze tot stand zijn gekomen, onderling consistent met elkaar. De aldus bekomen geologische en het hydrogeologische modellen vormen daarmee het referentiemodel voor de geologische en hydrogeologische opbouw van het gebied. De gehanteerde correlaties tussen de Nederlandse en Vlaamse eenheden in de ondergrond kunnen verder als leidraad dienen voor toekomstige grensoverschrijdende projecten.
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A peculiar case of intraspecific variability in the Chinese Notholca dongtingensis (Rotifera: Monogononta: Brachionidae)
- We review the rare Chinese rotifer Notholca dongtingensis Zhuge, Kutikova & Sudzuki, 1998, including abundant material collected during the winter months of 2009–2011 in and around the man-made Dishui Lake Southeast of Shanghai, PR China. Both an SEM study of its trophi and an account of its intraspecific variability are provided. The latter consists in particular of a unique and previously unknown type of spine formation involving the anterolateral spines, a character previously considered morphologically constant and even diagnostic in Notholca and related genera. The observations indicate that phenotypic plasticity invoked by a plesiomorphic triggering mechanism is not per se connected to the type or position of structures developed, but may activate responses resulting in the formation of quite different, autapomorphic structures throughout monogonont Rotifera.
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A historical ecology of the Ecrins (Southern French Alps): Archaeology and palaeoecology of the Mesolithic to the Medieval period
- This paper elucidates the nature of human–environment interactions in a mountainous landscape (the southern zone of the Ecrins, French Alps) from the Mesolithic through to the Post-Medieval Period. We present an integrated programme of palynology, pedo- and archaeo-anthracology, and archaeology. These data permit the development of a historical ecology that allows us to differentiate between climatic and anthropogenic influences on vegetation, and the development of anthropogenic landscapes in an Alpine region. This study is of profound relevance for the broader understanding of human–environment interactions in ecologically sensitive environments both within the Alpine arc, but also beyond this region. We identify and explain evidence for possible human landscape management practices in a high altitude landscape. Palynology defines the broad floral context and evolution of the environment through the Holocene. Palynology also permits an assessment of human activities and practices (arable agriculture, pastoralism and haymaking). The combination of these data with anthracological and archaeological evidence permits a nuanced assessment of human interaction with the landscape. We consider phases of anthropological–ecological succession across the range of altitudes, from valley-bottom to the alpine zones in the Ecrins National Park. Four important stages of landscape use and change have been inferred from our evidence: the Mesolithic, the Chalcolithic/Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman, and (Post)Medieval. During the Mesolithic (c. 8000–4500 BC), a major event is the expansion of fir in the montane stage. At higher altitudes, people exploit the ecotone, defined by the forest edge (or tree-line): an ideal zone for hunting. The Neolithic sees low-altitude clearances, but a continuation of hunting and low levels of human impact on high-altitude vegetation. The Chalcolithic/Bronze Age (2400–1000 BC) sees complex interplay of climatic changes, and the appearance of direct human intervention in the high altitude landscape as part of a new transhumant system. Although the Roman Period is characterised by phases of climatic amelioration after the deterioration of the Iron Age, the increase in human activity that is usually seen in low-lying areas is not reflected in the sub-alpine and alpine altitudes. The Medieval Period, including the Little Ice Age, witnesses a steady increase in human use of these landscapes, with forest manipulation and clearance becoming the defining characteristics of these areas. Despite the supposed inclement nature of the Little Ice Age, human activity achieves its zenith, and the combination people and climate produces the most open and managed landscape of the Holocene.
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Late Subatlantic history of the ombrotrophic Misten Bog (Eastern Belgium) based on high resolution pollen, testate amoebae and macrofossil analysis
- Misten Bog has through time received homogeneous pollen rain dominated successively by Fagus, Quercus and Picea. Based on the limits separating six pollen zones across nine cores, we show that the areas of major peat production have moved with time from one side of the bog to the other. The reduction of thickness of peat was strongly dependant on the proximity of peat cutting area since the 12th Century. Before the cutting, an Alnus wood that encircled the bog regressed during the Vandal Minimum (500-800 AD) and never recovered. During this age interval, testate amoebae indicate a drier period on the peat bog. From the 12th to the 14th Centuries, there was a slight increase of non arboreal pollens linked to farming. From the 14th to the 16th Centuries testate amoebae indicate again a drier period on the peat bog but whether this is linked to climate change or human pressure is unclear. From the 16th Century onwards, Sphagnum sect. Cuspidata almost disappeared but Sphagnum imbricatum persisted until the 19th Century. Pollens linked to farming culminated again during the early part of the 19th Century. High concentration of Si, Ti and N are probably linked to the increasing farming in the neighborhood as well as to industrial mining processes in the region and might have influenced these changes on the peat bog. The theory of cyclical hollow/hummock succession versus rather stationary hummocks is discussed.
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Occupations néolithiques de plateau à Quincy-Voisins « ZAC de Ternoy » (Seine-et-Marne)
- La fouille préventive du site archéologique de la "ZAC de Ternoy" à Quincy-Voisins (Seine-et-Marne) fait suite aux opérations de diagnostic positives réalisées en 2004 et 2007. La fouille de quelque 21300 m² a révélé la présence de plusieurs structures d’une occupation très érodée du Néolithique ancien (culture de Blicquy – Villeneuve-Saint-Germain), caractérisée par de nombreux anneaux en schiste et en terre cuite. En outre, quatre fosses profondes de type puits/citerne ont livré des dépôts intentionnels de faune (suidés, mustélidé et bovidé) et le rejet de produits du façonnage de lames de hache. Enfin, plusieurs structures superficielles pourraient être associées à une occupation tardive du Néolithique. Sur la base des datations au radiocarbone, une interprétation alternative des attributions chrono-culturelles est proposée.
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High-resolution palynological Holocene record of the Misten peat bog (Belgium) : preliminary results
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Microfossiles non polliniques, pollen et processus pédo-sédimentaires en contexte très anthropisé : le site du château de Brie-Comte-Robert
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Les sanctuaires dans leur environnement : apport des analyses polliniques réalisées dans le nord de la France et la Belgique. Approche méthodologique
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Food, technical and other plants from the late medieval monastic kitchen (14th–15th century) of Clairefontaine Abbey, Belgium
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The last supper: multiproxy analyses of a Gallo-Roman votive meal in Belgium
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Presence of Avena sp. in early Belgian Neolithic sites: a commensal weed or a real domesticate?
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Hidden Gallo-Roman agrarian landscapes from the ‘Biterrois’ (southern France): combined evidence from archaeobotany and archaeology
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Pollen data and other archaeobotanical remains from the middle ages in wallonia (southern Belgium): A review
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Sur les traces de nos ancêtres préhistoriques
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Analyses palynologiques de Harmignies (Néolithique récent, Hainaut)
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Analyses palynologiques tests de Hermalle-sous-Argenteau « Le Potay » et « Au Buisson » (Protohistorique, Liège)
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Analyses palynologiques à l’Abbaye de Clairefontaine Les « Cuisines » (Moyen-Âge, Luxembourg)
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Rapport d’étude carpologique et palynologique de l’abbaye cistercienne de Clairefontaine Les latrines (XVIIIe siècle)
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Cave palynology as a tool for vegetation and climate change reconstructions during the Middle Paleolithic: Myth or reality?
- Pollen analysis has been, and still is, one of the most widely used techniques in Quaternary sciences, especially to reconstruct vegetation history and climate variability. Fossil deposits of accumulating plants, such as peat sediments, were very early investigated as they are particularly suitable for the reception, storage and conservation of palynomorphs. Thanks to successive methodological innovations, palynological analyses then gradually developed by multiplying studies of diverse more mineral sedimentary materials (lake, stream and/or marine sediments, loess deposits, travertine, etc.). These new efficient techniques also led to an interest in archaeological sediments, allowing palaeoenvironmental reconstructions where no adequate Quaternary continental sedimentary records are available. Soon after the mid-20th century, caves and rock-shelters became then the favored studied places in karstic areas to approach the environment of prehistoric humans. However, the pollen record in caves is a complex phenomenon in which multiple geological, biological and atmospheric factors are involved and could lead to some distortions and discontinuities in the pollen assemblages. When not perceived, these pitfalls have sometimes generated some over or misinterpretations. After a keen interest, cave sediment sequences were thus considered as unattractive, presenting lot of alterations, difficult to correlate and with a low palaeoenvironmental potential. The validity and scope of the interpretation of palynological data from this type of deposits are still highly controversial and debatable. In Belgium, a systematic program of detailed stratigraphic recordings from caves associated with various palaeoenvironmental analyses has recently been undertaken in close collaboration with researchers from different disciplines. The objective was to better understand the sedimentary dynamics of these fillings and to test their potential as recorders of Quaternary climatic variations. In that context, new pollen data from two Belgian caves have been acquired and open new prospects for research work in this type of environments. In this paper, we present the state of the art of cave palynology, including the different parameters defining pollen taphonomy, the potentials and the limits of pollen analysis on Quaternary cave deposits. Through the examples of the caves Walou and Scladina, we show that good palynological results can be obtained in these contexts. These records are compared and evaluated in the light of multidisciplinary palaeoecological information from these two prehistoric settlements. When precautions are taken and a close link with geology and archaeology is maintained, local environment of the prehistoric populations, but also major trends in vegetation evolution and climate change during the Middle Paleolithic, can be accurately documented by pollen records from cave sequences.
