2000-year environmental history of a karstic lake in the Mediterranean Pre-Pyrenees: the Estanya lakes (Spain)

The sediment record of the Estanya lakes (Pre-Pyrenees, Spain) indicates that this region was intensely affected by land use during the Middle and Modern ages, which contrasts with the present-day poor socioeconomic development of the region. The correlation between sediment and biotic data and well-known historical events suggests a reliable history of environmental changes in this area during the last 2000 years. Changes in lake level were mainly controlled by climatic factors, whereas properties such as lithology, organic carbon, ostracods and pollen content are mainly associated with lake management and land use. Major sedimentological changes resulted from the use of the lake for hemp retting at the start of the XIVth century. Subsequent depopulation of the area in the XXth century led to the progressive recovery of the lacustrine ecosystem.