The Atlas identifies different "evolution pathways" where forests recover at varying rates depending on local soil and climate.
Currently, the story has entered a new chapter: . As traditional agriculture is abandoned, the "Atlas Forestal" tracks the progressive evolution of shrublands back into dense woodlands. Atlas Forestal
This recovery helps with carbon storage and provides environmental services, though it often lacks the full biodiversity of the ancient "deep story" forests due to the dominance of specific species like the beech tree , which casts a deep shadow that can exclude other species. Reconstructing forest history from archaeological data This recovery helps with carbon storage and provides
What we see today as a "natural" Mediterranean landscape is actually a "design" resulting from a millennial interaction between humans and ecological systems. The Modern Rebound: Abandonment and Evolution
The (specifically the Atlas Forestal de Castilla y León ) tells a "deep story" of the Iberian landscape that spans thousands of years, moving from ancient, untouched wilderness to a landscape heavily shaped by human survival and industry. 1. The Ancient "Refuge" (The Holocene Story)
By analyzing charcoal and wood remains in sites like "Las Quintanas," researchers have reconstructed forest changes dating back to the Celtiberian and Roman eras (5th century BC to 1st century AD). 3. The Modern Rebound: Abandonment and Evolution