Ecology meets archaeology: Past, present and future vegetation-derived ecosystems services from the Nuragic Sardinia (1700–580 BCE)

[摘要] 1. Incorporating archaeology within the ecosystem services (ES) framework canoffer decision-makers lessons from the past and a broader sustainability perspective. Given the claimed archaeology-ES link, the island of Sardinia (Italy) offersan unparalleled opportunity where a unique archaeological heritage occurs in anarea of high biodiversity value. More than 5000 nuraghi, megalithic edifices distinctive of the Nuragic civilization (1700–580 BCE), are still present on the island.2. By crossing the map of Vegetation Series (VS) with nuraghi occurrences, we aimedat acquiring a long-term perspective on the interactions between Nuragic peopleand the vegetation as ES provider, so as to enrich our understanding of the pastand the present, and potentially inform future practice for the region of Sardinia.A VS is here intended as a hypothesis of a succession of plant communities thatcan potentially succeed each other over time in a particular land unit.3. The vegetation-derived ES represented a driving force in the land occupationstrategies of the Nuragic people, who preferred, for their settlements, the mesophiluos cork oak VS and secondary the deciduous broad-leaved ones, which, withfresh climatic conditions on fertile substrates and gentle slopes on effusive magmatic rocks, can provide land for grazing and agriculture. Conversely, the Nuragicland occupation strategies shaped the VS, transforming the landscape into agrosilvo-pastoral systems. Our results suggest that the origin of the present agrosilvo-pastoral landscapes (i.e. Pascolo arborato/Dehesa) in Sardinia could be tracedback to the Nuragic civilization.4. The interaction between humans and vegetation in Sardinia is ancient, reciprocaland dynamic. This interaction is crucial for the survival of the present agro-silvopastoral landscapes that represent important suppliers of provisioning, regulatingand cultural ES. Among others, these landscapes are a good example of intimateand sustainable relationships between people and nature and provide a markedsense of place and identity for Sardinia inhabitants.5. This transdisciplinary approach linking plant ecology with archaeology offered archaeology a better understanding of the environmental settings and subsistenceof the Nuragic civilization and provided plant ecology with a long-term perspective on human-vegetation interactions.

[学科分类] 护理学

[关键词] archaeology;ecosystem services;Nuragic age;transdisciplinary approach;vegetation and people;vegetation maps