We studied the fire record and its environmental consequences during the Holocene in the Central Ebro Basin. This region is very sensitive to environmental changes due to its semiarid conditions, lithological features and a continuous human presence during the past 6000 years. The study area is a 6 m buried sequence of polycyclic soils developed approximately 9500 years ago that is exceptionally well preserved and encompasses four sedimentary units. The content and size distribution of macroscopic charcoal fragments were determined throughout the soil sequence and the analysis of the composition of charcoal, litter and sediments via analytical pyrolysis (Py-GC/MS). The high amount of charcoal fragments recovered in most horizons highlights the fire frequencies since the beginning of the Neolithic, most of which were probably of anthropogenic origin. In some soil horizons where charcoal was not found, we detected a distribution pattern of lipid compounds that could be related to biomass burning. On the other hand, the low number of pyrolysates in the charcoal could be attributed to high-intensity fires. No clear pattern was found in the composition of pyrolysates related to the age of sediments or vegetation type. The most ancient soil (Unit 1) was the richest in charcoal content and contains a higher proportion of larger fragments (>4 mm), which is consistent with the burning of a relatively dense vegetation cover. This buried soil has been preserved in situ, probably due to the accumulation of sedimentary materials because of a high-intensity fire. In addition, the pyrogenic C in this soil has some plant markers that could indicate a low degree of transformation. In Units 2–4, both the amount of charcoals and the proportions of macrofragments >4 mm are lower than those in Unit 1, which coincides with a more open forest and the presence of shrubs and herbs. The preservation of this site is key to continuing with studies that contribute to a better assessment of the consequences of future disturbances, such as landscape transformation and climate change.

我们研究了中埃布罗盆地全新世期间的火灾记录及其对环境的影响。由于其半干旱条件，岩性特征以及过去6000年来人类的持续存在，该地区对环境变化非常敏感。研究区域是大约9500年前开发的长6m的多环土壤的埋藏序列，保存完好，包括四个沉积单元。确定了整个土壤序列中宏观木炭碎片的含量和大小分布，并通过分析热解（Py-GC / MS）分析了木炭，垃圾和沉积物的组成。自新石器时代开始以来，大多数视野中回收到的大量木炭碎片突显了火灾发生的频率，其中大多数可能是人为来源。在一些未发现木炭的土壤层中，我们检测到可能与生物质燃烧有关的脂质化合物的分布模式。另一方面，木炭中热解产物的数量少可归因于高强度的燃烧。在热解产物的组成中没有发现与沉积物年龄或植被类型有关的清晰模式。最古老的土壤（第1单元）的木炭含量最丰富，并且包含较大比例的较大碎片（> 4毫米），这与燃烧相对茂密的植被覆盖物是一致的。这种埋藏的土壤已经保存完了 木炭中少量的热解产物可归因于高强度的火灾。在热解产物的组成中没有发现与沉积物年龄或植被类型有关的清晰模式。最古老的土壤（第1单元）的木炭含量最丰富，并且包含较大比例的较大碎片（> 4毫米），这与燃烧相对茂密的植被覆盖物是一致的。这种埋藏的土壤已经保存完了 木炭中少量的热解产物可归因于高强度的火灾。在热解产物的组成中没有发现与沉积物年龄或植被类型有关的清晰模式。最古老的土壤（第1单元）的木炭含量最丰富，并且包含较大比例的较大碎片（> 4毫米），这与燃烧相对茂密的植被覆盖物是一致的。这种埋藏的土壤已经保存完了在原位，可能是由于高强度火势造成沉积物堆积所致。此外，这种土壤中的热解碳具有一些植物标记，可能表明转化程度低。在第2-4单元中，木炭的数量和大于4毫米的大片段的比例均低于第1单元，这与更开放的森林以及灌木和草本植物的存在相吻合。保护该地点是继续进行研究的关键，这些研究有助于更好地评估景观变化和气候变化等未来干扰的后果。