The question of the origin of Alpine farming and pastoral activities associated with seasonal vertical transhumance and dairy production in the Silvretta Alps (Eastern Switzerland) has recently benefitted from renewed interest. There, pastoral practises began during the Late Neolithic (2300 BC), but alpine dairy farming was directly evidenced so far only since the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age (1300–500 BC). The vegetation development, timberline shifts at 2280 m a.s.l. and environmental conditions of the subalpine Urschai Valley (Canton of Grisons, Switzerland) were reconstructed for the small (8 m2) Plan da Mattun fen based on palynological and geochemical analyses for the last six millennia. The X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses are among the first ones performed on a European peatland in such altitudes. A high Rb/Sr ratio in the fen peat sediments revealed an increase in catchment erosion during the time when the forests of the Upper Urschai Valley were steadily diminished probably by fire and livestock impact (2300–1700 BC). These landscape openings were paralleled by increasing micro-charcoal influx values, suggesting that prehistoric people actively set fire on purpose. Simultaneously, palynological evidence for pastoralism was revealed, such as pollen from typical herbs indicating livestock trampling, and abundant spores from coprophilous fungi. Since then, vertical transhumance and pastoral activities remained responsible for the open subalpine landscape above 2000 m a.s.l., most probably also in the context of milk and dairy production since 1300 BC, which is characteristic for the European Alps until today.

中文翻译：

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瑞士 Silvretta 阿尔卑斯山新石器时代晚期至青铜时代早期（公元前 2300-1700 年）原始森林稳步转变为亚高山牧场

与 Silvretta 阿尔卑斯山（瑞士东部）的季节性垂直迁徙和乳制品生产相关的高山农业和牧区活动的起源问题最近重新引起了人们的兴趣。在那里，牧区实践始于新石器时代晚期（公元前 2300 年），但迄今为止，仅在青铜时代晚期/铁器时代早期（公元前 1300-500 年）才直接证明了高山奶牛养殖。基于过去六千年的孢粉学和地球化学分析，为小型（8 平方米）Plan da Mattun fen 重建了亚高山 Urschai 山谷（瑞士格里松州）的植被发育、林线在 2280 米处的变化和环境条件。X 射线荧光 (XRF) 分析是在此类海拔高度的欧洲泥炭地上进行的首批分析之一。泥炭沉积物中的高 Rb/Sr 比率表明，在上乌尔沙伊河谷的森林可能因火灾和牲畜影响（公元前 2300-1700 年）而稳步减少期间，流域侵蚀增加。这些景观开口与不断增加的微量木炭流入值并行，这表明史前人类故意故意放火。同时，揭示了游牧业的孢粉学证据，例如来自典型草本植物的花粉表明牲畜践踏，以及来自粪菌真菌的丰富孢子。从那时起，垂直迁徙和牧区活动仍然是海拔 2000 米以上的开放亚高山景观的原因，最有可能的还有自公元前 1300 年以来的牛奶和乳制品生产，这是欧洲阿尔卑斯山直到今天的特征。