The Emergence of Arboriculture in the 1st Millennium BC along the Mediterranean’s “Far West”

This paper presents the history of the introduction and expansion of arboriculture during the 1st millennium BC from the South of the Iberian Peninsula to the South of France. The earliest evidence of arboriculture at the beginning of the 1st millennium hails from the south of the Iberia from where it spread northward along the peninsula’s eastern edge. The different fruits (grape, olive, fig, almond, pomegranate and apple/pear) arrived together in certain areas in spite of uneven distribution and acceptance by local communities. Grape was the crop with the greatest diffusion. The greater diversity of crops in the southern half of the peninsula is also noteworthy. Their development paved the way for a commercial agricultural model in some territories where fruits and their derivatives, such as wine and oil, played vital roles.This paper is an output of the project FRUITCOM “Un nuevo modelo agrícola: frutales, hierro y comercio durante el I milenio A.E.” (CIDEGENT/2019/003), funded by Generalitat Valenciana. This research also received support from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Movilidad, circulación e intercambio en el llano occidental catalán entre el III y el I milenio ANE, PID2019-110022GB-I00) and from the French National Agency of Research (VINICULTURE project—ANR-16-CE27-0013)

Approche de la vulnérabilité du territoire D’Orly Rungis et Seine Amont (94) aux risques d’inondations, et orientations d’aménagement

L’approche de la vulnérabilité du territoire Orly Rungis et Seine Amont aux risques d’inondations vise à apprécier la vulnérabilité d’un territoire étendu, fortement inondable, sur lequel sont projetés de grands aménagements dans le cadre d’une Opération d’Intérêt National. Fondée sur une approche systémique et développée à partir des données accessibles, cette approche conduit à appréhender le territoire comme un système d’éléments (biens, activités et espaces physiques…) liés entre eux par différentes relations. L’analyse, dont certains extraits sont présentés dans cet article, s’appuie sur celle d’enjeux liés à l’occupation du sol (statiques) et celle d’enjeux majeurs, essentiels pour le fonctionnement du territoire (notion de dépendance et de transmission de vulnérabilité à l’ensemble d’un territoire). Au-delà d’une appréciation de la vulnérabilité du territoire à une inondation type 1910 ou d’occurrence plus fréquente, cette démarche amène à questionner ou renforcer les orientations à mettre en oeuvre dans les projets d’aménagement engagés, voire de proposer de nouveaux aménagements, pour porter une politique de maîtrise et de réduction de la vulnérabilité, y compris de l’existant, à de multiples échelles et partagée entre les différents acteurs

Synthesis of 1-vinyl-3-ethylimidazolium-based ionic liquid (co)polymers by cobalt-mediated radical polymerization

The cobalt-mediated radical polymerization (CMRP) of 1-vinyl-3-ethylimidazolium bromide (VEtImBr) is described. Polymerizations were performed at 30 °C in solution either in dimethylformamide (DMF) or in methanol (MeOH) or in a mixture of both solvents, using a preformed alkyl–cobalt(III) adduct, CH3OC(CH3)2CH2–C(CH3)(CN)–(CH2–CHOAc)<4–Co(acac)2, as the mediating agent. Excellent control over molecular weights and dispersities (Mw/Mn 1.05–1.06) was achieved in MeOH, with a linear increase of experimental molecular weights with the monomer conversion. Substituting methanol for DMF induced much faster polymerization process, even under quite high diluted conditions: for instance, about 80% monomer conversion was reached in 30 min in DMF, compared to 10 h in MeOH. However, size exclusion chromatography (SEC) traces of PVEtImBr samples synthesized in DMF revealed a side population in the high molecular weight region, presumably due to the occurrence of irreversible coupling reactions of a small proportion of growing chains. Well-defined diblock copolymers featuring both a poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) block and a PVEtImBr-based poly(ionic liquid) block, PVAc-b-PVEtImBr, were next obtained by sequential CMRP of VAc and VEtImBr. To this end, a PVAc-Co(acac)2 was first prepared by CMRP and employed as a macroinitiator for the polymerization of VEtImBr either in methanol or in a mixture of DMF and MeOH (2/1: v/v) at 30 °C. Finally, cobalt-mediated radical coupling (CMRC) of the aforementioned PVAc-b-PVEtImBr diblock copolymers, using isoprene as a simple coupling agent, led to unprecedented and structurally well-defined PVAc-b-PVEtImBr-b-PVAc triblock copolymers

Combination of marine and artificial freshwater habitats provides wintering Black-tailed Godwits with landscape supplementation

International audienceMigratory shorebirds, which have an energy-expensive lifestyle, must replenish their body reserves during winter to ensure their survival. Hence, birds have to select wintering habitats that provide the best net energy gain per unit of time while also considering possible disturbances such as predation risk, competition and resource depletion. Different foraging strategies can therefore emerge between species or individuals, such as focusing on one high-quality foraging habitat or making use of multiple habitats, resulting in contrasting distributions and movements patterns. By analysing the movements of 10 wintering Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa islandica through GPS-telemetry, our study aimed to understand and describe their spatiotemporal use of wetlands. Our results show that Black-tailed Godwits are flexible in terms of habitat use. All tracked godwits used more than one site during the survey period, with site shifts at both small and large spatial scales, and used multiple habitat types within sites. Indeed, although a dominant use of intertidal areas was observed, birds showed seasonal and daily habitat shifts by visiting inland marshes, saltpans and hunting ponds, with a habitat-specific activity rhythm. Finally, our results support the importance of the protected areas and the management of artificial wetland habitats to ensure the preservation of high-quality wintering areas for godwits

Talkin’ About a Revolution. Changes and Continuities in Fruit Use in Southern France From Neolithic to Roman Times Using Archaeobotanical Data (ca. 5,800 BCE – 500 CE)

The use and socio-environmental importance of fruits dramatically changed after the emergence of arboriculture and fruit domestication in the eastern Mediterranean, between the 5th and the 3rd millennia BCE. Domesticated fruits together with cultivation techniques apparently reached the western Mediterranean via colonial activities during the 1st millennium BCE – early 1st millennium CE. However, the pace and chronology of this diffusion as well as the recompositions in diversity, to adapt to new socio-environmental conditions, remain poorly known. In this study we investigate archaeobotanical records in Southern France from the Neolithic to the end of the Roman empire (ca. 5,800 BCE – 500 CE) to assess changes in fruit use as well as the emergence, spread and evolution of fruit cultivation. We explore changes in native traditions faced with innovations brought by Mediterranean colonization and how domesticated fruit cultivation spread from the Mediterranean to more temperate areas. Archaeobotanical data from 577 assemblages were systematically analyzed distinguishing two datasets according to preservation of plant remains (charred vs uncharred), as this impacts on the quantity and diversity of taxa. The 47 fruit taxa identified were organized in broad categories according to their status and origin: exotic, allochtonous cultivated, indigenous cultivated, wild native. We also analyzed diversity, quantity of fruits compared to the total of economic plants and spatio-temporal variations in the composition of fruit assemblages using correspondence factor analyses. Archaeobotanical data reflect variations and continuities in the diversity of species used through time and space. In the Mediterranean area, significant changes related to the arrival of new plants and development of fruit cultivation occurred mainly, first during the Iron Age (6th-5th c. BCE), then in the beginning of the Roman period. Large cities played a major role in this process. In agreement with archeological information, archaeobotanical data reveal the predominance of viticulture in both periods. However, arboriculture also included other fruit species that have been subject to less intensive and specialized cultivation practices. Most significantly, this study pinpoints the continuous contribution of native, supposedly wild fruits throughout the chronology. Despite the homogenizing Roman influence, results reveal clear differences between the Mediterranean and temperate regions

Diversity of crops, weeds and cultivation practices during the Bronze Age and First Iron Age in South-Eastern France

International audienc

Diversity of crops, weeds and cultivation practices during the Bronze Age and First Iron Age in South-Eastern France

International audienc