Abstract
The continuous, varved and absolutely dated sedimentary record of Lake Montcortès (Iberian Pyrenees) has provided evidence for a distinct and characteristic 20th century (1980s) increase in Cannabis pollen (20C) that persists today. This event was coeval with the geographical shift of the hemp production center in the Iberian Peninsula from east to northeast (where Lake Montcortès lies), which was accompanied by a significant production increase. This increasing trend was fostered by the renewed interest of the paper industry in hemp and was promoted by the onset of European Union subsidies to hemp cultivation. Illegal cannabis crops could have also contributed to the Cannabis pollen increase, but sound evidence is still lacking. These preliminary conclusions should be reinforced by increasing the resolution of the current palynological record and modeling the dispersal of Cannabis pollen around the Montcortès region. More similar high-resolution records are needed to verify the geographical extent of the 20C event. Additionally, Lake Montcortès varved sediments are proposed as a suitable candidate to characterize the onset of the “Anthropocene” epoch (mid-20th century), as currently defined by the Anthropocene Working Group.
Keywords: 20th century, Cannabis, Cultivation, Hemp, Iberian Peninsula, Pollen, Pyrenees, Retting
Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest statement
Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Similar articles
-
Regional precipitation trends since 1500 CE reconstructed from calcite sublayers of a varved Mediterranean lake record (Central Pyrenees).Sci Total Environ. 2022 Jun 20;826:153773. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153773. Epub 2022 Feb 16.PMID: 35182651
-
Identification and quantification of cannabinol as a biomarker for local hemp retting in an ancient sedimentary record by HPTLC-ESI-MS.Anal Bioanal Chem. 2020 Apr;412(11):2633-2644. doi: 10.1007/s00216-020-02492-0. Epub 2020 Feb 14.PMID: 32060580 Free PMC article.
-
Lake microbiome and trophy fluctuations of the ancient hemp rettery.Sci Rep. 2022 May 25;12(1):8846. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-12761-w.PMID: 35614182 Free PMC article.
-
Occupational health and safety in cannabis production: an Australian perspective.Int J Occup Environ Health. 2018 Jul-Oct;24(3-4):75-85. doi: 10.1080/10773525.2018.1517234. Epub 2018 Oct 3.PMID: 30281413 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Evaluation of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) as an industrial crop: a review.Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Oct;28(38):52832-52843. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-16264-5. Epub 2021 Sep 2.PMID: 34476693 Review.