Charcoal fragments were found in a podzolic soil profile in a slope above Intragna, canton of Ticino, Switzerland. Through species and genus analysis as well as ¹⁴C dating it was found that soil development amounted to ±100cm in about 7000 years. The appearance of chestnut (Castanea sativa) since the Roman epoch as revealed by pollen analysis corresponds to the charcoal of this species present in the upper layer down to a depth of 20 cm. This diagnosis suggests that the soil must have developed around 20cm during approximately the last 2000 years. The coniferous part of the stand (Abies alba, Pinus sp.) which was continuously present until 7000 BP disappeared before approximately 2000 BP.
The mean fire interval (MFI) amounts to 1800 years disregarding of the last two fires in 1945 and 1987. It is possible that some fire events were overlooked. The human influence of the fire frequency is not apparent on this particular site, though regional traces of human activity have already been detected.