Climate and vegetation dynamics of the Northern Apennines (Italy) during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene
Guido, Maria Angela ; Molinari, Chiara LU
; Moneta, Valentina
; Branch, Nicholas
; Black, Stuart
; Simmonds, Michael
; Stastney, Philip
and Montanari, Carlo
(2020)
In Quaternary Science Reviews
231.
p.1-17
- Abstract
- This study reconstructs the regional vegetation and climate dynamics between the upper Late Pleistoceneand Holocene around Pian del Lago, a coastal mountain marshland located at 831 m asl in westernLiguria (NW-Italy), based on the pollen analysis of a 13 m-long sediment core. The record provided aunique opportunity to study a poorly documented period in northern Italy and across many parts ofsouthwestern Europe. We propose an event stratigraphy based upon the identification of seven interstadials(NAI-7 to NAI-1) spanning the upper Late Pleistocene. The correlation with other terrestrialrecords in Italy, and with Mediterranean marine sequences and the Greenland ice cores, permitted acoherent reconstruction of main environmental changes from... (More)
- This study reconstructs the regional vegetation and climate dynamics between the upper Late Pleistoceneand Holocene around Pian del Lago, a coastal mountain marshland located at 831 m asl in westernLiguria (NW-Italy), based on the pollen analysis of a 13 m-long sediment core. The record provided aunique opportunity to study a poorly documented period in northern Italy and across many parts ofsouthwestern Europe. We propose an event stratigraphy based upon the identification of seven interstadials(NAI-7 to NAI-1) spanning the upper Late Pleistocene. The correlation with other terrestrialrecords in Italy, and with Mediterranean marine sequences and the Greenland ice cores, permitted acoherent reconstruction of main environmental changes from >~43,000 cal. BP. Significantly, the pollenrecord indicates the persistence of a mesophilous mountain vegetation cover, mainly composed ofQuercus (deciduous and evergreen), Abies, Fagus and Alnus over the whole time period recorded. At theLast Glacial Maximum (LGM) and during the Late Würm Lateglacial, despite the presence of steppicvegetation composed of Artemisia, woodlands dominated by Pinus, with Abies, Picea, Fagus, Alnus andBetula are present. This forest composition provides an important insight into the history of Picea insouthern Europe and Late Pleistocene refugia for mesophilous species. During the Early Holocene, Pinusis first replaced by Abies and then by deciduous Quercus and mixed temperate species as the dominantforest component. Both arboreal and herbaceous anthropogenic pollen indicators only make theirappearance during the Late Holocene, attesting to the increasing importance of human activities. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/688ef1d1-94cc-445d-a2f3-5e4c7448391b
- author
- Guido, Maria Angela
; Molinari, Chiara
LU
; Moneta, Valentina
; Branch, Nicholas
; Black, Stuart
; Simmonds, Michael
; Stastney, Philip
and Montanari, Carlo
- organization
- publishing date
- 2020-03-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- North-western Italy Late Pleistocene Holocene Pollen analysis Micro-charcoal analysis
- in
- Quaternary Science Reviews
- volume
- 231
- article number
- 106206
- pages
- 17 pages
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85079006140
- ISSN
- 0277-3791
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106206
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 688ef1d1-94cc-445d-a2f3-5e4c7448391b
- date added to LUP
- 2020-02-12 11:50:51
- date last changed
- 2022-04-18 20:31:35
@article{688ef1d1-94cc-445d-a2f3-5e4c7448391b,
abstract = {{This study reconstructs the regional vegetation and climate dynamics between the upper Late Pleistoceneand Holocene around Pian del Lago, a coastal mountain marshland located at 831 m asl in westernLiguria (NW-Italy), based on the pollen analysis of a 13 m-long sediment core. The record provided aunique opportunity to study a poorly documented period in northern Italy and across many parts ofsouthwestern Europe. We propose an event stratigraphy based upon the identification of seven interstadials(NAI-7 to NAI-1) spanning the upper Late Pleistocene. The correlation with other terrestrialrecords in Italy, and with Mediterranean marine sequences and the Greenland ice cores, permitted acoherent reconstruction of main environmental changes from >~43,000 cal. BP. Significantly, the pollenrecord indicates the persistence of a mesophilous mountain vegetation cover, mainly composed ofQuercus (deciduous and evergreen), Abies, Fagus and Alnus over the whole time period recorded. At theLast Glacial Maximum (LGM) and during the Late Würm Lateglacial, despite the presence of steppicvegetation composed of Artemisia, woodlands dominated by Pinus, with Abies, Picea, Fagus, Alnus andBetula are present. This forest composition provides an important insight into the history of Picea insouthern Europe and Late Pleistocene refugia for mesophilous species. During the Early Holocene, Pinusis first replaced by Abies and then by deciduous Quercus and mixed temperate species as the dominantforest component. Both arboreal and herbaceous anthropogenic pollen indicators only make theirappearance during the Late Holocene, attesting to the increasing importance of human activities.}},
author = {{Guido, Maria Angela and Molinari, Chiara and Moneta, Valentina and Branch, Nicholas and Black, Stuart and Simmonds, Michael and Stastney, Philip and Montanari, Carlo}},
issn = {{0277-3791}},
keywords = {{North-western Italy Late Pleistocene Holocene Pollen analysis Micro-charcoal analysis}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{03}},
pages = {{1--17}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Quaternary Science Reviews}},
title = {{Climate and vegetation dynamics of the Northern Apennines (Italy) during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106206}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106206}},
volume = {{231}},
year = {{2020}},
}