RESULTS FROM 1 TO 19 OF 19

2022, Contributo in volume, ENG

The Impact of Climate, Resource Availability, Natural Disturbances and Human Subsistence Strategies on the Sicilian Landscape Dynamics during Holocene.

Pasta Salvatore, D'Amore Giuseppe, Di Maggio Cipriano, Di Pasquale Gaetano, Forgia Vincenza, Incarbona Alessandro, Madonia Giuliana, Morales-Molino César, Rotolo Silvio Giuseppe, Sineo Luca, Speciale Claudia, Sulli Attilio, Tinner Willy, Vacchi Matteo

This paper presents a multidisciplinary summary of the most recent discoveries and hypotheses concerning factors driving the human subsistence economy and landscape shaping in Sicily during the Holocene. A number of scientific papers have recently pointed out the key role played by paleogeography, resource (water, food) availability and natural disturbances (volcanic eruptions, tsunamis) in local human activities. Modern anthropology and archaeology increasingly use biological remains (e.g. soils, bones, wood, plant macroremains, pollen) to better understand how human communities managed to survive and spread. Likewise, refined reconstructions of past human demographic fluxes and socio-economic structures may enable a better understanding of landscape dynamics. Specifically, this historical perspective on the management of natural resources allows the finding of past episodes of unsustainable land use (e.g. forest destruction, overgrazing), thus providing a useful basis for future nature protection and maintaining sustainable ecosystem services.

2022, Articolo in rivista, ENG

Walking on the Sea Traces: Developing a platform to bring Ocean Literacy and Citizen Science at Home

Alvisi, Francesca; Baldrighi, Elisa; Merlino, Silvia; Locritani, Marina; Panfili, Monica; Colella, Sabrina; Bronco, Simona; Cicogna, Francesca; Coiai, Serena; King, Emily

The process of the development of a citizen science platform on Ocean Literacy designed and implemented during the lock down period of 2020 is described. As restrictions due to the COVID-19 health emergency did not allow researchers to organise public events and field data collection activities related to Ocean Literacy, it was decided to take advantage of this situation by building an online platform to bring Ocean Literacy issues directly into citizens' homes. The massive use of digital tools by all civic communities during this time has enabled both the implementation of this idea and rendering it effective. The pandemic control measures then provided a unique opportunity to focus citizen attention on the collection of household data and information and to highlight the more or less direct connections between citizens' lifestyles and the eco-marine system. Short questionnaires were used to ascertain and highlight citizens' household behaviours and daily attitudes during the lockdown towards water use, seafood consumption and plastic material use and disposal. Data and information were also proposed, collected and analyzed in terms of: general environmental awareness of the respondents, perception regarding their purchasing choices during this particular period, as well as any changes in lifestyles and habits during the lockdown with respect to previous periods. The collected data enabled the improvement of our knowledge on some aspects of people's domestic habits as well as their perception vs. real knowledge about the proposed environmental issues. We also realized that it is increasingly crucial for scientists to directly and extensively involve people and schools in educational and outreach activities and events as a good practice of science-society interaction. But to achieve good results there is a need to develop appropriate communication tools and effective involvement strategies to promote their widespread participation in citizen science projects.

Mediterranean Marine Science 23 (2), pp. 389–404

DOI: 10.12681/mms.26931

2021, Articolo in rivista, ITA/ENG

IL PALEOAMBIENTE SUBBOREALE E L'IMPATTO ANTROPICO NELLA CONCA DI CAMPOCATINO: STUDIO MULTIDISCIPLINARE DI UN GEOSITO GLACIALE DELLE ALPI APUANE

Da Prato S.[1], Amorfini A.[2], Bartelletti A.[2], Ellero A.[1], Turrini G.[1], Ottria G.[1]

La conca glaciale di Campocatino è uno dei geositi più emblematici e rappresentativi delle Alpi Apuane per le evidenze dell'attività glaciale durante l'Ultimo Massimo Glaciale. Questo contributo si propone di fornire un'evoluzione geologico-stratigrafica e paleoambientale del geosito di Campocatino attraverso uno studio multidisciplinare che integra analisi sedimentologiche, datazioni al radiocarbonio e analisi antracologiche. I depositi della conca di Campocatino sono qui riconosciuti come un till glaciale risedimentato durante l'Olocene dopo un breve trasporto dovuto a ruscellamento superficiale. In particolare, le datazioni radiometriche effettuate permettono di affermare che i sedimenti investigati sono stati depositati durante un intervallo temporale compreso tra 4.500 e 3.400 anni fa. Dal punto di vista composizionale, i depositi analizzati sono caratterizzati da diffusi noduli di ferro-manganese, supportando l'ipotesi di una loro formazione durante una precedente fase di clima caldo umido, riferibile all'Optimum Climatico dell'Olocene. Allo stesso periodo è possibile far risalire lo sviluppo di boschi misti termofili a dominanza di abete bianco (Abies alba Mill.) in tutto l'Appennino settentrionale. Come dimostrano i carboni rinvenuti, la stessa conifera persisteva ancora nell'area di Campocatino nella fase centrale del Subboreale (3.5 ka cal BP) corrispondente all'Età del Bronzo medio, durante l'oscillazione fresca e umida di Löbben (3.8-3.4 ka cal BP), opponendosi forse al veloce incremento del faggio (Fagus sylvatica L.). L'abbondanza nei depositi di piccoli frammenti vegetali carbonizzati permette infine di introdurre la discussione sulle cause naturali e/o antropiche dei ripetuti incendi a carico dei boschi di abete bianco, che hanno contribuito alla rarefazione prima e poi alla quasi completa estinzione di questa specie arborea nelle Alpi Apuane in tempi storici, in modo più significativo rispetto alle variazioni climatiche più fredde e più umide del Neoglaciale.

Acta Apuana XVI - XVII, pp. 45–65

2021, Articolo in rivista, ENG

The influence of natural fire and cultural practices on island ecosystems: insights from a 4800 year record from Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

RAVAZZI C., MARIANI M., DE NASCIMENTO L., CRIADO C., GAROZZO L., NARANJO A., PÉREZ-TORRADO F, PINI R., NOGUÉ S., WHITTAKER R., FERNANDEZ-PALACIOS J.M.

Aim: Long-term ecological data provide a stepped frame of island ecosystems transformation after successive waves of human colonizations, important to determine the baselines for restoration, eradication, and monitoring. Here we focus on timing and ecological impact of human settlement on the Canary Islands. We report analyses from a 4800-year sedimentary sequence from Gran Canaria, disentangling forest responses to natural fire from early human pressure. Location: La Calderilla, a volcanic maar caldera at 1770 m a.s.l. on Gran Canaria. Taxon: plants and fungi. Methods: A core from the caldera infill was analysed for sediment properties, pollen, micro- and macrocharcoal, with radiocarbon and biochronology dating. Fossil data were statistically zoned and interpreted with the help of cross-correlation and ordination analyses. Surface samples and a pollen-vegetation training set were used as modern analogues for vegetation reconstruction. Results: Before human settlement (4800-2000 cal. yr BP), pine (Pinus canariensis) pollen dominated. Extensive dry pine forests characterised the highlands, although with temporary declining phases, followed by prompt (sub-centennial scale) recovery. Towards 2280 cal. yr BP there was a shift to open vegetation, marked by an increase in coprophilous spores. Coincidental with independent evidence of human settlement in the pine zone (2000-470 cal. yr BP) there was a decline of pine and a peak in charcoal. Following historic settlement (470-0 cal. yr BP), pollen producers from anthropogenic habitats, secondary vegetation and coprophilous fungi increased in abundance, reflecting higher pressure of animal husbandry and farming. Modern moss polsters reflect extensive reforestation since 1950 CE (Common Era). Main conclusions: From 4800 cal. yr BP, the pristine vegetation covering the Gran Canaria highlands was a mosaic of dry pine forests and open vegetation. The pine forests sustained intense fires, which may well have promoted habitat diversity. Human interference was initiated around 2280 cal. yr BP probably by recurrent cultural firing and animal husbandry, triggering a steady trend of forest withdrawal and expansion of grasses and scrubs, until the final disappearance of the pine forest locally in the 20th century. Grasslands were found to be of ancient cultural origin in the summit areas of Gran Canaria, although they underwent an expansion after the Castilian Conquest.

Journal of biogeography (Online) 48, pp. 276–290

DOI: 10.1111/jbi.13995

2018, Articolo in rivista, ENG

Late Holocene environmental dynamics, vegetation history, human impact, and climate change in the ancient Literna Palus (Lago Patria; Campania, Italy)

Di Rita F.; Molisso F.; Sacchi M.

A new late-Holocene high-resolution pollen record is presented from Lago Patria with the aim of investigating past vegetation and environmental dynamics in a still under-investigated coastal sector of the Campania region (Italy). Our results show the evolution of a mixed deciduous and evergreen oak-dominated lowland forest, rich in both xeric and mesic woody taxa, under the influence of climate, human impact, geomorphic processes and their interplay. Between 4800 and 2800 cal BP, the pollen record highlights only slight vegetation changes, featured by a modest forest decline around 4200 cal BP, consistent with the deforestation pattern produced by the 4.2 ka arid climate event in southern and central Italy. This event was followed, between 3900 and 3300 cal BP, by a forest recovery with a remarkable development of mesic trees, notably Fagus, influenced by wet climate conditions. While Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements are missing from this coastal area, which suggests a marginal role of human activity in the environmental changes of this period, the continuous presence of anthropogenic pollen indicators in the pollen record stimulates new archeological investigations. Between 2800 and 2200 cal BP, the area experienced successive domination by Greek, Etruscan, Italic and Roman populations, culminating with the foundation and expansion of cities like Cumae, Capua, and Dicearchia/Puteoli, which determined major impact on the natural forest through intense agricultural practices. After a sedimentation hiatus between 2200 and 180 BP, the pollen record documents a few tens of years, during the Bourbon domination, when the vegetational landscape, characterized by cultivations and pasturelands, appears almost completely treeless. Pollen and other palynomorphs of aquatic taxa evidence a change from freshwater to brackish conditions, consistent with the transition from cat's eye freshwater ponds to open lagoon.

Review of palaeobotany and palynology 258, pp. 48–61

DOI: 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2018.06.005

2017, Articolo in rivista, ENG

Fire and human record at Lake Victoria, East Africa, during the Early Iron Age: Did humans or climate cause massive ecosystem changes?

Battistel, Dario; Argiriadis, Elena; Kehrwald, Natalie; Spigariol, Maddalena; Russell, James M.; Barbante, Carlo

Organic molecular markers determined in a sediment core (V95-1A-1P) from Lake Victoria (East Africa) were used to reconstruct the history of human impact and regional fire activity during the Early Iron Age (similar to 2400 to similar to 1100 yr BP). Fire history was reconstructed using levoglucosan and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as markers for biomass burning that demonstrate two distinct fire periods peaking at 1450-1700 and 1850-2050 cal. yr BP. A partial correlation between levoglucosan and PAHs is interpreted as different transport behaviors and burn temperatures affecting the proxies. A fecal sterol index (CoP-Index) indicates the presence of humans near the lakeshore, where the CoP-Index lags a few centuries behind the fire peaks. The CoP-Index peaks between 1850 and1950 cal. yr BP and between 1400 and 1500 cal. yr BP. Retene, a PAH that indicates softwood combustion, differs from other PAHs and levoglucosan by abruptly increasing at similar to 1650 cal. yr BP and remaining high until 1200 cal. yr BP. This increase may potentially signal human activity in that the development of metallurgy and/or ceramic production requires highly efficient fuels. However, this increase in retene occurs at the same time as severe drought events centered at similar to 1500 and similar to 2000 yr BP where the droughts and associated woodland to grassland transition may have resulted in more intense fires. The grassland expansion could have created favorable conditions for human activities and triggered settlement growth that in turn may have created a positive feedback for further landscape opening.

Holocene (Sevenoaks) 27 (7), pp. 997–1007

DOI: 10.1177/0959683616678466

2017, Articolo in rivista, ENG

Shifting baseline in macroecology? Unravelling the influence of human impact on mammalian body mass

Santini, Luca; Gonzalez-Suarez, Manuela; Rondinini, Carlo; Di Marco, Moreno

Aim: Human activities have led to hundreds of species extinctions and have narrowed the distribution of many of the remaining species. These changes influence our understanding of global macroecological patterns, but their effects have been rarely explored. One of these patterns, the Bergmann's rule, has been largely investigated in macroecology, but often under the assumption that observed patterns reflect natural processes. We assessed the extent to which humans have re-shaped the observable patterns of body mass distribution in terrestrial mammals, and how this has altered the macroecological baseline. Location: Global Methods: Using a comprehensive set of ecological, climatic and anthropogenic variables, we tested several alternative hypotheses to explain the body mass pattern observed in terrestrial mammals' assemblages at a one-degree resolution. We then explored how model predictions and the Bergmann's latitudinal pattern are affected by the inclusion of human impact variables and identified areas where predicted body mass differs from the expected due to human impact. Results: Our model suggests that median and maximum body mass predicted in grid cells would be higher, and skewness in local mass distributions reduced, if human impacts were minimal, especially in areas that are highly accessible to humans and where natural land cover has been converted for human activities. Main conclusions: Our study provides evidence of the pervasive effects of anthropogenic impact on nature and shows human-induced distortion of global macroecological patterns. This extends the notion of "shifting baseline", suggesting that when the first macroecological investigations started, our understanding of global geographic patterns was based on a situation which was already compromised. While in the short term human impact is causing species decline and extinction, in the long term, it is causing a broad re-shaping of animal communities with yet unpredicted ecological implications.

Diversity and distributions (Print) 23 (6), pp. 640–649

DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12555

2017, Abstract in atti di convegno, ENG

Assessing the response of ground-dwelling beetles communities to different land-uses in Mediterranean cork oak systems

MANNU R., PILIA O., FADDA M.L., VERDINELLI M.

Studying of macroarthropods communities in different land-use systems may be widely useful in defining management strategies in Mediterranean forests, mainly due to their sensitivity to human impact. This aspect is really interesting in agroforestry systems, where resources shall be managed in terms of ecological and functional sustainability. In our study, we assessed the response of beetles communities at low taxonomical resolution to different Mediterranean cork oak land-use systems. Spatial variation of dung-beetles communities was also analyzed because of their potential role as ecological indicators in grazed areas. We selected twenty-two sites in the northern part of Sardinia (Italy) where beetles were sampled by using a total of 220 pitfall traps. In addition, in each site, a number of environmental variables related to cork oak woodlands structure and land use were measured. During the entire sampling period a total of 4550 individuals belonging to 47 families of beetles were captured. Multivariate analysis performed on ground-dwelling beetles data showed a distinct separation in terms of assemblages between grazed and low-managed sites (stress value = 0.178). Environmental variables significant affecting beetles assemblages were the sheep grazing, the average diameter of cork oak trees, the altitude and the degree of shrubs cover. Further, constrained multivariate analysis indicated the significance of grazing, by both large (F = 2.36, p = 0.03) and small domestic herbivores (F = 3.88, p < 0.01), and altitude (F = 3.54, p < 0.01) as variables determining dung beetles assemblages. Our results support the reliability of ground-dwelling beetles as valuable tool both to detect environmental changes in Mediterranean cork oak woodlands and to define management strategies useful to increase the resilience of cork oak agroforestry systems under future global change scenarios.

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON CORK OAK TREES AND WOODLANDS Conservation, Management, Products and Challenges for the Future, Sassari, 25-26/05/2017

DOI: 10.14275/978- 88-907678- 0-7

2017, Abstract in atti di convegno, ENG

The microbial diversity of the Su Bentu cave, Italy and the influence of human exploration

Stefan Leuko, Kaisa Koskinen, Ilenia D'Angeli, Laura Sanna, Jo De Waele, Paolo Marcia, Christine Moissl-Eichinger, Petra Rettberg

The microbial diversity in the Su Bentu Cave (Sardinia, Italy) was investigated by means of Illumina MiSeq analysis. The hypogean environment is of great interest for astrobiological research as cave conditions may resemble those in extra-terrestrial re-gions. Furthermore, they hold high potential to identify novel, extremely adapted organisms to severely oligo-trophic habitats. However, the influence of human is not neglectable and in-depth investigations are needed to determine the impact of exploration on an otherwise mostly pristine ecosystem. The cave in-vestigated in this study develops for several kilometers into the mountain, two hundred meters below the topographic surface and is characterized by a strong air circulation. Its structure is composed of huge pas-sages carved in limestone where an ephemeral under-ground stream creates some lakes, close to which seven samples of visible calcite rafts, manganese de-posits and moonmilk (a hydrated calcium carbonate speleothem), were sampled during an expedition in 2014. Other samples were retrieved from a frequently used campsite and from some dry cave passages leading deeper into the cave.

Astrobiology Science Conference 2017, Mesa, Arizona (USA), 24-28/04/2017

2016, Abstract in atti di convegno, ENG

Changes in atmospheric chemistry and pollutants deposition in the Asinara island: a tool for investigating global change

Sanna Laura, Arca Angelo, Ventura Andrea, Zara Pierpaolo, Duce Pierpaolo

The atmosphere is a fluid shell whose dynamic reflects the biogeochemical processes of the biosphere and especially perturbations induced by human activities. Its mixing is so efficient to connect ecosystems at global scale, leading an important role in global change. In fact, local emissions may be carried in the distant regions of the planet, transmitting the impacts of activities and actions at the global or regional scale and vice versa. Hence the interest to know the potential negative impact on climate of some pollutants in natural ecosystems and the transport of the same, especially in areas of significant natural value at the edge of highly industrialized zones such as Asinara, a small island of approximately 50 km2 in the northwestern coast of Sardinia (Italy). This island is located a few kilometers from a factory which manufactures organic chemical products with direct discharge of emissions to air. Asinara has a multitude of biotic and abiotic environments in a small area and it has been recognized at Community level as a special protection zone for the conservation of biodiversity that makes the impacts of human activity more visible and more easily observable. By its nature, an Environmental Observatory has been settled on the island and equipped with a continuous monitoring system of air quality that measures the concentration of the main recognized atmospheric contaminants, such as particulate matter (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). At the same time meteorological and carbon flux data are also recorded. In this work the results of the study carried out for the period 2006-2015 are presented with the ambitious project that aims to differentiate between natural factors and other situations due to the action of global change that induce changes in atmospheric chemistry and pollutants deposition.

Società Italiana Scienze per il Clima - SISC Annual Conference: Climate challenges and solutions under the 2 °C target, Cagliari, Italy, 19-20/10/2016

2016, Articolo in rivista, ENG

Ecological changes and human interaction in Valcamonica, the rock art valley, since the last deglaciation

Pini R., Ravazzi C., Aceti A., Castellano L., Perego R., Quirino T., Vallè F.

Valcamonica is known all over the world for the development of rock art between the Lateglacial and the Middle Ages. We present here an updated synthesis on the environmental history of Valcamonica, focussing on the relationships between natural ecosystems, climate and human peopling. Among the natural archives reviewed, a reference is the Pian di Gembro succession, a middle-altitude site offering a chronologically and taxonomically highly-resolved ecological investigation for the last 15.5 cal ka BP. For this site we present quantitative reconstructions of climate parameters obtained from fossil pollen spectra. The deglaciation of the valley floor occurred about 18-17.5 cal ka BP. Remnants of a hut and rock engravings, referred to the Upper Paleolithic, are indication of human groups on the valley floor, possibly related to hunting activities on wild mammals sheltering in newly established pine and larch forests. Lowering of the timberline and expansion of xerophytic formations affected the montane and subalpine belts in the Younger Dryas. Fast afforestation and timberline rise mark the Holocene onset, as a result of abrupt climate improvement. A phase of hemisphaeric climate change, also recorded in ice cores at 8.2 cal ka BP, promoted the expansion of spruce and fir at middle altitudes. Very high treeline altitudes (> 2,600 m asl) were withstood between 9.1-7.4 cal ka BP, as testified by finds of Pinus cembra trunks and seeds of relevant age in high-altitude mires. In this span, high-altitude camps of Mesolithic hunters, moving seasonally from the valley floor, left traces of forest fires, in the forms of charcoal fragments from hearths and pits with heat-fractured pebbles. Archaeological and palaeoecological data suggest peopling discontinuity between 7.5 to ca. 6.5 cal ka BP, when farming started to develop. The oldest cereal pollen grain is detected at ca. 6 cal ka BP, consistently with the cultural chronology of early settlements in Valcamonica. Mountain pastoralism is documented only for later periods (Bronze Age onward) but detecting earliest traces high-altitude husbandry needs further research at subalpine areas preserving natural archives. Alpine pastures and cereal fields further expanded since the Early Bronze Age, despite a poor archaeological record for the period. During the first millennium BC rock art spread across Valcamonica. Iron Age and Roman time display high rates of forest exploitation, often related to iron-smelting activities, and agriculture expansion. Chestnut and walnut appear between the I BC - II AD centuries.

Alpine and Mediterranean Quaternary (Print) 29 (1), pp. 19–34

2015, Articolo in rivista, ENG

Vegetation, climate and environmental history of the last 4500 years at lake Shkodra (Albania/Montenegro)

Sadori, Laura; Giardini, Marco; Gliozzi, Elsa; Mazzini, Ilaria; Sulpizio, Roberto; van Welden, Aurelien; Zanchetta, Giovanni

Three parallel overlapping cores have been taken in the Albanian side of Lake Shkodra (Albania/Montenegro). The chronological frame of the record, spanning approximately the last 4500years, has been assessed using four radiocarbon dates and four well-known tephra layers of Italian volcanoes. Multidisciplinary analyses turned out to be decisive to understand environmental, climatic changes and human impact. Here, we focus on palynology. The humidity at Shkodra was always enough to allow the developing of a luxuriant arboreal vegetation. The pollen percentage diagram does not record important changes in terrestrial plants percentages. Arboreal pollen (AP) shows only a rather slight decrease, with natural forests' replaced by intensive cultivation of chestnut and walnut in the last seven/eight centuries. The rather minimal changes in composition and dominance are because of the fact that the pollen rain comes from different vegetation belts, from the Mediterranean to the alpine one. Two major periods of humidity are found, one at the base of the pollen concentration and influx diagram, before 4100yr BP, the other at 1300yr BP. Minima in pollen influx and concentration occurred soon before 4000, at ca. 2900 and at ca. 1450yr BP These minima, interpreted as aridity crises, show a temporal coincidence with the so-called Bond events 1-3 already found in other central and eastern Mediterranean records. The minimum in AP occurring after 500yr BP could represent the record of the Little Ice Age', even if it could be the effect of a strong land use.

Holocene (Sevenoaks) 25 (3), pp. 435–444

DOI: 10.1177/0959683614561891

2015, Articolo in rivista, ENG

Reconstructing Holocene vegetation on the island of Gran Canaria before and after human colonization

DE NASCIMENTO L, NOGUÉ S., CRIADO C., RAVAZZI C., WHITTAKER R.J., WILLIS K.J., FERNÁNDEZ-PALACIOS J.M.

We provide the first fossil pollen and charcoal analysis from the island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands). The pollen record obtained from Laguna de Valleseco (870 m a.s.l.) spans the late Holocene (c. 4500-1500 cal. yr BP) and thereby captures the impact of human colonization. During the earliest period, pollen composition resembled contemporary thermophilous communities, with palms (Phoenix canariensis) and junipers (Juniperus cf. turbinata) being the dominant trees, suggesting that these elements were more widespread in the past. Vegetation in Valleseco began to change at around 2300 cal. yr BP, 400 years before the earliest archaeological evidence of human presence in the island (c. 1900 cal. yr BP). Our data show an increased frequency of fires at that time, coinciding with the decline of palms and the increase of grasses, indicating that humans were present and were transforming vegetation, thus showing that the demise of Gran Canaria's forest began at an early point in the prehistoric occupation of the island. In the following centuries, there were no signs of forest recovery. Pollen from cultivated cereals became significant, implying the introduction of agriculture in the site, by 1800 cal. yr BP. The next shift in vegetation (c. 1600 cal. yr BP) involved the decrease of grasses in favour of shrubs and trees like Morella faya, suggesting that agriculture was abandoned at the site.

Holocene (Sevenoaks)

DOI: 10.1177/0959683615596836

2015, Articolo in rivista, ENG

Vegetation, climate and environmental history of the last 4500 years at lake Shkodra (Albania/Montenegro)

Laura Sadori, Marco Giardini, Elsa Gliozzi, Ilaria Mazzini, Roberto Sulpizio, Aurelien van Welden and Giovanni Zanchetta

Three parallel overlapping cores have been taken in the Albanian side of Lake Shkodra (Albania/Montenegro). The chronological frame of the record, spanning approximately the last 4500 years, has been assessed using four radiocarbon dates and four well-known tephra layers of Italian volcanoes. Multidisciplinary analyses turned out to be decisive to understand environmental, climatic changes and human impact. Here, we focus on palynology. The humidity at Shkodra was always enough to allow the developing of a luxuriant arboreal vegetation. The pollen percentage diagram does not record important changes in terrestrial plants percentages. Arboreal pollen (AP) shows only a rather slight decrease, with 'natural forests' replaced by intensive cultivation of chestnut and walnut in the last seven/eight centuries. The rather minimal changes in composition and dominance are because of the fact that the pollen rain comes from different vegetation belts, from the Mediterranean to the alpine one. Two major periods of humidity are found, one at the base of the pollen concentration and influx diagram, before 4100 yr BP, the other at 1300 yr BP. Minima in pollen influx and concentration occurred soon before 4000, at ca. 2900 and at ca. 1450 yr BP These minima, interpreted as aridity crises, show a temporal coincidence with the so-called Bond events 1-3 already found in other central and eastern Mediterranean records. The minimum in AP occurring after 500 yr BP could represent the record of the 'Little Ice Age', even if it could be the effect of a strong land use.

Holocene (Sevenoaks) 25 (3), pp. 435–444

2012, Articolo in rivista, ENG

Sedimentological and morpho-evolution maps of the 'Bosco Pantano di Policoro' coastal system (Gulf of Taranto, southern Italy)

Sabato, Luisa; Longhitano, Sergio G.; Gioia, Dario; Cilumbriello, Antonietta; Spalluto, Luigi

This paper presents the results of a sedimentological study performed to characterize the 'Bosco Pantano di Policoro e Costa Ionica Foce Sinni' coastal system, in Basilicata (southern Italy), as part of the PROVIDUNE LIFE Project. The study was focused on the morpho-sedimentological characterization of both the emerged and submerged sectors of the beach system developed along a 3.5 km-long segment of the Ionian coast. A multitemporal comparison of historical aerial photos of the studied coastline concerning the last 100 years was executed. A geomorphological survey was carried out along 36 topographic profiles (each up to 200-m long); these were coupled with bathymetric profiles, reaching a depth of -13 m. Both topographic and bathymetric profiles were measured on three occasions (July, October, December 2010). Textural and compositional analyses of sediments were also performed. The results of this study were synthesized in a series of maps illustrating a schematic geological outline of the study area, a reconstruction of the Sinni river course and shoreline changes from 1908 to 2010 (1:2,400 scale), significant topographic (1:1,300 scale) and bathymetric (1:5,000 scale) profiles, three bathymetric charts (1:31,000 scale) and morpho-sedimentological features of both the coastal and nearshore sectors (1:15,000 scale).

Journal of maps 8 (3), pp. 304–311

DOI: 10.1080/17445647.2012.722791

2011, Articolo in rivista, ENG

Sicilian Coastal Biodiversity through Small-Scale Fishery: An Innovative Approach.

Vitale S. 1, Cannizzaro L. 2, De Stefano G. 1, Milazzo A. 1, Salvo G. 1

The catch of small-scale fishery by trammel net along the Sicilian coast, between the years 1997 and 1999, was investigated. The biodiversity of the catch was considered among six sample ports. Richness (S), Simpson's index (d), Pielou's index (J) and Shannon-Wiener's index (H) were used as measures of biodiversity. The richness of fish species is particularly important for monitoring habitat degradation and human impact. The very high biodiversity of the Mediterranean sea is under pressure from human impact and climate change. The study of the biodiversity of the catch of small-scale fishery is a useful means to investigate the condition of coastal areas where human impact and pollution are particularly strong.

Journal of coastal research 64, pp. 1931–1935

2008, Articolo in rivista, ENG

The ebb-tidal delta of the Venice Lagoon, Italy

Donda F; Brancolini G; Tosi L; Kovacevic V; Baradello L; Gacic M; Rizzetto F

Very high-resolution seismic lines were collected offshore the Venice Lagoon in the framework of the Co.Ri.La `New very high resolution seismic methods to study the Venice Lagoon subsoil' project. The 140 km boomer profiles led to the identification of a convex-upward, lens-shaped body just outside the Lido inlet, one of the three lagoon inlets, which has been interpreted as an ebb-tidal delta. The comparison between the seismostratigraphic setting of this deposit, as revealed by the seismic lines, and the analyses of historical bathymetric maps highlighted the key role of human interventions in the formation and evolution of the Lido inlet ebb-tidal delta. To preserve the lagoon environment but also to ensure a navigable way, human interventions at the Lido inlet, performed since the fourteenth century, caused profound variations in the inlet dynamics, leading to a progressive increase in the sediment dispersion from the lagoon interior towards the sea. The ebb-tidal delta of the Lido inlet is thus a very recent feature compared with the formation of the Venice lagoon and formed mainly as a consequence of the construction of the two jetties that have bound the inlet from AD 1886 to the present day.

Holocene (Sevenoaks) 18 (2), pp. 267–278

DOI: 10.1177/0959683607086765

2006, Articolo in rivista

Natural hazards vs human impact: an integrated methodological approach in geomorphological risk assessment on the Tursi historical site, Southern Italy

Lazzari M, Geraldi E, Lapenna V, Loperte A

The Tursi-Rabatana historical site is very representative of the cultural heritage of Basilicata, Southern Italy. Morphological evolution of the landscape is characterized by very intense erosive phenomena such as landslides, deep gullies, rills, and piping, which affect the perimeter of urban settlements and threaten the conservation of these sites. Rainfalls and the lithology of the substratum are the main factors to which the landscape evolution is linked, triggering landslide and linear erosion phenomena. Climate analysis carried out during the last century showed an increasing trend in the rainfall intensity over extremely short periods. This condition also induced an increase in the vulnerability level of the slopes. Integrated analysis between territorial data (geology, geomorphology, climate) and historical documents showed that, at least from the last century, the geomorphological hazard has been accentuated by the intense human activity of cave excavation along several fronts under the present urban area. The geophysical investigation also permitted the mapping of shallow caves and tunnels in the subsurface reconstructing the multilevel complex hypogeal system. This work also produced evidence that the human interventions occurring during the historical period have been a determining factor in increasing the hazard level and accelerating the preexisting morphological processes.

2003, Monografia o trattato scientifico

LakeWatch 2003. The Changing State of the World's Lakes

Jorgensen E. 1, de Bernardi R. 2, Ballatore T.J. 3, Muhandiki V. 3

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Keyword

human impact

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