A new Late-glacial and Holocene record of vegetation and fire history from Lago del Greppo, northern Apennines, Italy

Vescovi, Elisa; Ammann, Brigitta; Ravazzi, Cesare; Tinner, Willy

doi:10.1007/s00334-010-0243-5

Cited by 71 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 57 publications

(94 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…NER has an allelic and haplotype richness 16% and 54% higher, on average, than much larger and less isolated Alpine populations. This suggests that the northernmost part of the Apennine distribution is the most likely refugial area or, at least, the area where silver fir was most abundant during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM): a hypothesis that fits well with palaeobotanical data (Vescovi et al ., ; Magri et al ., ). Besides its conservation relevance, the correct location of refugial populations can help solve the long‐lasting problem of accurately calculating historical migration rates (Cheddadi et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Unexpected scenarios from Mediterranean refugial areas: disentangling complex demographic dynamics along the Apennine distribution of silver fir

Piotti

Leonarduzzi

Postolache

et al. 2017

Journal of Biogeography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mediterranean refugial areas are generally underrepresented in large-scale genetic surveys of forest trees. In the case of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.), this has led to divergent hypotheses about the exact location of glacial refugia and the trajectory of recolonization routes. Based on the comprehensive sampling of Apennine populations, we aimed to reconcile discrepancies about the number and location of refugia for silver fir in the Apennines and test alternative demographic scenarios developed from palaeobotanical and genetic data. Location Mediterranean Basin; the Apennines and surrounding areas.Methods 1167 individuals from 16 Apennine populations, extensively covering the species’ distribution along the Italian Peninsula, and eight populations from the Alps and Eastern Europe were genotyped at 16 nuclear and three chloroplast microsatellite markers. The geographical distribution of genetic variation was explored using Bayesian clustering and multivariate methods. Based on the inferred genetic structure, the demographic history of A. alba was assessed by the approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) analysis.Results Two unexpected characteristics of genetic structure emerged: a sharp genetic boundary in the central Apennines and a tight genetic connection between southern Apennine and Eastern European gene pools. Two Apennine areas, corresponding precisely with refugial areas hypothesized in most recent palaeobotanical syntheses, have high genetic diversity on a par with Eastern European populations. ABC analysis showed an ancient separation between Apennine and Eastern European gene pools followed by an admixture event that, mainly through directional gene flow via pollen, might have established the genetic similarity between southern Apennine and Eastern European populations. In addition, there was evidence that the central Apennines acted as a small-scale, isolated refugium during the Last Glacial Maximum. Main conclusionsSilver fir rear edge populations have experienced a complex demographic history across several glacial-interglacial cycles, leading to unexpected genetic structure. Our study provides new insights into forest tree dynamics in the Mediterranean, showing the putative presence of multiple refugia for silver fir in the Apennines and a trans-Adriatic connection between silver fir populations in the southern Italy and the Balkans

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Unexpected scenarios from Mediterranean refugial areas: disentangling complex demographic dynamics along the Apennine distribution of silver fir

Piotti

Leonarduzzi

Postolache

et al. 2017

Journal of Biogeography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…; Vescovi et al, 2010) in the northern Apennines is clearly excluded and therefore suggests a distinct pattern for the Abies spread in this area. Altitudinal abundance reflects the ecological optimum of trees so that tree migration was faster at optimum elevation and slower at lower and higher elevations, rather than exhibiting a linear relationship with elevation (van der Knaap et al, 2005).…”

Section: Abies Immigrationmentioning

confidence: 93%

Climate and vegetation changes during the Lateglacial and early–middle Holocene at Lake Ledro (southern Alps, Italy)

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Adding to the on-going debate regarding vegetation recolonisation (more particularly the timing) in Europe and climate change since the Lateglacial, this study investigates a long sediment core (LL081) from Lake Ledro (652 m a.s.l., southern Alps, Italy). Environmental changes were reconstructed using multiproxy analysis (pollen-based vegetation and climate reconstruction, lake levels, magnetic susceptibility and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) measurements) recorded climate and land-use changes during the Lateglacial and early–middle Holocene. The well-dated and high-resolution pollen record of Lake Ledro is compared with vegetation records from the southern and northern Alps to trace the history of tree species distribution. An altitude-dependent progressive time delay of the first continuous occurrence of Abies (fir) and of the Larix (larch) development has been observed since the Lateglacial in the southern Alps. This pattern suggests that the mid-altitude Lake Ledro area was not a refuge and that trees originated from lowlands or hilly areas (e.g. Euganean Hills) in northern Italy. Preboreal oscillations (ca. 11 000 cal BP), Boreal oscillations (ca. 10 200, 9300 cal BP) and the 8.2 kyr cold event suggest a centennial-scale climate forcing in the studied area. Picea (spruce) expansion occurred preferentially around 10 200 and 8200 cal BP in the south-eastern Alps, and therefore reflects the long-lasting cumulative effects of successive boreal and the 8.2 kyr cold event. The extension of Abies is contemporaneous with the 8.2 kyr event, but its development in the southern Alps benefits from the wettest interval 8200–7300 cal BP evidenced in high lake levels, flood activity and pollen-based climate reconstructions. Since ca. 7500 cal BP, a weak signal of pollen-based anthropogenic activities suggest weak human impact. The period between ca. 5700 and ca. 4100 cal BP is considered as a transition period to colder and wetter conditions (particularly during summers) that favoured a dense beech (Fagus) forest development which in return caused a distinctive yew (Taxus) decline. We conclude that climate was the dominant factor controlling vegetation changes and erosion processes during the early and middle Holocene (up to ca. 4100 cal BP)

show abstract

“…From c. 3,600 cal BP onward, Olea curves increase in Lago Alimini Piccolo and Lago di Pergusa (c. 20% in both sites), but also increasing in Lago Battaglia at c. 3,100 and 2,600 cal BP. Similarly, in central Italy, some off-site cores show the occurrence of Olea during the early Holocene (Lago dell'Accesa in Tuscany: DrescherSchneider et al, 2007), with its continuous presence from c. 7,300 to 7,000 cal BP also at Lago del Greppo (Vescovi et al, 2010). In Tuscany, at Lago di Massaciuccoli (Mariotti Lippi et al, 2007), Olea pollen is present in traces amounts, and found only in the layers dating to the Roman Age; also elsewhere in the region, Olea was discontinuously recorded in low amount (Mariotti Lippi et al, 2015;Mariotti Lippi in verbis).…”

Section: (T IV T V)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Representativeness of Olea Pollen from Olive Groves and the Late Holocene Landscape Reconstruction in Central Mediterranean

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Modern pollen spectra are an invaluable reference tool for paleoenvironmental and cultural landscape reconstructions, but the importance of knowing the pollen rain released from orchards remains underexplored. In particular, the role of cultivated trees is in past and current agrarian landscapes has not been fully investigated. Here, we present a pollen analysis of 70 surface soil samples taken from 12 olive groves in Basilicata and Tuscany, two regions of Italy that exemplify this cultivation in the Mediterranean basin. This study was carried out to assess the representativeness of Olea pollen in modern cultivations. Although many variables can influence the amount of pollen observed in soils, it was clear that most of the pollen was deposited below the trees in the olive groves. A rapid decline in the olive pollen percentages (c. 85% on average) was found when comparing samples taken from IN vs. OUT of each grove. The mean percentages of Olea pollen obtained from the archeological sites close to the studied orchards suggest that olive groves were established far from the Roman farmhouses of Tuscany. Further south, in the core of the Mediterranean basin, the cultivation of Olea trees was likely situated ∼500-1,000 m from the rural sites in Basilicata, and dated from the Hellenistic to the Medieval period.

show abstract

A new Late-glacial and Holocene record of vegetation and fire history from Lago del Greppo, northern Apennines, Italy

Cited by 71 publications

References 57 publications

Unexpected scenarios from Mediterranean refugial areas: disentangling complex demographic dynamics along the Apennine distribution of silver fir

Unexpected scenarios from Mediterranean refugial areas: disentangling complex demographic dynamics along the Apennine distribution of silver fir

Climate and vegetation changes during the Lateglacial and early–middle Holocene at Lake Ledro (southern Alps, Italy)

The Representativeness of Olea Pollen from Olive Groves and the Late Holocene Landscape Reconstruction in Central Mediterranean

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About