0000000000586017
AUTHOR
Elisa Vescovi
showing 5 related works from this author
Holocene environmental and climatic changes at Gorgo Basso, a coastal lake in southern Sicily, Italy
2009
Abstract We used a new sedimentary record to reconstruct the Holocene vegetation and fire history of Gorgo Basso, a coastal lake in south-western Sicily (Italy). Pollen and charcoal data suggest a fire-prone open grassland near the site until ca 10,000 cal yr BP (8050 cal BC), when Pistacia shrubland expanded and fire activity declined, probably in response to increased moisture availability. Evergreen Olea europaea woods expanded ca 8400 to decline abruptly at 8200 cal yr BP, when climatic conditions became drier at other sites in the Mediterranean region. Around 7000 cal yr BP evergreen broadleaved forests ( Quercus ilex , Quercus suber and O. europaea ) expanded at the cost of open commu…
Holocene vegetation and fire history of the mountains of Northern Sicily (Italy)
2016
Knowledge about vegetation and fire history of the mountains of Northern Sicily is scanty. We analysed five sites to fill this gap and used terrestrial plant macrofossils to establish robust radiocarbon chronologies. Palynological records from Gorgo Tondo, Gorgo Lungo, Marcato Cixé, Urgo Pietra Giordano and Gorgo Pollicino show that under natural or near natural conditions, deciduous forests (Quercus pubescens, Q. cerris, Fraxinus ornus, Ulmus), that included a substantial portion of evergreen broadleaved species (Q. suber, Q. ilex, Hedera helix), prevailed in the upper meso- mediterranean belt. Mesophilous deciduous and evergreen broadleaved trees (Fagus sylvatica, Ilex aquifolium) dominat…
Holocene vegetation and fire dynamics in the supra-mediterranean belt of the Nebrodi Mountains (Sicily, Italy)
2012
High-resolution pollen, macrofossil and charcoal data, combined with accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dating and multivariate analysis, were used to reconstruct Holocene vegetation and fire dynamics at Urio Quattrocchi, a small lake in the supra-mediterranean belt in the Nebrodi Mountains of Sicily (Italy). The data suggest that after 10 000 cal a BP increasing moisture availability supported closed forests with deciduous (Quercus cerris, Fagus sylvatica and Fraxinus spp.) and evergreen (Quercus ilex) species. Species-rich closed forest persisted until 6850 cal a BP, when Neolithic activities caused a forest decline and affected plant diversity. Secondary forest with abundant Ilex aquifoli…
Mid- and late-Holocene vegetation and fire history at Biviere di Gela, a coastal lake in southern Sicily, Italy
2009
The vegetation and fire history of few coastal sites has been investigated in the Mediterranean region so far. We present the first paleoecological reconstruction from coastal Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. We analysed pollen and charcoal in the sediments of Biviere di Gela, a lake (lagoon) on the south coast of Sicily. Our data suggest that the area became afforested after a marine transgression at ca. 7200 cal b.p. (5250 b.c.). Build-up of forest and shrublands took ca. 200–300 years, mainly with the deciduous trees Quercus, Ostrya and Fraxinus. Juniperus expanded ca. 6900 cal b.p. (4950 b.c.), but declined again 6600 cal b.p. (4650 b.c.). Afterwards, evergreen trees…
1200 years of decadal-scale variability of Mediterranean vegetation and climate at Pantelleria Island, Italy.
2013
A new sedimentary sequence from Lago di Venere on Pantelleria Island, located in the Strait of Sicily between Tunisia and Sicily was recovered. The lake is located in the coastal infra-Mediterranean vegetation belt at 2 m a.s.l. Pollen, charcoal and sedimentological analyses are used to explore linkages among vegetation, fire and climate at a decadal scale over the past 1200 years. A dry period from ad 800 to 1000 that corresponds to the 'Medieval Warm Period' (WMP) is inferred from sedimentological analysis. The high content of carbonate recorded in this period suggests a dry phase, when the ratio of evaporation/precipitation was high. During this period the island was dominated by thermop…