Human impact at Lago di Mezzano (central Italy) during the Bronze Age: a multidisciplinary approach

Sadori, Laura; Giraudi, C.; Petitti, Patrizia; Ramrath, Antje

doi:10.1016/s1040-6182(03)00077-6

Cited by 122 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…However, similar findings (high lake levels before ca 4000 cal. yr BP) corroborate the lake-level-inferred climatic trends at other Italian sites (Giraudi, 1998;Sadori et al, 2004 L. Sadori, C. Giraudi, P. Petitti and A. Ramrath For the Bronze Age, ca 4000-2900 cal. yr BP, no local settlement is known around the Lago dell'Accesa (Camporeale and Giuntoli, 2000).…”

Section: Holocene Fire Regime and Human Impactsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…The 25 TOC values plotted versus GD show a significant correlation (Fig. 3); GD increases with decreasing TOC, so we assume that GD reflects the minerogenic component, as it has been also observed at Lago di Mezzano (Sadori et al, 2004). Consequently, estimated TOC values have been calculated for the whole sequence ( Fig.…”

Section: Sedimentary Datamentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Comparison between fire frequency per 500 yr (core AC05B), fire return interval (FRI; core AC05B), and lake-level reconstruction (raw data and tendency on a 500 yr running time window; littoral cores AC3/4; Magny et al, 2007) from Lago dell'Accesa. Sadori et al (2004), (4) Battagla, south-eastern Italy, Caroli and Caldara (2006), and (5) Lago di Pergusa, Sicily, Italy, Sadori and Giardini (2006). Black boxes identified high charcoal input in sedimentary sequences and black points indicate slight charcoal input.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Carcaillet, 1998;Pitkanen and Huttunen, 1999;Millspaugh et al, 2000;Long and Whitlock, 2002;Brunelle and Anderson, 2003;Brunelle and Whitlock, 2003;Lynch et al, 2003;Tinner et al, 2005;Black and Mooney, 2006;Gavin et al, 2006;Hu et al, 2006). Surprisingly, few data are currently available from the Mediterranean Basin (Carcaillet et al, 1997;[Carrión et al, 2003] and [Carrión et al, 2007]; Sadori et al, 2004;Caroli and Caldara, 2006;Magny et al, 2006;Sadori and Giardini, 2006), most of them having low temporal resolution and/or precision. In fact, only a few studies have high enough precision and resolution (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate versus human-driven fire regimes in Mediterranean landscapes: the Holocene record of Lago dell’Accesa (Tuscany, Italy)

Vannière

Colombaroli

Chapron

et al. 2008

Quaternary Science Reviews

216

169

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A high-resolution sedimentary charcoal record from Lago dell'Accesa in southern Tuscany reveals numerous changes in fire regime over the last 11.6 kyr cal. BP and provides one of the longest gap-free series from Italy and the Mediterranean region. Charcoal analyses are coupled with gamma density measurements, organic-content analyses, and pollen counts to provide data about sedimentation and vegetation history. A comparison between fire frequency and lake-level reconstructions from the same site is used to address the centennial variability of fire regimes and its linkage to hydrological processes. Our data reveal strong relationships among climate, fire, vegetation, and land-use and attest to the paramount importance of fire in Mediterranean ecosystems. The mean fire interval (MFI) for the entire Holocene was estimated to be 150 yr, with a minimum around 80 yr and a maximum around 450 yr. Between 11.6 and 3.6 kyr cal. BP, up to eight high-frequency fire phases lasting 300-500 yr generally occurred during shifts towards low lake-level stands (ca 11,300, 10,700, 9500, 8700, 7600, 6200, 5300, 3400, 1800 and 1350 cal. yr BP). Therefore, we assume that most of these shifts were triggered by drier climatic conditions and especially a dry summer season that promoted ignition and biomass burning. At the beginning of the Holocene, high climate seasonality favoured fire expansion in this region, as in many other ecosystems of the northern and southern hemispheres. Human impact affected fire regimes and especially fire frequencies since the Neolithic (ca 8000-4000 cal. yr BP). Burning as a consequence of anthropogenic activities became more frequent after the onset of the Bronze Age (ca 3800-3600 cal. yr BP) and appear to be synchronous with the development of settlements in the region, slash-and-burn agriculture, animal husbandry, and mineral exploitation. The anthropogenic phases with maximum fire activity corresponded to greater sensitivity of the vegetation and triggered significant changes in vegetational communities (e.g. temporal declines of Quercus ilex forests and expansion of shrublands and macchia). The link between fire and climate persisted during the mid-and late Holocene, when human impact on vegetation and the fire regime was high. This finding suggests that climatic conditions were important for fire occurrence even under strongly humanised ecosystem conditions.

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Section: Holocene Fire Regime and Human Impactsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Sedimentary Datamentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Climate versus human-driven fire regimes in Mediterranean landscapes: the Holocene record of Lago dell’Accesa (Tuscany, Italy)

Vannière

Colombaroli

Chapron

et al. 2008

Quaternary Science Reviews

216

169

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The mixed oak forest was largely destroyed and the cleared areas used for cultivation and pastures, while the timber was probably employed in the building of settlements and manufacture of implements. Drastic changes in landscape vegetation during the Bronze Age were detected not only at our site but also in the Po Plain and in the northern and central Apennines (Oldfield et al 2003), in Central Italy (Lago di Mezzano- Sadori et al 2004) and north of the Alps (Gobet et al 2003;.…”

Section: Human Impact On Vegetation During the Bronze Agesupporting

confidence: 49%

Human impact during the Bronze Age on the vegetation at Lago Lucone (northern Italy)

Valsecchi

Tinner

Finsinger

et al. 2005

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Lake-sediment records were used to reconstruct human impact on the landscape around Lago Lucone (45 • 33 N, 10 • 29 E, 249 m a.s.l.), a former lake in the western amphitheatre system of the Lago di Garda. Presence of prehistoric human populations is attested by pile-dwelling settlements from the Early-Middle Bronze Age, with one settlement at a distance of only 100 m from the coring site. Pollen, plant-macrofossil and microscopic charcoal analyses were applied to a 250 cm sediment core with four dates providing the time control. A mixed oak forest that was important during the Early-Middle Holocene was cleared and replaced by open vegetation during the Bronze Age (∼2000-1100 b.c.) when open lands were estimated to have covered more than 60% of the total relevant pollen-source area. During a phase of high human impact, independent climatic proxies suggest warm and dry climatic conditions. Later, ca. 1100 b.c., palaeobotanical evidence indicates a sharp decrease in human pressure in the Lago Lucone area. The comparison with other sedimentary palaeocultural records shows that the period 1300-1100 b.c. was characterised by general declines of agricultural activities both south and north of the Alps. These declines have been previously attributed to a change towards wetter and colder climatic conditions in and around the Alps. However, the decline in human impact around Lago Lucone cannot be exclusively attributed to climatic variation. Therefore other V. Valsecchi ( ) · W. Tinner · W. Finsinger · B. Ammann

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Contrasting patterns of precipitation seasonality during the Holocene in the south‐ and north‐central Mediterranean

Magny

Peyron

Sadori

et al. 2011

J Quaternary Science

Self Cite

118

105

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Pollen-based quantitative estimates of seasonal precipitation from Lake Pergusa and lake-level data from\ud \ud Lake Preola in Sicily (southern Italy) allow three successive periods to be distinguished within the Holocene: an early\ud \ud Holocene period before ca. 9800 cal a BP with rather dry climate conditions in winter and summer, a mid-Holocene\ud \ud period between ca. 9800 and 4500 cal a BPwithmaximumwinter and summerwetness, and a lateHolocene period after\ud \ud 4500 cal a BP with declining winter and summer wetness. This evolution observed in the south-central Mediterranean\ud \ud shows strong similarities to that recognized in the eastern Mediterranean. But, it contrasts with that reconstructed in\ud \ud north-central Italy, where the mid-Holocene appears to be characterized by a winter (summer) precipitation maximum\ud \ud (minimum), while the late Holocene coincided with a decrease (increase) in winter (summer) precipitation. Maximum\ud \ud precipitation at ca. 10 000–4500 cal a BP may have resulted from (i) increased local convection in response to a\ud \ud Holocene insolation maximum at 10 000 cal a BP and then (ii) the gradual weakening of the Hadley cell activity, which\ud \ud allowed the winter rainy westerlies to reach the Mediterranean area more frequently. After 4500 cal a BP, changes in\ud \ud precipitation seasonality may reflect non-linear responses to orbitally driven insolation decrease in addition to seasonal\ud \ud and inter-hemispheric changes of insolatio

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Human impact at Lago di Mezzano (central Italy) during the Bronze Age: a multidisciplinary approach

Cited by 122 publications

References 10 publications

Climate versus human-driven fire regimes in Mediterranean landscapes: the Holocene record of Lago dell’Accesa (Tuscany, Italy)

Climate versus human-driven fire regimes in Mediterranean landscapes: the Holocene record of Lago dell’Accesa (Tuscany, Italy)

Human impact during the Bronze Age on the vegetation at Lago Lucone (northern Italy)

Contrasting patterns of precipitation seasonality during the Holocene in the south‐ and north‐central Mediterranean

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