Reconstructing past landscapes of the eastern plain of Corsica (NW Mediterranean) during the last 6000 years based on molluscan, sedimentological and palynological analyses

Currás, Andrés; Ghilardi, Matthieu; Pêche-Quilichini, Kewin; Fagel, Nathalie; Vacchi, Matteo; Delanghe, Doriane; Dussouillez, Philippe; Vella, Claude; Bontempi, Jean Michel; Ottaviani, Jean-Claude

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.09.016

Cited by 11 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…This vegetation pattern is the results of more complex environmental dynamics triggered by a decrease in the rate of sea level rise that determined deep geomorphic and sedimentological changes in the river floodplains, consistent with coastal barrier accumulation, lagoon habitat formations, river mouth modifications, and peat deposition among others (Di Rita et al, 2015). The regional woodlands were mostly composed of evergreen Quercus forests and Ericaceae scrublands, rich in other evergreen elements such as Quercus suber, Olea, Pistacia and Arbutus, as also documented in other coastal sites of Sardinia and Corsica at that time (Reille, 1992;Beffa et al, 2016;Currás et al, 2017;Poher et al, 2017). Significant frequencies of Chenopodiaceae (9%), accompanied by occurrences of foraminiferal linings and dinocysts, suggest the local presence of a salt-marsh environment, whose development was influenced by sea water input into the sedimentary basin, as also reported in many other coastal sites in the central Mediterranean region (Bellotti et al, 2011;Di Rita, 2013;Di Rita and Melis, 2013;Poher et al, 2017).…”

Section: Pollen Analysismentioning

confidence: 80%

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Mid to late Holocene environmental changes along the coast of western Sardinia (Mediterranean Sea)

Melis

Depalmas

Rita

et al. 2017

Global and Planetary Change

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Multiproxy analysis composed of biostratigraphy and pollen analysis allowed reconstructing the palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Tirso river coastal plain in Sardinia (NW Mediterranean) in the last 6 millennia. We demonstrated that interplay between littoral and fluvial processes have significantly controlled the environmental evolution of the area and have played a key role in the pattern of historical and prehistorical settlements of this wide portion of western Sardinian coastline. At the end of Neolithic period (ca. 6.0 to 5.5 cal. ka BP) the area close to the shoreline was most likely characterized by large coastal lagoons intermittently connected to the open sea. Such saltwater influence is corroborated by faunal and pollen assemblages found in the landward portion of the Tirso coastal plain up to 2 km inland from the modern shoreline. Our data robustly document the end of the transgressive trend at ca. 5.5 cal. ka BP, and a dominant fluvial sedimentation since Final Neolithic period. At this time, a progradational trend started, causing the seaward migration of shoreline and, consequently, of the barrier-lagoon system. The major landscape modification tracked along the last 6 millennia may also explain the low density of historical and prehistorical remains in the Tirso coastal plain, especially if compared to the nearby rocky area of Sinis Peninsula densely inhabited since the Neolithic. Our data further provide new insights into the Relative Sea Level (RSL) evolution in this sector of the Mediterranean. In particular, we improved the mid-Holocene RSL record in Sardinia, where only scarce data were previously available

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Section: Pollen Analysismentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Lat/long are provided in WGS84. Mediterranean (e.g., Di Rita et al, 2011;Amorosi et al, 2013;Currás et al, 2017). This multiproxy approach provided the framework to identify major stratigraphic units as well as to define the palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental changes across the study area.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mid to late Holocene environmental changes along the coast of western Sardinia (Mediterranean Sea)

Melis

Depalmas

Rita

et al. 2017

Global and Planetary Change

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“…This interval was punctuated by a major event of evergreen cover reduction at 4.5-3.7 ka, corresponding to an increase in cereals, Plantago lanceolata, and charcoal particle influx. During this time interval, indicators of paleosalinity at Gorgo Basso suggest freshwater conditions, differently from the nearby Lago Preola, where admixing of seawater may explain a reconstructed salinity > 10 000 mg L −1 (Curry et al, 2016).…”

Section: Lago Alimini Piccolomentioning

confidence: 85%

“…11. Aleria del Sale is a lagoon formed around 5500 years ago (Currás et al, 2017). Mean annual precipitation is ca.…”

Section: Lago Padulementioning

confidence: 99%

The 4.2 ka event in the vegetation record of the central Mediterranean

Rita

Magri

2019

Clim. Past

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Abstract. In this paper, the variation in forest cover in the central Mediterranean region, reflected by percentage changes in the arboreal pollen record, has been examined in relation to the 4.2 ka event. A total of 36 well-dated and detailed pollen records from latitudes between 45 and 36∘ N were selected and their vegetation dynamics between 5 and 3 ka examined in relation to the physiographic and climatic features of the study area and to the influence of human activity on past vegetation, as suggested by anthropogenic pollen indicators. We have found that the sites located between 43 and 45∘ N do not show any significant vegetation change in correspondence with the 4.2 ka event. Several sites located on the Italian Peninsula between 39 and 43∘ N show a marked opening of the forest, suggesting a vegetation response to the climate instability of the 4.2 ka event. Between 36 and 39∘ N, a forest decline is always visible around 4.2 ka, and in some cases it is dramatic. This indicates that this region was severely affected by a climate change towards arid conditions that lasted a few hundred years and was followed by a recovery of forest vegetation in the Middle Bronze Age. Human activity, especially intense in southern Italy, may have been favored by this natural opening of vegetation. In Sardinia and Corsica, no clear change in vegetation is observed at the same time. We suggest that during the 4.2 ka event southern Italy and Tunisia were under the prevalent influence of a north African climate system characterized by a persistent high-pressure cell.

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“…This time interval includes the upper portion of the Neolithic up to the High Middle Ages, which largely centre the period characterized by increasing aridification phenomena (e.g., [9,82,83]). The vegetational and climate responses at the Mediterranean scale are documented by several palynological studies (e.g., [84][85][86][87] and references therein). Pollen data from the Burano paleo-lagoon show a prevalent warm temperate climate characterized by a quite humid weather conditions at least until about 4000 years BP despite the occurrence of greater seasonality phases.…”

Section: Holocene Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Holocene Evolution of the Burano Paleo-Lagoon (Southern Tuscany, Italy)

D’Orefice

Bellotti

Bertini

et al. 2020

Water

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The study of Burano paleo-lagoon—Wetland of International Value, has allowed us to better define and extend the reconstruction of the Holocene paleoenvironmental evolution of the paleo-lagoons previously studied, located on the Tyrrhenian coast in central Italy. The investigated area is located in Southern Tuscany near the Burano Lake. The area was investigated by means of field surveys, historical maps, 16 coring, sedimentological, palynological and microfaunal analyses (foraminifera and ostracods), combined with robust geochronological control provided by 52 datings (14C and OSL). The study allowed us to reconstruct the environmental and morphological evolution of the Burano paleo-lagoon during the last 8000 years and to hypothesize a Rise Sea Level (RSL) curve. In this context, 5 main evolutionary phases have been recognized. (1) before 7.5 ka BP in the southern-eastern part, an open lagoon developed; (2) ~6 ka BP a barrier-lagoon system develops throughout the entire area and the lagoon progressively changed from open to closed one; (3) ~5 ka BP the width of the lagoon increases and a lacustrine facies appears along the entire axis of the coastal basin; (4) ~4 ka BP the lacustrine facies shows a discontinuous distribution respect to the previous phase; (5) during the last 4 ka the lacustrine facies disappear and the lagoon turns into a wetland area.

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Reconstructing past landscapes of the eastern plain of Corsica (NW Mediterranean) during the last 6000 years based on molluscan, sedimentological and palynological analyses

Cited by 11 publications

References 52 publications

Mid to late Holocene environmental changes along the coast of western Sardinia (Mediterranean Sea)

Mid to late Holocene environmental changes along the coast of western Sardinia (Mediterranean Sea)

The 4.2 ka event in the vegetation record of the central Mediterranean

Holocene Evolution of the Burano Paleo-Lagoon (Southern Tuscany, Italy)

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