Lateglacial and early Holocene pollen stratigraphy of the northern Apennines, Italy: A contribution to the ‘North Atlantic seaboard programme’ of IGCP-253, ‘Termination of the Pleistocene’

Abstract

Pollen diagrams, supported by 25 radiocarbon dates, are presented for four sites in the Ligurian-Emilian Apennines, Northern Italy, which collectively span the Late Weichselian Lateglacial and Holocene. Coleopteran evidence is available for the Lateglacial and early Holocene sediments from one of the sites. Collectively the data provide: (a) an internally consistent series of local pollen assemblages zones, such that regional pollen assemblage zones are defined; (b) a detailed chronology of vegetation changes in the region; (c) an impression of environmental changes during the Lateglacial-Holocene transition. Of particular note is the clear evidence for a marked Younger Dryas event, which, together with evidence from other parts of southern Europe, indicates that the climatic severity of this event did not diminish southwards on the European continent. Also of significance is the pollen and coleopteran evidence for mixed woodland in the region during the Lateglacial Interstadial, which is not in keeping with previous reconstructions.