Monti Lessini Research Articles

Does Size Matter? Two Subterranean Biodiversity Hotspots in the Lessini Mountains in the Veneto Prealps in Northern Italy

In the Lessini Mountains, the southernmost prealpine area in the Veneto region, thousands of caves are found, many of which have been extensively studied from the biological point of view. Numerous studies have been carried out on taxonomic and biogeographic aspects over the last hundred years. Two caves, in particular, have been found to be extremely rich in species adapted to life in subterranean environments. These are the Arena Cave in the Monti Lessini Veronesi and the Buso della Rana cave system in the Monti Lessini Vicentini. The two caves have extremely different development: Arena Cave is about 100 meters in length, and the Buso della Rana-Pisatela cave system is more than 37 km in length. Despite this huge difference in size, they both have the highest number of subterranean dwelling species in northern Italy (16 troglobionts and 8 stygobionts in Arena Cave, and 7 troglobionts and 11 stygobionts in the Buso della Rana-Pisatela cave system).

Inspecting human evolution from a cave. Late Neanderthals and early sapiens at Grotta di Fumane: present state and outlook.

Of the many critical phases of human evolution, one of the most investigated is the transition from the Middle to the Upper Palaeolithic with the pivotal bio-cultural substitution of Neanderthals by Homo sapiens in Western Eurasia. The complexity of this over ten thousands years phase raises from the ensemble of evidence ascribed to the diverse adaptations expressed by Neanderthals and the first representatives of our species. In countless archaeological records Neanderthals left clear traces of a cultural variability dotted with innovations in the technology of stone and bone tools, alongside with manifestations in the range of the symbolic sphere. Together with other aspects of daily life, this evidence contributes shedding light on the cognitive aptitudes of those hominins and reassessing gaps in Pleistocene human diversities. Among archaeological contexts, the cave of Fumane in the Monti Lessini (Veneto Pre-Alps, northeastern Italy) is a key site. It is positioned along the potential trajectory of hominins moving into southern Europe from eastern and southeastern regions and includes a finely layered sedimentary sequence with cultural layers ascribed to the Mousterian, Uluzzian, Aurignacian and Gravettian. The ensemble constitutes one of the most complete, detailed and dated continental stratigraphic series from a segment of the late Pleistocene between 50 and 30 ka cal BP in a cave context of Southern Europe. Assessments based on sedimentological and palaeontological record provide indicators for framing Neanderthals in their respective ecological contexts since the late Middle Pleistocene until their demise during MIS3. On-going research is producing data ascribable to the human ecological relations and the interaction with specific natural resources, thus contributing to shed light on the complexity of Neanderthal behavior. Thanks to the high-resolution archaeological record of the earliest appearances of Homo sapiens, Fumane also provides clues to compare life, subsistence, and cultures between these Pleistocene hominins for comprehensive reasonings on our unicity.

Strontium isotope evidence for Neanderthal and modern human mobility at the upper and middle palaeolithic site of Fumane Cave (Italy)

To investigate the mobility patterns of Neanderthals and modern humans in Europe during the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition period, we applied strontium isotope analysis to Neanderthal (n = 3) and modern human (n = 2) teeth recovered from the site of Fumane Cave in the Monti Lessini region of Northern Italy. We also measured a large number of environmental samples from the region, to establish a strontium ‘baseline’, and also micromammals (vole teeth) from the levels associated with the hominin teeth. We found that the modern humans and Neanderthals had similar strontium isotope values, and these values match the local baseline values we obtained for the site and the surrounding region. We conclude that both groups were utilizing the local mountainous region where Fumane Cave is situated, and likely the nearby Lessini highlands and Adige plains, and therefore the strontium evidence does not show differening mobility patterns between Neanderthals and modern humans at the Fumane site.

The long-snouted bony fish ‘Protosphyraena’ stebbingi Woodward, 1909 from the Upper Cretaceous of northeastern Italy

In this paper we report for the first time remains of the long-snouted bony fish ‘Protosphyraena’ stebbingi Woodward, 1909 from the Upper Cretaceous of northeastern Italy. The material described herein consists of two rostra, one of which is nearly complete and the other only partially preserved, collected from Crespadoro (Monti Lessini) and Villa di Teolo (Colli Euganei), respectively. The overall morphology and internal structure of the rostrum of ‘P.’ stebbingi differ from those of the rostra characteristic of the genus Protosphyraena but exhibits a certain degree of similarity to those of some Cretaceous tselfatiiforms. Like in other long-snouted bony fishes, the rostrum of ‘P.’ stebbingi was probably used for prey capture and defense. The age of the Italian specimens is consistent with that of the English Chalk (Lower Chalk) where the type material of ‘Protosphyraena’ stebbingi was collected, especially the specimen from Colli Euganei, which comes from the upper Cenomanian Bonarelli Level. Taphonomic features of the specimens are also discussed, especially those of the rostrum from Crespadoro, which exhibits encrusting calcareous tubes, probably pertaining to deep-sea serpulids.

Megaspores from the Lower Jurassic (Pliensbachian) Rotzo Formation (Monti Lessini, northern Italy) and their palaeoenvironmental implications

The Rotzo Formation is famous for its Lower Jurassic terrestrial flora and marine (invertebrate) and terrestrial (dinosaur footprint) fauna. However, lycophyte macrofossils were never described from this time period in Italy, although palynological analyses yielded abundant lycophyte spores. Dispersed megaspores, in association with charcoal and amber drops, were recently collected from several horizons and outcrops of the Monte Lessini area. Sedimentological and palaeontological data reconstruct the palaeoenvironment as a paralic swamp under a warm and humid (monsoonal) climate. This is the first record of Jurassic megaspores from Italy, increasing our understanding of Jurassic lycophyte diversity, since at least five microspore and five megaspore genera with selaginellalean botanical affinities can be distinguished. Moreover, this underlines how well these brackish environments were adapted for the preservation of fossil plant remains (including amber).

Ugo Sauro: Highlights of some human adventures in a karst environment: the case of the Monti Lessini (Venetian Prealps, Italy)

Ugo Sauro: Highlights of some human adventures in a karst environment: the case of the Monti Lessini (Venetian Prealps, Italy)

Highlights of some human adventures in a karst environment: the case of the Monti Lessini, Venetian Prealps, Italy

The Monti Lessini, a mountain group located north of the town of Verona, has been the scene of many different human adventures, some of them related to the local karst environment and features. In particular, during the Late Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Modern Age, interesting undertakings linked with natural monuments and peculiarities of the karst environment, have involved famous people, cultural leaders of the time, as well as local inhabitants. Amongst celebrities there are hints that: 1) during the XIV. century Dante Alighieri visited some karst cavities in the mountains, 2) during the XV. century the famous painter Andrea Mantegna painted an image of the Ponte di Veja, a natural bridge, in the Camera degli Sposi of the Ducal Palace of Mantua. Of contemporary cultural leaders: 1) in the XVI. century the pharmacist, Francesco Calceolari, created one of the first Wunderkammer in the world in Verona, an exhibition of curious objects collected in the mountains, 2) in 1739 the local priest, Gregorio Piccoli, starting from a description of paleontological cave fillings, proposed an interesting and in some respects modern interpretation of the geological history of the mountains. The local inhabitants of the mountain have been able not only to solve some of the environmental problems caused by the scarcity of surface water, but also to exploit some of the unusual resources such as ice trapped in caves. They also developed a system of producing ice and of storing it in cylindrical warehouses inspired by the local karst shafts. They understood aspects of the functioning of the karst geosystem, including underground karst hydrology and the dynamics of the epikarstic zone. Thus, here in the Lessini existence of the epikarst was understood by simple people long before the modern researchers. Key words: man and karst, understanding of the karst environment, exploitation of natural resources, Monti Lessini, Venetian Prealps, Italy.Človek in kras: primer Lesinskih Alp, Beneške predalpe, Italija V Lesinskih Alpah, gorski skupini severno od Verone, so se dogajale številne zanimive zgodbe, med njimi tudi takšne, ki so neposredno povezane s krasom in kraškimi pojavi. V poznem srednjem veku, renesansi in moderni dobi, se z lesinskim krasom srečajo številne zgodovinske osebnosti iz kulturnega življenja in drugih okolij. V XIV. stoletju naj bi tu nekatere jame obiskal Dante Alighieri, slikar Andrea Mantegna je narisal naravni most Ponte di Veja, slika danes krasi poročno dvorano Vojvodske palače v Mantovi. V XVI. stoletju je farmacevt Francesco Calceolari ustvaril prvo sobo čudes (Wunderkammer) na svetu, kjer je predstavil nenavadne predmete iz Lesinskih Alp. Leta 1739 je duhovnik Gregorio Piccoli opisal paleontologijo jamskih sedimentov iz lesinkih jam in predstavil skoraj moderno interpretacijo geološke zgodovine gorovja. Krajevni prebivalci so na izvirne načine reševali težave z oskrbo vode na krasu, po drugi strani pa so s pridom izkoristili naravne vire, ki jih nudi kras, npr. jamski led. Po vzoru kraaških brezen so izdelovali tudi skladišča za led. Prebivalci so razumeli osnovna načela delovanja kraškega okolja, podzemne hidrologije in dinamike epikrasa ter jih izkoriščali v svoj prid že veliko pred razvojem modernega krasoslovja.Ključne besede: človek in kras, razumevanje kraškega okolja, izkoriščanje naravnih virov, Lesinske Alpe, Beneške predalpe, Italija.

First record of Pliensbachian (Lower Jurassic) amber and associated palynoflora from the Monti Lessini (northern Italy)

The fossil record of amber dates back to the Palaeozoic, but it is only since the Mesozoic that amber became relatively common, probably because of the spreading of resin-producing plants. In Italy, the oldest ambers come from the Middle and Upper Triassic of the Dolomites. Cretaceous ambers come from some Albian sites in the Dolomites and from the Coniacian–Santonian of Vernasso, Julian Prealps, northern Italy. Until now, no Jurassic sites with amber have been reported in Italy, and this “Jurassic gap” seems generalized, since there are only a few Jurassic ambers described all over the world. Here, we report the first finding of Lower Jurassic (Pliensbachian) amber from the Bellori locality (Grezzana, Verona Province, Northern Italy). The amber was found in two clayey-coal levels containing plant remains and cuticles, with subordinate bivalves, foraminifera and ostracods. Palynomorphs of the amber levels are dominated by levigate and ornamented spores (ferns) and Circumpolles (conifers). Foraminiferal linings and algal cysts are also present. The freshwater alga Pseudoschizaea is reported for the first time from the Lower Jurassic. The amber shows different kinds of preservation, some peculiar features probably connected with the plant structure, and colours ranging from light yellow to blackish red. Moreover, it includes millimetre-sized wood structures (“mummified wood”) and gas bubbles. Fourier-transform–Infrared, thermogravimetric and differential thermogravimetric analyses were carried out and resulted in a clear characterization of this amber with respect to all others known so far. These data, together with sedimentological observations and fossil content analysis, suggest a coastal palaeoenvironment under rather wet conditions, comparable with the present-day Everglades, with the addition of a monsoonal climate as in the modern southern Asia.

Direct radiocarbon dating and genetic analyses on the purported Neanderthal mandible from the Monti Lessini (Italy).

Anatomically modern humans replaced Neanderthals in Europe around 40,000 years ago. The demise of the Neanderthals and the nature of the possible relationship with anatomically modern humans has captured our imagination and stimulated research for more than a century now. Recent chronological studies suggest a possible overlap between Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans of more than 5,000 years. Analyses of ancient genome sequences from both groups have shown that they interbred multiple times, including in Europe. A potential place of interbreeding is the notable Palaeolithic site of Riparo Mezzena in Northern Italy. In order to improve our understanding of prehistoric occupation at Mezzena, we analysed the human mandible and several cranial fragments from the site using radiocarbon dating, ancient DNA, ZooMS and isotope analyses. We also performed a more detailed investigation of the lithic assemblage of layer I. Surprisingly we found that the Riparo Mezzena mandible is not from a Neanderthal but belonged to an anatomically modern human. Furthermore, we found no evidence for the presence of Neanderthal remains among 11 of the 13 cranial and post-cranial fragments re-investigated in this study.

TAXONOMIC AND BIOSTRATIGRAPHIC REASSESSMENT OFLITUOSEPTA RECOARENSISCATI, 1959 (FORAMINIFERA, LITUOLACEA)

The large lituolid foraminifer, Lituosepta recoarensis Cati, 1959, is recorded from Lower Jurassic shallow-water carbonate deposits of the Southern Tethyan area. This species is usually not abundant and its taxonomic status, as well as its stratigraphic distribution, have not always been well defined. The analysis of Cati’s stratigraphic section (Monti Lessini area, Monte Scandolara, north-eastern Italy, Southern Alps), from which the type material originates, yielded numerous well-preserved topotypes and permitted a detailed structural and morphological assessment of Lituosepta recoarensis . Microspheric and megalospheric generations are herein described and illustrated. Two generations of megalospheric forms, A1 and A2, are distinguished on the basis of morphological features. Comparing the Lituosepta species, the genus Planisepta (type species Lituosepta compressa Hottinger) is considered invalid and the original nomenclature Lituosepta compressa is retained. In the southern Tethyan margin the stratigraphic occurrence of L. recoarensis spans the upper Sinemurian–Toarcian interval.

Reconstruction of the Neanderthal and Modern Human landscape and climate from the Fumane cave sequence (Verona, Italy) using small-mammal assemblages

Fumane cave, located at an altitude of 350 m.a.s.l. in the Monti Lessini in the Veneto Pre-Alps, northeastern Italy, is a reference site for southern Europe for the study of the behaviour of Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH) from Marine Isotope Stages 5 to 2 (MIS5-MIS2). It is one of the few well-dated and closely studied sites in the Italian Peninsula, with a finely layered sedimentary sequence from the Mousterian to Gravettian. In this paper we present for the first time a palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstruction of the MIS3 and MIS2 sequence based on the small mammal (insectivore, bat and rodent) assemblages. The environmental and climatic results, coupled with the radiocarbon dating together with previous studies on large mammals, birds and charcoal and other studies on small mammals and pollen for the same time-span in Italy, enable us clearly to identify distinct climatic periods within our data: Heinrich Event 5 in units A7 to A6, Greenland Interstadial 12 in units A5 + A6 to A4, Heinrich Event 4 in units A3 to A1, and Heinrich Event 3 in unit D1e. Finally, the study shows that Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Humans were well adapted to the different climatic and environmental conditions of MIS3 at the foot of the Alps.

Correction: Possible Interbreeding in Late Italian Neanderthals? New Data from the Mezzena Jaw (Monti Lessini, Verona, Italy)

Correction: Possible Interbreeding in Late Italian Neanderthals? New Data from the Mezzena Jaw (Monti Lessini, Verona, Italy)

Possible Interbreeding in Late Italian Neanderthals? New Data from the Mezzena Jaw (Monti Lessini, Verona, Italy)

In this article we examine the mandible of Riparo Mezzena a Middle Paleolithic rockshelter in the Monti Lessini (NE Italy, Verona) found in 1957 in association with Charentian Mousterian lithic assemblages. Mitochondrial DNA analysis performed on this jaw and on other cranial fragments found at the same stratigraphic level has led to the identification of the only genetically typed Neanderthal of the Italian peninsula and has confirmed through direct dating that it belongs to a late Neanderthal. Our aim here is to re-evaluate the taxonomic affinities of the Mezzena mandible in a wide comparative framework using both comparative morphology and geometric morphometrics. The comparative sample includes mid-Pleistocene fossils, Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans. This study of the Mezzena jaw shows that the chin region is similar to that of other late Neanderthals which display a much more modern morphology with an incipient mental trigone (e.g. Spy 1, La Ferrassie, Saint-Césaire). In our view, this change in morphology among late Neanderthals supports the hypothesis of anatomical change of late Neanderthals and the hypothesis of a certain degree of interbreeding with AMHs that, as the dating shows, was already present in the European territory. Our observations on the chin of the Mezzena mandible lead us to support a non abrupt phylogenetic transition for this period in Europe.

Late Upper Palaeolithic human diet: first stable isotope evidence from Riparo Tagliente (Verona, Italy)

This article reports results of carbon (13C/12C) and nitrogen (15N/14N) stable isotope analysis performed on the bone collagen of a Late Epigravettian human individual and 11 faunal remains from the Upper Palaeolithic deposits of Riparo Tagliente (Verona, Italy). Riparo Tagliente is located in Valpantena on the pre-alpine massif of Monti Lessini, at 250 m a.s.l. Its strategic position, about halfway from the plain and the top of the limestone plateau, has allowed the groups that occupied the site to exploit different ecosystems. The human skeleton comes from an incomplete burial excavated in 1973 and belongs to a young adult male. It is dated between 16,634 and 15,286 cal BP (OxA-10672). The δ13C (−18.4‰) and δ15N (13.0‰) values of the human individual are enriched compared to those of herbivores on average by +1.2‰ in 13C and +10.0‰ in 15N, and to the omnivores on average by +1.4‰ in 13C and +7.2‰ in 15N. Isotopic values would indicate an origin of proteins from terrestrial herbivores and high trophic level species. These data match with the results of taphonomic analyses carried out on the bone remains of herbivores, while the study of other species as fish is still in progress.

Did Neandertals and anatomically modern humans coexist in northern Italy during the late MIS 3?

The main processes invoked to explain the demise of Homo neanderthalensis are the effects of adverse climatic conditions in the northern hemisphere during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) and the outcome of the interaction with Anatomically Modern Humans (AMHs). Evidence for the co-existence of these two hominins, however, is elusive and, therefore, verifying the role which these processes might have played in the extirpation of Neandertals remains a topic of heated debate. A site which can contribute to throw light on the replacement of H. neanderthalensis by AMHs is Riparo Mezzena, a rockshelter in northern Italy, where late Mousterian lithic industries were found in association with human remains. This paper reviews the results of recent investigations on the lithic assemblages and human bones recovered during excavation campaigns which took place in 1957 and 1977. The study of the physical anthropology of the skeletal remains, in conjunction with palaeogenetic analyses on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, have proven that the occupiers of Riparo Mezzena were Neandertals. The first radiocarbon date for the site, obtained on collagen extracted from a bovid from the lowermost part of the stratigraphic sequence (Layer III) and presented here (34,540 ± 655 14C uncal BP), attests that Riparo Mezzena was occupied during the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition period. The anthropogenic deposits at the site actually accumulated when the nearby site of Grotta di Fumane was occupied by humans who produced Proto-Aurignacian lithic industries. This suggests that Neandertals and AMHs probably co-existed for a short period of time in northern Italy, possibly competing for resources within the confined territory of the Monti Lessini. These findings arising from new research on the collections of Riparo Mezzena have important implications not only for the study of the Middle-to-Upper Palaeolithic transition in Italy, but also for the understanding of the process through which AMHs replaced H. neanderthalensis.

Components, facies and ramps: Redefining Upper Oligocene shallow water carbonates using coralline red algae and larger foraminifera (Venetian area, northeast Italy)

Chattian mixed carbonate-siliciclastic deposits from two palaeogeographic units of Southern Alps, the Lessini Shelf and Venetian foreland basin of northeast Italy, are studied with respect to facies distributions and controlling ecological factors on dominant biogenic components. These ramp depositional systems are located in the western Southern Alps on the Lessini Shelf, and in the eastern Southern Alps in the Venetian foreland basin. The successions show an extensive geographic distribution of at least 150 km × 40 km at the southern margin of the Southern Alps. Palaeoenvironments are inferred following microfacies characteristics and floral and faunal indicators, especially those of coralline red algae and larger foraminifera. An inner- to middle homoclinal ramp morphology is reconstructed based on facies distributions and taxonomic and coralline algal growth-form proxy data. The distribution along depositional strike shows variation from thinner, carbonate dominated sequence in the west (Monti Berici and Monti Lessini) to a more variable, mixed carbonate-siliciclastic dominated environment to the east (Vittorio Veneto, Alpago). Facies character and occurrence are controlled by local hydrodynamic conditions and varying water turbidity of the studied ramp depositional system. The general facies succession shows a transgressive sequence from the proximal inner- to proximal middle ramp. A shoal belt of trough cross-bedded sandstones occurs in a proximal inner ramp position in all of the studied areas. In a gentle-dipping homoclinal ramp, most benthic organisms inhabited the relatively quite environments off these shoals in a distal inner ramp setting. Basinward environments (proximal middle ramp) constitute areas of maximal carbonate production and consist primarily of larger foraminiferal facies and rhodolith pavements. Larger foraminifera, represented by two larger foraminiferal assemblages, are most diversified in the shallower settings (near the fair-weather wave base, distal inner/proximal middle ramp), whereas coralline algae predominate in deeper areas (proximal middle ramp) constructing extensive rhodolith pavements. Rhodolith pavements are distinguished with respect to rhodolith shape, size, growth-forms and coralline algal taxonomic composition. Larger foraminifera are interpreted with respect to shell structures, shell architectures and comparable Recent counterparts. The analysed benthic communities thrived in a mesotrophic regime within trophic gradients constrained by fluvial influence. Coralline algal dominance and a moderately diverse larger foraminiferal assemblage suggest a tropical/warm temperate transition. The considerable stability imposed on sediments by the rhodolith pavement must also have significantly contributed to the maintenance of a middle ramp profile bulge. This study will contribute to a better understanding of Oligocene carbonates which have received less attention than their Eocene or Miocene counterparts.

The Microcephalin Ancestral Allele in a Neanderthal Individual

BackgroundThe high frequency (around 0.70 worlwide) and the relatively young age (between 14,000 and 62,000 years) of a derived group of haplotypes, haplogroup D, at the microcephalin (MCPH1) locus led to the proposal that haplogroup D originated in a human lineage that separated from modern humans >1 million years ago, evolved under strong positive selection, and passed into the human gene pool by an episode of admixture circa 37,000 years ago. The geographic distribution of haplogroup D, with marked differences between Africa and Eurasia, suggested that the archaic human form admixing with anatomically modern humans might have been Neanderthal.Methodology/Principal FindingsHere we report the first PCR amplification and high- throughput sequencing of nuclear DNA at the microcephalin (MCPH1) locus from Neanderthal individual from Mezzena Rockshelter (Monti Lessini, Italy). We show that a well-preserved Neanderthal fossil dated at approximately 50,000 years B.P., was homozygous for the ancestral, non-D, allele. The high yield of Neanderthal mtDNA sequences of the studied specimen, the pattern of nucleotide misincorporation among sequences consistent with post-mortem DNA damage and an accurate control of the MCPH1 alleles in all personnel that manipulated the sample, make it extremely unlikely that this result might reflect modern DNA contamination.Conclusions/SignificanceThe MCPH1 genotype of the Monti Lessini (MLS) Neanderthal does not prove that there was no interbreeding between anatomically archaic and modern humans in Europe, but certainly shows that speculations on a possible Neanderthal origin of what is now the most common MCPH1 haplogroup are not supported by empirical evidence from ancient DNA.

Gestione delle risorse genetiche nella filiera vivaistica del ciliegio selvatico (Prunus avium L.)

Knowledge of genetic and adaptive traits of reproductive materials used in the nursery system of wild cherry, could be an useful instrument to improve ecological and economic sustainability of plantation ecosystems. This work reports results from a research which the objectives were: 1) to study the genetic variation of a Prunus avium L. Population, used for seed harvesting, through its multi-locus genotypes detected by starch gel electrophoresis; 2) to analyze the level of genetic variation within and among different steps in a commercial nursery system (basic population and sub-populations, seedlings aged S1 T1 and S1 T2, plantation). Results showed low genetic variation levels of the basic population, similar to a reference system of other 12 wild cherry Italian populations and to other French and Caucasian materials. The genetic distances among Monte Baldo and some closer Lombardy provenances (Area Garda, Bosco Fontana, Valtellina) were smaller than the Venice Region populations (Monti Lessini and Asiago). Number of alleles and percentage of polymorphic loci within the complex of Monte Baldo provenance and multiplication materials were similar, whilst a variable value of Fis was noted. Indeed, along with the nursery system until the plantation, heterozygosis initially (S1 T1) increased, then decreased proceeding to the plantation. This fluctuation of FIS values could be determined by seed lots characterized initially by higher levels of variation, due to self-incompatibility. In the following steps, a possible selection pressure can affect randomly the genotypic structure of wild cherry by increasing the homozygosity. There is not among population a well defined geographic characterization, as suggested by genetic distances, therefore homogeneous seed harvest could be established an area larger than geographic and administrative borders. On this way we could have reproductive material with a wide genetic base and environmental adaptability. To increase variability in the progenies, populations characterised by wider cross pollination rates should be selected, harvest seed by all plants of population, reduce selection on seedlings during nursery growth.

Lateral variations of seismic intensity attenuation in Italy

SUMMARY A tomographic study of the attenuation of seismic intensity in the Italian territory has been carried on the basis of a felt report database including more than 50 000 macroseismic observations. The spatial variations of the attenuation coefficients have been computed on meshes of 50 and 25 km and compared with other geophysical observables. By checkerboard and restore tests using a Gaussian error with a realistic amplitude of one intensity degree we verified that a selected set including about 20 000 observations is able to reliably reproduce the imposed patterns. For the laterally varying attenuation model we also found a general reduction and a more uniform distribution of the average locality residual with respect to an isotropic attenuation law. The comparison of the inversion results with seismic velocity tomography of the crust and upper mantle shows fair correspondences between high-attenuation and low-velocity areas (Tyrrhenian slope of northern and central Apennines) as well as between low-attenuation and high-velocity ones (Po valley and Adriatic coast). The normalized attenuation functions computed for some areas of Italy also agree fairly well with empirical non-parametric attenuation functions determined by others, from accelerometer data. A clear correlation was found between the inferred behaviour of the slope of the attenuation function in the vicinity of the source (distance <45 km) and the heat flow. In fact, the most attenuating zones almost coincide with the highs of heat flow located along the northern Tyrrhenian coast of Tuscany and Latium and in the other volcanic areas (Campi Flegrei, Mount Etna, Colli Euganei and Monti Lessini). This clear correlation represents a convincing confirmation of the physical grounds on which the use and interpretation of macroseismic data is based.

Gunflint production in the Monti Lessini, Italy

Survey and excavation in the Monti Lessini of northern Italy reveal numerous small-scale gunflint production workshops. The location of these is related to the local geology and land-use practices of the 17th through 19th centuries, as well as regional demographics and political events. The recovered artifacts indicate a distinctive type of debitage was produced which allows discrimination of gunflint refuse from prehistoric materials. The stone used is macroscopically identical to French gunflint material commonly identified in historic sites.