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Dr. Assunta Florenzano
Laboratorio di Palinologia e Paleobotanica, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Viale Caduti in Guerra 127 – 41121 Modena, Italy

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Research article
Published: 16 August 2021 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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The sediment record from Lake Ohrid (Southwestern Balkans) represents the longest continuous lake archive in Europe, extending back to 1.36 Ma. We reconstruct the vegetation history based on pollen analysis of the DEEP core to reveal changes in vegetation cover and forest diversity during glacial–interglacial (G–IG) cycles and early basin development. The earliest lake phase saw a significantly different composition rich in relict tree taxa and few herbs. Subsequent establishment of a permanent steppic herb association around 1.2 Ma implies a threshold response to changes in moisture availability and temperature and gradual adjustment of the basin morphology. A change in the character of G–IG cycles during the Early–Middle Pleistocene Transition is reflected in the record by reorganization of the vegetation from obliquity- to eccentricity-paced cycles. Based on a quantitative analysis of tree taxa richness, the first large-scale decline in tree diversity occurred around 0.94 Ma. Subsequent variations in tree richness were largely driven by the amplitude and duration of G–IG cycles. Significant tree richness declines occurred in periods with abundant dry herb associations, pointing to aridity affecting tree population survival. Assessment of long-term legacy effects between global climate and regional vegetation change reveals a significant influence of cool interglacial conditions on subsequent glacial vegetation composition and diversity. This effect is contrary to observations at high latitudes, where glacial intensity is known to control subsequent interglacial vegetation, and the evidence demonstrates that the Lake Ohrid catchment functioned as a refugium for both thermophilous and temperate tree species.

ACS Style

Timme Donders; Konstantinos Panagiotopoulos; Andreas Koutsodendris; Adele Bertini; Anna Maria Mercuri; Alessia Masi; Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout; Sébastien Joannin; Katerina Kouli; Ilias Kousis; Odile Peyron; Paola Torri; Assunta Florenzano; Alexander Francke; Bernd Wagner; Laura Sadori. 1.36 million years of Mediterranean forest refugium dynamics in response to glacial–interglacial cycle strength. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2021, 118, 1 .

AMA Style

Timme Donders, Konstantinos Panagiotopoulos, Andreas Koutsodendris, Adele Bertini, Anna Maria Mercuri, Alessia Masi, Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout, Sébastien Joannin, Katerina Kouli, Ilias Kousis, Odile Peyron, Paola Torri, Assunta Florenzano, Alexander Francke, Bernd Wagner, Laura Sadori. 1.36 million years of Mediterranean forest refugium dynamics in response to glacial–interglacial cycle strength. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2021; 118 (34):1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Timme Donders; Konstantinos Panagiotopoulos; Andreas Koutsodendris; Adele Bertini; Anna Maria Mercuri; Alessia Masi; Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout; Sébastien Joannin; Katerina Kouli; Ilias Kousis; Odile Peyron; Paola Torri; Assunta Florenzano; Alexander Francke; Bernd Wagner; Laura Sadori. 2021. "1.36 million years of Mediterranean forest refugium dynamics in response to glacial–interglacial cycle strength." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, no. 34: 1.

Journal article
Published: 03 June 2021 in Molecules
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The Late Neolithic palafitte site, Ustie na Drim, in the northern part of Lake Ohrid (North Macedonia), excavated in 1962, offered ceramic fragments of large, flat, elongated pans. These artifacts could be dated by relative chronology to roughly around 5200–5000 BC. According to their shape and technological traits, the ceramic pans were probably used for baking. The attached materials on the surface of studied pan fragments were sampled for consequent chemical and microscopical analyses (i.e., analyses of starch, phytoliths, and microscopic animal remains). An immunological method revealed the presence of pork proteins in samples. The presence of organic residues of animal origin was, moreover, confirmed by the detection of cholesterol using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Analysis of detected microscopic botanical objects revealed starch grains of several plants (i.e., oak, cattail, and grasses). An interesting find was the hair of a beetle larva, which could be interpreted contextually as the khapra beetle, a pest of grain and flour. Based on our data, we suppose that the ceramic pans from Ustie na Drim were used for the preparation of meals containing meat from common livestock in combination with cereals and wild plants.

ACS Style

Jaromír Beneš; Valentina Todoroska; Kristýna Budilová; Jaromír Kovárník; Jaroslav Pavelka; Nevenka Atanasoska; Jiří Bumerl; Assunta Florenzano; Tereza Majerovičová; Václav Vondrovský; Michaela Ptáková; Petr Bednář; Lukáš Richtera; Lukáš Kučera. What about Dinner? Chemical and Microresidue Analysis Reveals the Function of Late Neolithic Ceramic Pans. Molecules 2021, 26, 3391 .

AMA Style

Jaromír Beneš, Valentina Todoroska, Kristýna Budilová, Jaromír Kovárník, Jaroslav Pavelka, Nevenka Atanasoska, Jiří Bumerl, Assunta Florenzano, Tereza Majerovičová, Václav Vondrovský, Michaela Ptáková, Petr Bednář, Lukáš Richtera, Lukáš Kučera. What about Dinner? Chemical and Microresidue Analysis Reveals the Function of Late Neolithic Ceramic Pans. Molecules. 2021; 26 (11):3391.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jaromír Beneš; Valentina Todoroska; Kristýna Budilová; Jaromír Kovárník; Jaroslav Pavelka; Nevenka Atanasoska; Jiří Bumerl; Assunta Florenzano; Tereza Majerovičová; Václav Vondrovský; Michaela Ptáková; Petr Bednář; Lukáš Richtera; Lukáš Kučera. 2021. "What about Dinner? Chemical and Microresidue Analysis Reveals the Function of Late Neolithic Ceramic Pans." Molecules 26, no. 11: 3391.

Journal article
Published: 20 February 2021 in Sustainability
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The recovery of inaperturate pollen from functionally female flowers in archaeological layers opens the question of a possible pollen-based discrimination between wild and domesticated Vitis vinifera in prehistoric times. Pollen analysis applied to archaeology has not routinely considered the existence of pollen dimorphism in Vitis, a well-known trait in the field of agrarian studies. Therefore, the inaperturate shape of grapevine pollen is ignored by studies on the archaeobotanical history of viticulture. In this paper we investigate pollen morphology of the domesticated and wild subspecies of V. vinifera, and report the first evidence of inaperturate Vitis pollen from an archaeological site. We studied exemplar cases of plants with hermaphroditic flowers, belonging to the subspecies vinifera with fully developed male and female organs, cases of dioecious plants with male or female flowers, belonging to the wild subspecies sylvestris and cases of V. vinifera subsp. vinifera with morphologically hermaphroditic but functionally female flowers. The pollen produced by hermaphroditic and male flowers is usually trizonocolporate; the pollen produced by female flowers is inaperturate. This paper reports on the inaperturate pollen of Vitis found in an archeological site of the Po Plain, Northern Italy. The site dated to the Bronze Age, which is known to have been a critical age for the use of this plant with a transition from wild to domesticated Vitis in central Mediterranean. Can the inaperturate Vitis pollen be a marker of wild Vitis vinifera in prehistoric times? Palynology suggests a possible new investigation strategy on the ancient history of the wild and cultivated grapevine. The pollen dimorphism also implies a different production and dispersal of pollen of the wild and the domesticated subspecies. Grapevine plants are palynologically different from the other Mediterranean “cultural trees”. In fact, Olea, Juglans and Castanea, which are included in the OJC index, have the same pollen morphology and the same pollen dispersal, in wild and domesticated plants. In contrast, the signal of Vitis pollen in past records may be different depending on the hermaphroditic or dioecious subspecies.

ACS Style

Anna Mercuri; Paola Torri; Assunta Florenzano; Eleonora Clò; Marta Mariotti Lippi; Elisabetta Sgarbi; Cristina Bignami. Sharing the Agrarian Knowledge with Archaeology: First Evidence of the Dimorphism of Vitis Pollen from the Middle Bronze Age of N Italy (Terramara Santa Rosa di Poviglio). Sustainability 2021, 13, 2287 .

AMA Style

Anna Mercuri, Paola Torri, Assunta Florenzano, Eleonora Clò, Marta Mariotti Lippi, Elisabetta Sgarbi, Cristina Bignami. Sharing the Agrarian Knowledge with Archaeology: First Evidence of the Dimorphism of Vitis Pollen from the Middle Bronze Age of N Italy (Terramara Santa Rosa di Poviglio). Sustainability. 2021; 13 (4):2287.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anna Mercuri; Paola Torri; Assunta Florenzano; Eleonora Clò; Marta Mariotti Lippi; Elisabetta Sgarbi; Cristina Bignami. 2021. "Sharing the Agrarian Knowledge with Archaeology: First Evidence of the Dimorphism of Vitis Pollen from the Middle Bronze Age of N Italy (Terramara Santa Rosa di Poviglio)." Sustainability 13, no. 4: 2287.

Journal article
Published: 14 October 2020 in Journal of Archaeological Science
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The early consumption of wine or other grape derivatives (such as vinegar or must) is suggested from organic residues analysis conducted on Bronze Age pottery recovered from two sites in north-eastern Italy, Pilastri di Bondeno (Ferrara) and Canale Anfora (Aquileia, Udine). Pilastri is part of the Terramare culture of the Po plain, from which the archaeobotanical context has suggested that Vitis vinifera L. was known and used during the Middle Bronze Age. At Canale Anfora Vitis, macro-remains were found in earlier levels of the local stratigraphy. Organic residue analysis conducted by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry allowed the identification of tartaric acid in twenty samples out of thirty-one recovered from different ceramic vessels (e.g., drinking cups, coarse ware pots, presumed storage vessels) found at the two archaeological sites and dated to the 15th-14th centuries BC. Based on integrated studies, we suggest that grape juice derivatives (including wine or vinegar) were likely consumed at the sites. This is the earliest direct evidence of grape derivatives consumption in this area. Combined with the botanical evidence, these findings contribute to our understanding of the emergence of wine consumption in the western Mediterranean.

ACS Style

Alessandra Pecci; Elisabetta Borgna; Simona Mileto; Elisa Dalla Longa; Giovanna Bosi; Assunta Florenzano; Anna Maria Mercuri; Susi Corazza; Marco Marchesini; Massimo Vidale. Wine consumption in Bronze Age Italy: combining organic residue analysis, botanical data and ceramic variability. Journal of Archaeological Science 2020, 123, 105256 .

AMA Style

Alessandra Pecci, Elisabetta Borgna, Simona Mileto, Elisa Dalla Longa, Giovanna Bosi, Assunta Florenzano, Anna Maria Mercuri, Susi Corazza, Marco Marchesini, Massimo Vidale. Wine consumption in Bronze Age Italy: combining organic residue analysis, botanical data and ceramic variability. Journal of Archaeological Science. 2020; 123 ():105256.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alessandra Pecci; Elisabetta Borgna; Simona Mileto; Elisa Dalla Longa; Giovanna Bosi; Assunta Florenzano; Anna Maria Mercuri; Susi Corazza; Marco Marchesini; Massimo Vidale. 2020. "Wine consumption in Bronze Age Italy: combining organic residue analysis, botanical data and ceramic variability." Journal of Archaeological Science 123, no. : 105256.

Data description paper
Published: 09 October 2020 in Earth System Science Data
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The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019).

ACS Style

Basil A. S. Davis; Manuel Chevalier; Philipp Sommer; Vachel A. Carter; Walter Finsinger; Achille Mauri; Leanne N. Phelps; Marco Zanon; Roman Abegglen; Christine M. Åkesson; Francisca Alba-Sánchez; R. Scott Anderson; Tatiana G. Antipina; Juliana R. Atanassova; Ruth Beer; Nina I. Belyanina; Tatiana A. Blyakharchuk; Olga K. Borisova; Elissaveta Bozilova; Galina Bukreeva; M. Jane Bunting; Eleonora Clò; Daniele Colombaroli; Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout; Stéphanie Desprat; Federico Di Rita; Morteza Djamali; Kevin J. Edwards; Patricia L. Fall; Angelica Feurdean; William Fletcher; Assunta Florenzano; Giulia Furlanetto; Emna Gaceur; Arsenii T. Galimov; Mariusz Gałka; Iria García-Moreiras; Thomas Giesecke; Roxana Grindean; Maria A. Guido; Irina G. Gvozdeva; Ulrike Herzschuh; Kari L. Hjelle; Sergey Ivanov; Susanne Jahns; Vlasta Jankovska; Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno; Monika Karpińska-Kołaczek; Ikuko Kitaba; Piotr Kołaczek; Elena G. Lapteva; Małgorzata Latałowa; Vincent Lebreton; Suzanne Leroy; Michelle Leydet; Darya A. Lopatina; José Antonio López-Sáez; André F. Lotter; Donatella Magri; Elena Marinova; Isabelle Matthias; Anastasia Mavridou; Anna Maria Mercuri; Jose Manuel Mesa-Fernández; Yuri A. Mikishin; Krystyna Milecka; Carlo Montanari; César Morales-Molino; Almut Mrotzek; Castor Muñoz Sobrino; Olga D. Naidina; Takeshi Nakagawa; Anne Birgitte Nielsen; Elena Y. Novenko; Sampson Panajiotidis; Nata K. Panova; Maria Papadopoulou; Heather S. Pardoe; Anna Pędziszewska; Tatiana I. Petrenko; María J. Ramos-Román; Cesare Ravazzi; Manfred Rösch; Natalia Ryabogina; Silvia Sabariego Ruiz; J. Sakari Salonen; Tatyana V. Sapelko; James E. Schofield; Heikki Seppä; Lyudmila Shumilovskikh; Normunds Stivrins; Philipp Stojakowits; Helena Svobodova Svitavska; Joanna Święta-Musznicka; Ioan Tantau; Willy Tinner; Kazimierz Tobolski; Spassimir Tonkov; Margarita Tsakiridou; Verushka Valsecchi; Oksana G. Zanina; Marcelina Zimny. The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2. Earth System Science Data 2020, 12, 2423 -2445.

AMA Style

Basil A. S. Davis, Manuel Chevalier, Philipp Sommer, Vachel A. Carter, Walter Finsinger, Achille Mauri, Leanne N. Phelps, Marco Zanon, Roman Abegglen, Christine M. Åkesson, Francisca Alba-Sánchez, R. Scott Anderson, Tatiana G. Antipina, Juliana R. Atanassova, Ruth Beer, Nina I. Belyanina, Tatiana A. Blyakharchuk, Olga K. Borisova, Elissaveta Bozilova, Galina Bukreeva, M. Jane Bunting, Eleonora Clò, Daniele Colombaroli, Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout, Stéphanie Desprat, Federico Di Rita, Morteza Djamali, Kevin J. Edwards, Patricia L. Fall, Angelica Feurdean, William Fletcher, Assunta Florenzano, Giulia Furlanetto, Emna Gaceur, Arsenii T. Galimov, Mariusz Gałka, Iria García-Moreiras, Thomas Giesecke, Roxana Grindean, Maria A. Guido, Irina G. Gvozdeva, Ulrike Herzschuh, Kari L. Hjelle, Sergey Ivanov, Susanne Jahns, Vlasta Jankovska, Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno, Monika Karpińska-Kołaczek, Ikuko Kitaba, Piotr Kołaczek, Elena G. Lapteva, Małgorzata Latałowa, Vincent Lebreton, Suzanne Leroy, Michelle Leydet, Darya A. Lopatina, José Antonio López-Sáez, André F. Lotter, Donatella Magri, Elena Marinova, Isabelle Matthias, Anastasia Mavridou, Anna Maria Mercuri, Jose Manuel Mesa-Fernández, Yuri A. Mikishin, Krystyna Milecka, Carlo Montanari, César Morales-Molino, Almut Mrotzek, Castor Muñoz Sobrino, Olga D. Naidina, Takeshi Nakagawa, Anne Birgitte Nielsen, Elena Y. Novenko, Sampson Panajiotidis, Nata K. Panova, Maria Papadopoulou, Heather S. Pardoe, Anna Pędziszewska, Tatiana I. Petrenko, María J. Ramos-Román, Cesare Ravazzi, Manfred Rösch, Natalia Ryabogina, Silvia Sabariego Ruiz, J. Sakari Salonen, Tatyana V. Sapelko, James E. Schofield, Heikki Seppä, Lyudmila Shumilovskikh, Normunds Stivrins, Philipp Stojakowits, Helena Svobodova Svitavska, Joanna Święta-Musznicka, Ioan Tantau, Willy Tinner, Kazimierz Tobolski, Spassimir Tonkov, Margarita Tsakiridou, Verushka Valsecchi, Oksana G. Zanina, Marcelina Zimny. The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2. Earth System Science Data. 2020; 12 (4):2423-2445.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Basil A. S. Davis; Manuel Chevalier; Philipp Sommer; Vachel A. Carter; Walter Finsinger; Achille Mauri; Leanne N. Phelps; Marco Zanon; Roman Abegglen; Christine M. Åkesson; Francisca Alba-Sánchez; R. Scott Anderson; Tatiana G. Antipina; Juliana R. Atanassova; Ruth Beer; Nina I. Belyanina; Tatiana A. Blyakharchuk; Olga K. Borisova; Elissaveta Bozilova; Galina Bukreeva; M. Jane Bunting; Eleonora Clò; Daniele Colombaroli; Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout; Stéphanie Desprat; Federico Di Rita; Morteza Djamali; Kevin J. Edwards; Patricia L. Fall; Angelica Feurdean; William Fletcher; Assunta Florenzano; Giulia Furlanetto; Emna Gaceur; Arsenii T. Galimov; Mariusz Gałka; Iria García-Moreiras; Thomas Giesecke; Roxana Grindean; Maria A. Guido; Irina G. Gvozdeva; Ulrike Herzschuh; Kari L. Hjelle; Sergey Ivanov; Susanne Jahns; Vlasta Jankovska; Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno; Monika Karpińska-Kołaczek; Ikuko Kitaba; Piotr Kołaczek; Elena G. Lapteva; Małgorzata Latałowa; Vincent Lebreton; Suzanne Leroy; Michelle Leydet; Darya A. Lopatina; José Antonio López-Sáez; André F. Lotter; Donatella Magri; Elena Marinova; Isabelle Matthias; Anastasia Mavridou; Anna Maria Mercuri; Jose Manuel Mesa-Fernández; Yuri A. Mikishin; Krystyna Milecka; Carlo Montanari; César Morales-Molino; Almut Mrotzek; Castor Muñoz Sobrino; Olga D. Naidina; Takeshi Nakagawa; Anne Birgitte Nielsen; Elena Y. Novenko; Sampson Panajiotidis; Nata K. Panova; Maria Papadopoulou; Heather S. Pardoe; Anna Pędziszewska; Tatiana I. Petrenko; María J. Ramos-Román; Cesare Ravazzi; Manfred Rösch; Natalia Ryabogina; Silvia Sabariego Ruiz; J. Sakari Salonen; Tatyana V. Sapelko; James E. Schofield; Heikki Seppä; Lyudmila Shumilovskikh; Normunds Stivrins; Philipp Stojakowits; Helena Svobodova Svitavska; Joanna Święta-Musznicka; Ioan Tantau; Willy Tinner; Kazimierz Tobolski; Spassimir Tonkov; Margarita Tsakiridou; Verushka Valsecchi; Oksana G. Zanina; Marcelina Zimny. 2020. "The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2." Earth System Science Data 12, no. 4: 2423-2445.

Articles
Published: 18 June 2020 in Environmental Archaeology
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ACS Style

Rocco Rotunno; Anna Maria Mercuri; Assunta Florenzano; Andrea Zerboni; Savino Di Lernia. The Visibility of Mobility: Coprolites, Dung and Neolithic Herders in Central Saharan Rock Shelters. Environmental Archaeology 2020, 1 -16.

AMA Style

Rocco Rotunno, Anna Maria Mercuri, Assunta Florenzano, Andrea Zerboni, Savino Di Lernia. The Visibility of Mobility: Coprolites, Dung and Neolithic Herders in Central Saharan Rock Shelters. Environmental Archaeology. 2020; ():1-16.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rocco Rotunno; Anna Maria Mercuri; Assunta Florenzano; Andrea Zerboni; Savino Di Lernia. 2020. "The Visibility of Mobility: Coprolites, Dung and Neolithic Herders in Central Saharan Rock Shelters." Environmental Archaeology , no. : 1-16.

Preprint content
Published: 23 March 2020
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Ancient land management is inherited and at the base of the current landscapes and must be known to facilitate a sustainable land development for the future. Understanding past land-use systems is helpful for evaluating the current and future state of both biological and physical environments, and for disentangling the role of people in shaping current landscapes. Many different perspectives are involved in reconstructing the cultural impact on the environment. Palynology has great potentiality for environmental and palaeoethnobotanical purposes, with the study of high-resolution sequences formed under natural and anthropic (cultural) forces. Pollen data are fruitfully used to reconstruct land transformations in a diachronic palaeoecological perspective. For example, palynological records from central Mediterranean archaeological sites showed evidence of land uses and evolution of agrarian systems from Neolithic to Bronze Age, allowing a comparative view of the long-term changes in the land footprint of ancient Mediterranean societies. In this study we report on the level of detail on land management provided by palynological research from archaeological sites of Greek Basilicata (south Italy) and Roman Tuscany (central Italy). The local land use types and different management strategies inferred from palynology provide an important contribution to the knowledge of land development and implications for a sustainable soil management in these regions.

 

ACS Style

Anna Maria Mercuri; Assunta Florenzano. Palynology as a tool for the knowledge on the millennial human impact and land management in the central Mediterranean. 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Anna Maria Mercuri, Assunta Florenzano. Palynology as a tool for the knowledge on the millennial human impact and land management in the central Mediterranean. . 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anna Maria Mercuri; Assunta Florenzano. 2020. "Palynology as a tool for the knowledge on the millennial human impact and land management in the central Mediterranean." , no. : 1.

Preprint content
Published: 24 February 2020
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The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land-cover and land-use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from Northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated mapbased viewer at https://empd2.github.io, and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019).

ACS Style

Basil A. S. Davis; Manuel Chevalier; Philipp Sommer; Vachel A. Carter; Walter Finsinger; Achille Mauri; Leanne N. Phelps; Marco Zanon; Roman Abegglen; Christine M. Åkesson; Francisca Alba-Sánchez; R. Scott Anderson; Tatiana G. Antipina; Juliana R. Atanassova; Ruth Beer; Nina I. Belyanina; Tatiana A. Blyakharchuk; Olga K. Borisova; Elissaveta Bozilova; Galina Bukreeva; M. Jane Bunting; Eleonora Clò; Daniele Colombaroli; Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout; Stéphanie Desprat; Federico Di Rita; Morteza Djamali; Kevin J. Edwards; Patricia L. Fall; Angelica Feurdean; William Fletcher; Assunta Florenzano; Giulia Furlanetto; Emna Gaceur; Arsenii T. Galimov; Mariusz Gałka; Iria García-Moreiras; Thomas Giesecke; Roxana Grindean; Maria A. Guido; Irina G. Gvozdeva; Ulrike Herzschuh; Kari L. Hjelle; Sergey Ivanov; Susanne Jahns; Vlasta Jankovska; Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno; Monika Karpińska-Kołaczek; Ikuko Kitaba; Piotr Kołaczek; Elena G. Lapteva; Małgorzata Latałowa; Vincent Lebreton; Suzanne Leroy; Michelle Leydet; Darya A. Lopatina; José Antonio López-Sáez; André F. Lotter; Donatella Magri; Elena Marinova; Isabelle Matthias; Anastasia Mavridou; Anna Maria Mercuri; Jose Manuel Mesa-Fernández; Yuri A. Mikishin; Krystyna Milecka; Carlo Montanari; César Morales-Molino; Almut Mrotzek; Castor Muñoz Sobrino; Olga D. Naidina; Takeshi Nakagawa; Anne Birgitte Nielsen; Elena Y. Novenko; Sampson Panajiotidis; Nata K. Panova; Maria Papadopoulou; Heather S. Pardoe; Anna Pędziszewska; Tatiana I. Petrenko; María J. Ramos-Román; Cesare Ravazzi; Manfred Rösch; Natalia Ryabogina; Silvia Sabariego Ruiz; J. Sakari Salonen; Tatyana V. Sapelko; James E. Schofield; Heikki Seppä; Lyudmila Shumilovskikh; Normunds Stivrins; Philipp Stojakowits; Helena Svobodova Svitavska; Joanna Święta-Musznicka; Ioan Tantau; Willy Tinner; Kazimierz Tobolski; Spassimir Tonkov; Margarita Tsakiridou; Verushka Valsecchi; Oksana G. Zanina; Marcelina Zimny. The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), Version 2. 2020, 2020, 1 -41.

AMA Style

Basil A. S. Davis, Manuel Chevalier, Philipp Sommer, Vachel A. Carter, Walter Finsinger, Achille Mauri, Leanne N. Phelps, Marco Zanon, Roman Abegglen, Christine M. Åkesson, Francisca Alba-Sánchez, R. Scott Anderson, Tatiana G. Antipina, Juliana R. Atanassova, Ruth Beer, Nina I. Belyanina, Tatiana A. Blyakharchuk, Olga K. Borisova, Elissaveta Bozilova, Galina Bukreeva, M. Jane Bunting, Eleonora Clò, Daniele Colombaroli, Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout, Stéphanie Desprat, Federico Di Rita, Morteza Djamali, Kevin J. Edwards, Patricia L. Fall, Angelica Feurdean, William Fletcher, Assunta Florenzano, Giulia Furlanetto, Emna Gaceur, Arsenii T. Galimov, Mariusz Gałka, Iria García-Moreiras, Thomas Giesecke, Roxana Grindean, Maria A. Guido, Irina G. Gvozdeva, Ulrike Herzschuh, Kari L. Hjelle, Sergey Ivanov, Susanne Jahns, Vlasta Jankovska, Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno, Monika Karpińska-Kołaczek, Ikuko Kitaba, Piotr Kołaczek, Elena G. Lapteva, Małgorzata Latałowa, Vincent Lebreton, Suzanne Leroy, Michelle Leydet, Darya A. Lopatina, José Antonio López-Sáez, André F. Lotter, Donatella Magri, Elena Marinova, Isabelle Matthias, Anastasia Mavridou, Anna Maria Mercuri, Jose Manuel Mesa-Fernández, Yuri A. Mikishin, Krystyna Milecka, Carlo Montanari, César Morales-Molino, Almut Mrotzek, Castor Muñoz Sobrino, Olga D. Naidina, Takeshi Nakagawa, Anne Birgitte Nielsen, Elena Y. Novenko, Sampson Panajiotidis, Nata K. Panova, Maria Papadopoulou, Heather S. Pardoe, Anna Pędziszewska, Tatiana I. Petrenko, María J. Ramos-Román, Cesare Ravazzi, Manfred Rösch, Natalia Ryabogina, Silvia Sabariego Ruiz, J. Sakari Salonen, Tatyana V. Sapelko, James E. Schofield, Heikki Seppä, Lyudmila Shumilovskikh, Normunds Stivrins, Philipp Stojakowits, Helena Svobodova Svitavska, Joanna Święta-Musznicka, Ioan Tantau, Willy Tinner, Kazimierz Tobolski, Spassimir Tonkov, Margarita Tsakiridou, Verushka Valsecchi, Oksana G. Zanina, Marcelina Zimny. The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), Version 2. . 2020; 2020 ():1-41.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Basil A. S. Davis; Manuel Chevalier; Philipp Sommer; Vachel A. Carter; Walter Finsinger; Achille Mauri; Leanne N. Phelps; Marco Zanon; Roman Abegglen; Christine M. Åkesson; Francisca Alba-Sánchez; R. Scott Anderson; Tatiana G. Antipina; Juliana R. Atanassova; Ruth Beer; Nina I. Belyanina; Tatiana A. Blyakharchuk; Olga K. Borisova; Elissaveta Bozilova; Galina Bukreeva; M. Jane Bunting; Eleonora Clò; Daniele Colombaroli; Nathalie Combourieu-Nebout; Stéphanie Desprat; Federico Di Rita; Morteza Djamali; Kevin J. Edwards; Patricia L. Fall; Angelica Feurdean; William Fletcher; Assunta Florenzano; Giulia Furlanetto; Emna Gaceur; Arsenii T. Galimov; Mariusz Gałka; Iria García-Moreiras; Thomas Giesecke; Roxana Grindean; Maria A. Guido; Irina G. Gvozdeva; Ulrike Herzschuh; Kari L. Hjelle; Sergey Ivanov; Susanne Jahns; Vlasta Jankovska; Gonzalo Jiménez-Moreno; Monika Karpińska-Kołaczek; Ikuko Kitaba; Piotr Kołaczek; Elena G. Lapteva; Małgorzata Latałowa; Vincent Lebreton; Suzanne Leroy; Michelle Leydet; Darya A. Lopatina; José Antonio López-Sáez; André F. Lotter; Donatella Magri; Elena Marinova; Isabelle Matthias; Anastasia Mavridou; Anna Maria Mercuri; Jose Manuel Mesa-Fernández; Yuri A. Mikishin; Krystyna Milecka; Carlo Montanari; César Morales-Molino; Almut Mrotzek; Castor Muñoz Sobrino; Olga D. Naidina; Takeshi Nakagawa; Anne Birgitte Nielsen; Elena Y. Novenko; Sampson Panajiotidis; Nata K. Panova; Maria Papadopoulou; Heather S. Pardoe; Anna Pędziszewska; Tatiana I. Petrenko; María J. Ramos-Román; Cesare Ravazzi; Manfred Rösch; Natalia Ryabogina; Silvia Sabariego Ruiz; J. Sakari Salonen; Tatyana V. Sapelko; James E. Schofield; Heikki Seppä; Lyudmila Shumilovskikh; Normunds Stivrins; Philipp Stojakowits; Helena Svobodova Svitavska; Joanna Święta-Musznicka; Ioan Tantau; Willy Tinner; Kazimierz Tobolski; Spassimir Tonkov; Margarita Tsakiridou; Verushka Valsecchi; Oksana G. Zanina; Marcelina Zimny. 2020. "The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), Version 2." 2020, no. : 1-41.

Journal article
Published: 31 January 2020 in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
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This paper presents the results obtained from palynological research carried out at the archaeological site of San Vincenzo-Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Sicily) during seven fieldwork seasons (2009–2015). The site has had discontinuous occupation since the Neolithic; the main remains are dated to the Bronze Age, late Roman and late Medieval phases. Pollen analyses were carried out on 60 samples taken from different archaeological contexts, and about 1/3 had enough pollen to calculate pollen spectra. The aim of the research was to gain new data on the economy and productive activity of the island, and to reconstruct the landscape focusing primarily on the Bronze Age, and then on the other occupational phases. An interdisciplinary approach integrating different disciplines has facilitated new interpretations about landscape and human activities. Pollen suggests that oak woodland and Mediterranean evergreen vegetation have been part of the natural plant cover of the area since the first occupation. Early evidence of agrarian practices, including cereal cultivation, dates back to the Bronze Age while the current vegetation seems to have originated during the Medieval period.

ACS Style

A.M. Mercuri; V. Cannavò; E. Clò; Andrea DI Renzoni; A. Florenzano; E. Rattighieri; D. Yoon; S.T. Levi. Palynology of San Vincenzo-Stromboli: Interdisciplinary perspective for the diachronic palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of an island of Sicily. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 2020, 30, 102235 .

AMA Style

A.M. Mercuri, V. Cannavò, E. Clò, Andrea DI Renzoni, A. Florenzano, E. Rattighieri, D. Yoon, S.T. Levi. Palynology of San Vincenzo-Stromboli: Interdisciplinary perspective for the diachronic palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of an island of Sicily. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 2020; 30 ():102235.

Chicago/Turabian Style

A.M. Mercuri; V. Cannavò; E. Clò; Andrea DI Renzoni; A. Florenzano; E. Rattighieri; D. Yoon; S.T. Levi. 2020. "Palynology of San Vincenzo-Stromboli: Interdisciplinary perspective for the diachronic palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of an island of Sicily." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 30, no. : 102235.

Research article
Published: 09 May 2019 in The Holocene
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The high-resolution Adriatic RF93-30 core shows changes in its microcharcoal record, which correlate to terrestrial fires from the last 7000 years. Pollen and microcharcoals were transported by wind and fluvial transport from the sedimentary basin, including the Po River and other rivers flowing into the sea off the Italian east coast. Charcoal particles and pollen were counted in the same samples, and the maximum breadth and length of charcoal particles were measured. Microcharcoals with large dimensions were taken as fire indicators occurring along the near coast, as they probably arrived from short distances, the nearest being in Apulia, in southern Italy. The age–depth model was developed within the multidisciplinary PALICLAS project. Several potential fire activity increases (PFAIs) were visible as peaks in the diagram. The oldest PFAIs occurred at the middle Holocene (approximately dated to c. 6730, 5430, 4150 cal BP), others occurred at the late Holocene ( c. 3760, 2660, 2240, 2030, 1930, 1510 cal BP) and during the last millennium ( c. 900–865, 530, 120–96 cal BP). The two oldest peaks in the diagram, occurring in the 7th–6th millennia, showed the highest contribution of charcoal corresponding to the highest values of arboreal pollen (AP) in the sedimentary record. Although the CHAR peaks did not represent a single fire event, the diagram suggests a good correspondence between paleofire activity and terrestrial vegetation biomass during this early phase. Pollen containing black particles was observed, which suggested some grains were transported in suspension with winds from burned woods. The main unambiguous anthropogenic fire causation would have occurred during the last four millennia. From 4.2 ka, it became hard to disentangle climate and Bronze Age actions. Technology and human activity probably improved the pace of fire events, especially involving oak woods, with evidence of an increase of CHAR during the last millennium.

ACS Style

Anna Maria Mercuri; Assunta Florenzano; Rita Terenziani; Elisa Furia; Daniele Dallai; Paola Torri. Middle- to late-Holocene fire history and the impact on Mediterranean pine and oak forests according to the core RF93-30, central Adriatic Sea. The Holocene 2019, 29, 1362 -1376.

AMA Style

Anna Maria Mercuri, Assunta Florenzano, Rita Terenziani, Elisa Furia, Daniele Dallai, Paola Torri. Middle- to late-Holocene fire history and the impact on Mediterranean pine and oak forests according to the core RF93-30, central Adriatic Sea. The Holocene. 2019; 29 (8):1362-1376.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anna Maria Mercuri; Assunta Florenzano; Rita Terenziani; Elisa Furia; Daniele Dallai; Paola Torri. 2019. "Middle- to late-Holocene fire history and the impact on Mediterranean pine and oak forests according to the core RF93-30, central Adriatic Sea." The Holocene 29, no. 8: 1362-1376.

Research article
Published: 15 February 2019 in The Holocene
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Archaeobotany is used to discover details on local land uses in prehistoric settlements developed during the middle and beginning of late Holocene. Six archaeological sites from four countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey) have pollen and charcoal records showing clear signs of the agrarian systems that had developed in the Mediterranean basin during different cultural phases, from pre-Neolithic to Recent Bronze Age. A selected list of pollen taxa and sums, including cultivated trees, other woody species, crops and annual or perennial synanthropic plants are analysed for land use reconstructions. In general, cultivation has a lower image in palynology than forestry, and past land uses became visible when oakwoods were affected by human activities. On-site palynology allows us to recognise the first influence of humans even before it can be recognised in off-site sequences, and off-site sequences can allow us to determine the area of influence of a site. Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeological sites show similar land use dynamics implying oak exploitation, causing local deforestation, and cultivation of cereal fields in the area or around the site. Although a substantial difference makes the Neolithic influence quite distant from the Bronze Age impact, mixed systems of land exploitation emerged everywhere. Multiple land use activities exist (multifunctional landscapes) at the same time within the area of influence of a site. Since the Neolithic, people have adopted a diffuse pattern of land use involving a combination of diverse activities, using trees–crops–domesticated animals. The most recurrent combination included wood exploitation, field cultivation and animal breeding. The lesson from the past is that the multifunctional land use, combining sylvo-pastoral and crop farming mixed systems, has been widely adopted for millennia, being more sustainable than the monoculture and a promising way to develop our economy.

ACS Style

Anna Maria Mercuri; Assunta Florenzano; Francesc Burjachs; Marco Giardini; Katerina Kouli; Alessia Masi; Llorenç Picornell-Gelabert; Jordi Revelles; Laura Sadori; Gabriel Servera-Vives; Paola Torri; Ralph Fyfe. From influence to impact: The multifunctional land use in Mediterranean prehistory emerging from palynology of archaeological sites (8.0-2.8 ka BP). The Holocene 2019, 29, 830 -846.

AMA Style

Anna Maria Mercuri, Assunta Florenzano, Francesc Burjachs, Marco Giardini, Katerina Kouli, Alessia Masi, Llorenç Picornell-Gelabert, Jordi Revelles, Laura Sadori, Gabriel Servera-Vives, Paola Torri, Ralph Fyfe. From influence to impact: The multifunctional land use in Mediterranean prehistory emerging from palynology of archaeological sites (8.0-2.8 ka BP). The Holocene. 2019; 29 (5):830-846.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anna Maria Mercuri; Assunta Florenzano; Francesc Burjachs; Marco Giardini; Katerina Kouli; Alessia Masi; Llorenç Picornell-Gelabert; Jordi Revelles; Laura Sadori; Gabriel Servera-Vives; Paola Torri; Ralph Fyfe. 2019. "From influence to impact: The multifunctional land use in Mediterranean prehistory emerging from palynology of archaeological sites (8.0-2.8 ka BP)." The Holocene 29, no. 5: 830-846.

Journal article
Published: 13 February 2019 in The Holocene
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This paper compares changes in vegetation structure and composition (using synthetic fossil pollen data) with proxy data for population levels (including settlements and radiocarbon dates) over the course of the last 10 millennia in Tyrrhenian central Italy. These data show generalised patterns of clearance of woodland in response both to early agriculturalists and urbanism, as well as the specific adoption of tree crops and variations in stock grazing. The results provide a comprehensive understanding of the development of the anthropogenised landscape of one of the most important early centres of European civilisation, showing regional trends as well as local variations.

ACS Style

Simon Stoddart; Jessie Woodbridge; Alessio Palmisano; Anna Maria Mercuri; Scott Andrew Mensing; Daniele Colombaroli; Laura Sadori; Donatella Magri; Federico Di Rita; Marco Giardini; Marta Mariotti Lippi; Carlo Montanari; Cristina Bellini; Assunta Florenzano; Paola Torri; Andrew Bevan; Stephen Shennan; Ralph Fyfe; C Neil Roberts. Tyrrhenian central Italy: Holocene population and landscape ecology. The Holocene 2019, 29, 761 -775.

AMA Style

Simon Stoddart, Jessie Woodbridge, Alessio Palmisano, Anna Maria Mercuri, Scott Andrew Mensing, Daniele Colombaroli, Laura Sadori, Donatella Magri, Federico Di Rita, Marco Giardini, Marta Mariotti Lippi, Carlo Montanari, Cristina Bellini, Assunta Florenzano, Paola Torri, Andrew Bevan, Stephen Shennan, Ralph Fyfe, C Neil Roberts. Tyrrhenian central Italy: Holocene population and landscape ecology. The Holocene. 2019; 29 (5):761-775.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Simon Stoddart; Jessie Woodbridge; Alessio Palmisano; Anna Maria Mercuri; Scott Andrew Mensing; Daniele Colombaroli; Laura Sadori; Donatella Magri; Federico Di Rita; Marco Giardini; Marta Mariotti Lippi; Carlo Montanari; Cristina Bellini; Assunta Florenzano; Paola Torri; Andrew Bevan; Stephen Shennan; Ralph Fyfe; C Neil Roberts. 2019. "Tyrrhenian central Italy: Holocene population and landscape ecology." The Holocene 29, no. 5: 761-775.

Journal article
Published: 15 January 2019 in Sustainability
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The present-day Mediterranean landscape is a result of the long-term human–environment–climate interactions that have driven the ecological dynamics throughout the Holocene. Pastoralism had (and still has) an important role in shaping this landscape, and contributes to maintaining the mosaic patterns of the Mediterranean habitats. Palaeoecological records provide significant multi-proxy data on environmental changes during the Holocene that are linked to human activities. In such research, the palynological approach is especially useful for detailing the complexity of anthropogenically-driven landscape transformations by discriminating past land uses and pastoral/breeding activities. This paper focuses on the palynological evidence for the impact of centuries of grazing on the vegetation of Basilicata, a region of southern Italy where animal breeding and pastoralism have a long tradition. A set of 121 pollen samples from eight archaeological sites (dated from the 6th century BC to the 15th century AD) and five modern surface soil samples were analyzed. The joint record of pollen pasture indicators and spores of coprophilous fungi suggests that continuous and intense pastoral activities have been practiced in the territory and have highly influenced its landscape. The palaeoecological results of this study provide us with better knowledge of the diachronical transformations of the habitats that were exposed to continuous grazing, with a shift toward more open vegetation and increase of sclerophyllous shrubs. The palynological approach gives insights into the vocation and environmental sustainability of this southern Italy region on a long-term basis.

ACS Style

Assunta Florenzano. The History of Pastoral Activities in S Italy Inferred from Palynology: A Long-Term Perspective to Support Biodiversity Awareness. Sustainability 2019, 11, 404 .

AMA Style

Assunta Florenzano. The History of Pastoral Activities in S Italy Inferred from Palynology: A Long-Term Perspective to Support Biodiversity Awareness. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (2):404.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Assunta Florenzano. 2019. "The History of Pastoral Activities in S Italy Inferred from Palynology: A Long-Term Perspective to Support Biodiversity Awareness." Sustainability 11, no. 2: 404.

Editorial
Published: 15 January 2019 in Sustainability
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This is not the first time the Earth has to experience dramatic environmental and climate changes but this seems to be the first time that a living species—humanity—is able to understand that great changes are taking place rapidly and that probably natural and anthropogenic forces are involved in the process that is under way

ACS Style

Anna Maria Mercuri; Assunta Florenzano. The Long-Term Perspective of Human Impact on Landscape for Environmental Change (LoTEC) and Sustainability: From Botany to the Interdisciplinary Approach. Sustainability 2019, 11, 413 .

AMA Style

Anna Maria Mercuri, Assunta Florenzano. The Long-Term Perspective of Human Impact on Landscape for Environmental Change (LoTEC) and Sustainability: From Botany to the Interdisciplinary Approach. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (2):413.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anna Maria Mercuri; Assunta Florenzano. 2019. "The Long-Term Perspective of Human Impact on Landscape for Environmental Change (LoTEC) and Sustainability: From Botany to the Interdisciplinary Approach." Sustainability 11, no. 2: 413.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2019 in Quaternary International
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ACS Style

Anna Maria Mercuri; Maria Chiara Montecchi; Assunta Florenzano; Eleonora Rattighieri; Paola Torri; Daniele Dallai; Emanuele Vaccaro. The Late Antique plant landscape in Sicily: Pollen from the agro-pastoral villa del Casale - Philosophiana system. Quaternary International 2019, 499, 24 -34.

AMA Style

Anna Maria Mercuri, Maria Chiara Montecchi, Assunta Florenzano, Eleonora Rattighieri, Paola Torri, Daniele Dallai, Emanuele Vaccaro. The Late Antique plant landscape in Sicily: Pollen from the agro-pastoral villa del Casale - Philosophiana system. Quaternary International. 2019; 499 ():24-34.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anna Maria Mercuri; Maria Chiara Montecchi; Assunta Florenzano; Eleonora Rattighieri; Paola Torri; Daniele Dallai; Emanuele Vaccaro. 2019. "The Late Antique plant landscape in Sicily: Pollen from the agro-pastoral villa del Casale - Philosophiana system." Quaternary International 499, no. : 24-34.

Chapter
Published: 01 August 2018 in Plants and People in the African Past
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This multiscalar study explores Holocene environmental changes across the Sahara, within the eastern Sahara, and along the Nile in northern Sudan. The Early Holocene saw increased moisture across most parts of northern Africa after c. 10,000 BC, with peak humid conditions 7800–7000 BC. A short but significant dry interval after c. 7000 BC was followed by wetter conditions around 6000 BC, and then a gradual aridification from 5000 BC. The latter dry phase has continued until present times. The exceptional environments near the Nile are known to have seen impressive variations as climate oscillations and flora left traces in the palaeobotanical record. Multidisciplinary archaeological studies in this area—including analysis of plant macroremains—have focused on the transitions from hunting-fishing-gathering (Khartoum Variant) to pastoralism (Abkan) and later to agro-pastoralism (Pre-Kerma). The palynological data from four Sai Island sites (8-B-10C, 8-B-76, 8-B-81, and 8-B-10A) and the nearby mainland site of Amara West (2-R-66) provide new perspectives on local environmental shifts during this time of profound economic and social change. Despite poor pollen preservation, the high number of samples enables comparisons that show both diachronic changes and synchronic variation. Since the earliest phases, pollen spectra reflect mixed flora from various habitats and some seasonal variability. During the Early Holocene and the initial part of the Middle Holocene, dramatic floods on Sai’s east side and seasonal desiccation on Sai’s west side together created an ecological mosaic that exposed people to several different habitat types within a short distance. These included swamps and marshes, wooded savannas, grasslands and desert savanna, providing access to plants used for food, medicine, and other purposes. Documenting localized patterns of vegetation variation and change can lay important groundwork for explaining changes in subsistence and social organization.

ACS Style

Elisabeth Hildebrand; Elena A. A. Garcea; Assunta Florenzano; Anna Maria Mercuri. Multiscalar Perspectives on Holocene Climatic and Environmental Changes in the Sahara and Nile Corridor, with Special Consideration of Archaeological Sites on Sai Island, Sudan. Plants and People in the African Past 2018, 215 -245.

AMA Style

Elisabeth Hildebrand, Elena A. A. Garcea, Assunta Florenzano, Anna Maria Mercuri. Multiscalar Perspectives on Holocene Climatic and Environmental Changes in the Sahara and Nile Corridor, with Special Consideration of Archaeological Sites on Sai Island, Sudan. Plants and People in the African Past. 2018; ():215-245.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Elisabeth Hildebrand; Elena A. A. Garcea; Assunta Florenzano; Anna Maria Mercuri. 2018. "Multiscalar Perspectives on Holocene Climatic and Environmental Changes in the Sahara and Nile Corridor, with Special Consideration of Archaeological Sites on Sai Island, Sudan." Plants and People in the African Past , no. : 215-245.

Original articles
Published: 21 February 2018 in Palynology
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The paper reports on a synthesis of pollen analyses and main archaeobotanical studies carried out on Early, Middle and Late Holocene sites from Sai Island in the Nile River (ancient Upper Nubia, present northern Sudan). Multidisciplinary archaeological studies focused on the transitions from hunting-fishing-gathering to pastoralism and later to agro-pastoralism in this area. New palynological data were obtained from two sites located on the eastern side of the island: an Early Holocene occupational level of a ‘Khartoum Variant’ foraging site (8-B-10C, Level 2; c. 7600–7200 BC), and a Middle/Late Holocene site dating to the Pre-Kerma/Kerma period (8-B-10A; the later phase is dated c. 1800–1600 BC). These data integrate the results obtained from two other sites located on the western side of the island (sites 8-B-76 and 8-B-81). Despite the poor preservation of pollen, the integration of data from the studied sites provides information on the environmental changes and potential for plant exploitation in the eastern Sahelian-Saharan region. A substantial environmental diversity between the west and east sides of Sai Island emerges, revealing that in the late Early Holocene and first part of the Middle Holocene the land near the river was characterised by a mosaic of habitats, with dramatic floods on the eastern side and seasonal dried-up areas on the western side. This region supplied water even during the dry climatic phases and provided humans with mosaic habitats within short distances, giving access to plants (useful for food and other purposes) which lived in swamps and marshes, wooded savannahs, grasslands or desert savannahs.

ACS Style

Assunta Florenzano; Anna Maria Mercuri; Rita Fornaciari; Elena A.A. Garcea. Plants, water and humans: pollen analysis from Holocene archaeological sites on Sai Island, northern Sudan. Palynology 2018, 43, 22 -33.

AMA Style

Assunta Florenzano, Anna Maria Mercuri, Rita Fornaciari, Elena A.A. Garcea. Plants, water and humans: pollen analysis from Holocene archaeological sites on Sai Island, northern Sudan. Palynology. 2018; 43 (1):22-33.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Assunta Florenzano; Anna Maria Mercuri; Rita Fornaciari; Elena A.A. Garcea. 2018. "Plants, water and humans: pollen analysis from Holocene archaeological sites on Sai Island, northern Sudan." Palynology 43, no. 1: 22-33.

Original research article
Published: 20 October 2017 in Frontiers in Earth Science
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Modern pollen spectra are an invaluable reference tool for paleoenvironmental and cultural landscape reconstructions, but the importance of knowing the pollen rain released from orchards remains underexplored. In particular, the role of cultivated trees is in past and current agrarian landscapes has not been fully investigated. Here, we present a pollen analysis of 70 surface soil samples taken from 12 olive groves in Basilicata and Tuscany, two regions of Italy that exemplify this cultivation in the Mediterranean basin. This study was carried out to assess the representativeness of Olea pollen in modern cultivations. Although many variables can influence the amount of pollen observed in soils, it was clear that most of the pollen was deposited below the trees in the olive groves. A rapid decline in the olive pollen percentages (c. 85% on average) was found when comparing samples taken from IN vs. OUT of each grove. The mean percentages of Olea pollen obtained from the archaeological sites close to the studied orchards suggest that olive groves were established far from the Roman farmhouses of Tuscany. Further south, in the core of the Mediterranean basin, the cultivation of Olea trees was likely situated approximately 500–1000 m from the rural sites in Basilicata, and dated from the Hellenistic to the Medieval period.

ACS Style

Assunta Florenzano; Anna Maria Mercuri; Rossella Rinaldi; Eleonora Rattighieri; Rita Fornaciari; Rita Messora; Laura Arru. The Representativeness of Olea Pollen from Olive Groves and the Late Holocene Landscape Reconstruction in Central Mediterranean. Frontiers in Earth Science 2017, 5, 1 .

AMA Style

Assunta Florenzano, Anna Maria Mercuri, Rossella Rinaldi, Eleonora Rattighieri, Rita Fornaciari, Rita Messora, Laura Arru. The Representativeness of Olea Pollen from Olive Groves and the Late Holocene Landscape Reconstruction in Central Mediterranean. Frontiers in Earth Science. 2017; 5 ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Assunta Florenzano; Anna Maria Mercuri; Rossella Rinaldi; Eleonora Rattighieri; Rita Fornaciari; Rita Messora; Laura Arru. 2017. "The Representativeness of Olea Pollen from Olive Groves and the Late Holocene Landscape Reconstruction in Central Mediterranean." Frontiers in Earth Science 5, no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 06 December 2016 in Plants
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Aerobiological data have especially demonstrated that there is correlation between climate warming and the pollination season of plants. This paper focuses on airborne pollen monitoring of Betulaceae and Poaceae, two of the main plant groups with anemophilous pollen and allergenic proprieties in Northern Italy. The aim is to investigate plant responses to temperature variations by considering long-term pollen series. The 15-year aerobiological analysis is reported from the monitoring station of Vignola (located near Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region) that had operated in the years 1990–2004 with a Hirst spore trap. The Yearly Pollen Index calculated for these two botanical families has shown contrasting trends in pollen production and release. These trends were well identifiable but fairly variable, depending on both meteorological variables and anthropogenic causes. Based on recent reference literature, we considered that some oscillations in pollen concentration could have been a main effect of temperature variability reflecting global warming. The duration of pollen seasons of Betulaceae and Poaceae, depending on the different species included in each family, has not unequivocally been determined. Phenological responses were particularly evident in Alnus and especially in Corylus as a general moving up of the end of pollination. The study shows that these trees can be affected by global warming more than other, more tolerant, plants. The research can be a contribution to the understanding of phenological plant responses to climate change and suggests that alder and hazelnut trees have to be taken into high consideration as sensible markers of plant responses to climate change.

ACS Style

Anna Maria Mercuri; Paola Torri; Rita Fornaciari; Assunta Florenzano. Plant Responses to Climate Change: The Case Study of Betulaceae and Poaceae Pollen Seasons (Northern Italy, Vignola, Emilia-Romagna). Plants 2016, 5, 42 .

AMA Style

Anna Maria Mercuri, Paola Torri, Rita Fornaciari, Assunta Florenzano. Plant Responses to Climate Change: The Case Study of Betulaceae and Poaceae Pollen Seasons (Northern Italy, Vignola, Emilia-Romagna). Plants. 2016; 5 (4):42.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anna Maria Mercuri; Paola Torri; Rita Fornaciari; Assunta Florenzano. 2016. "Plant Responses to Climate Change: The Case Study of Betulaceae and Poaceae Pollen Seasons (Northern Italy, Vignola, Emilia-Romagna)." Plants 5, no. 4: 42.

Journal article
Published: 22 November 2016 in Grana
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ACS Style

Rita Messora; Assunta Florenzano; Paola Torri; Anna Maria Mercuri; Innocenzo Muzzalupo; Laura Arru. Morphology and discrimination features of pollen from Italian olive cultivars (Olea europaea L.). Grana 2016, 56, 204 -214.

AMA Style

Rita Messora, Assunta Florenzano, Paola Torri, Anna Maria Mercuri, Innocenzo Muzzalupo, Laura Arru. Morphology and discrimination features of pollen from Italian olive cultivars (Olea europaea L.). Grana. 2016; 56 (3):204-214.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Rita Messora; Assunta Florenzano; Paola Torri; Anna Maria Mercuri; Innocenzo Muzzalupo; Laura Arru. 2016. "Morphology and discrimination features of pollen from Italian olive cultivars (Olea europaea L.)." Grana 56, no. 3: 204-214.