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Diatom response to mid-Holocene climate change in Lago di Massaciuccoli (Tuscany, Italy)

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Abstract

A sedimentary sequence from the Mediterranean coastal basin of Lago di Massaciuccoli (Tuscany, Italy) was analyzed for diatoms, covering two periods over the past ca. 7,000 years. The site was selected because it is situated in a sensitive position at the limit between Mediterranean and Central European climates and biomes. Our focus is on the impact of accelerated human activity during the recent past (water uptake in the catchment, sand extraction, wastewater discharge) and on a phase of evident change between 6,600 and 5,400 cal. BP. The diatom record suggests fresh-water conditions and rather high lake levels until ca. 6,000 years ago. The subsequent shift towards brackish conditions peaked at around 5,500 cal. BP. We relate this shift to a pervasive change towards a drier climate that has been observed elsewhere in the Mediterranean and Northern African regions, and stands in contrast to the shift towards a cooler and more humid climate in the nearby Alps (200–350 km distant) and in central Europe. Pollen and charcoal records from a previous study on the same sedimentary sequence were used to gain additional insights about the causes of the changes in the diatom assemblages and apply numerical methods to search for common trends and correlations.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Brigitta Amman for the fruitful discussion and valuable suggestions during the preparation of this manuscript, and to Herbert E. Wright for linguistic revision. The useful suggestions of Jane M. Reed, John P. Smol and an anonymous reviewer helped to improve the quality of the manuscript.

We also thank Walter Finsinger, Willi Tanner and Elisa Vescovi for their help during coring in 2004 and Cesare Ravazzi and Mario Cenni for providing information on LM. The LIPU (Lega Nazionale Protezione Uccelli) and the Park of Massaciuccoli (Parco regionale di Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli) provided help during field work and permission to core. This study was financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (Project number 3100A0-102272).

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  1. CNR Institute of Ecosystem Study, Largo Tonolli 50, 28922, Verbania Pallanza, Italy

    Aldo Marchetto

  2. Section of Paleoecology, Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013, Bern, Switzerland

    Daniele Colombaroli & Willy Tinner

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  1. Aldo Marchetto
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Correspondence to Aldo Marchetto.

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Marchetto, A., Colombaroli, D. & Tinner, W. Diatom response to mid-Holocene climate change in Lago di Massaciuccoli (Tuscany, Italy). J Paleolimnol 40, 235–245 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-007-9154-6

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