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Reconstruction of the environmental evolution of a Sicilian saltmarsh (Italy)

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Abstract

The present study deals with the reconstruction of the environmental evolution of a Trapani saltmarsh (southwestern Sicily, Italy) by combining different analytical approaches such as metal content evaluation, low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxometry, and benthic foraminifera identification. A 41 cm core was collected in the sediments of a Trapani saltmarsh (southwestern Sicily, Italy) at a water depth of about 50 cm. Different time intervals were recognized, each characterized by peculiar features that testify different environmental conditions. In particular, the bottom layers of the sediment core (41–28 cm) comprised the lowest amount of mud fraction, only some selected metals, and the lowest foraminiferal density. Here, co-occurrence of abundant microcrystals of gypsum and Ammonia tepida is indicative of hyper-saline conditions. In the sediments from 28 to 6 cm, mud fraction and number of metal elements resulted higher due to the increase of the anthropogenic pressure. The sediments in the last time interval, corresponding to the environmental recovery of the saltmarsh, showed an increase of foraminiferal density, a decrease of the mud fraction, and a trend in the metal concentration attributable to the protection policy applied since 1990. NMR relaxometry parameters highlighted the changes of sediment chemical–physical heterogeneity going from the bottom to the top of the core. These heterogeneities have been related to the different intervals recognized as aforementioned. The present study highlights how the anthropogenic pressure modifies the environmental conditions of a transitional ecosystem like saltmarshes.

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Acknowledgments

Authors are grateful to Dr. Silvana Piacentino, responsible for Natural Reserve of Trapani and Paceco Saltmarshes, WWF Italy, for her assistance in sample collection and historical information.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, Università degli Studi di Palermo, via Archirafi 22, 90123, Palermo, Italy

    Antonella Maccotta, Antonio Caruso & Claudia Cosentino

  2. Dipartimento dei Sistemi Agro-Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, viale delle Scienze Ed. 4, 90128, Palermo, Italy

    Claudio De Pasquale, Giuseppe Alonzo & Pellegrino Conte

Authors
  1. Antonella Maccotta
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  2. Claudio De Pasquale
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  3. Antonio Caruso
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  4. Claudia Cosentino
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  5. Giuseppe Alonzo
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  6. Pellegrino Conte
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Correspondence to Pellegrino Conte.

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Responsible editor: Vera Slaveykova

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Maccotta, A., De Pasquale, C., Caruso, A. et al. Reconstruction of the environmental evolution of a Sicilian saltmarsh (Italy). Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 4847–4858 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1445-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1445-4

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