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Palynology for Sustainability: A Classical and Versatile Tool for New Challenges

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A special issue of Quaternary (ISSN 2571-550X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 20095

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Dr. Anna Maria Mercuri

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Laboratorio di Palinologia e Paleobotanica, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Viale Caduti in Guerra 127, 41121 Modena, Italy
Interests: palynology; climate change; human impact; cultural landscape; Sahara
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Dr. Assunta Florenzano

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Laboratorio di Palinologia e Paleobotanica, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Viale Caduti in Guerra 127, 41121 Modena, Italy
Interests: palynology; archaeological sites; pastoralism; cultural heritage; Southern Italy
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Dr. Eleonora Clò

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Laboratorio di Palinologia e Paleobotanica, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
Interests: palynology; paleoenvironmental reconstruction; human impact; land use; Northern Italy
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Dr. Gabriel Servera-Vives

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MSCA-IF at Laboratorio di Palinologia e Paleobotanica, Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via Giuseppe Campi 287, 41125 Modena, Italy
Interests: palaeoecology; palynology; archaeobotany; island archaeology; landscape studies; prehistory; Mediterranean
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Palynology is a bridge between different research fields. This centenary discipline studying fossils and modern pollens and spores represents a landmark in multidisciplinary studies on both past and current environmental issues. Palynology plays an important role not only in “basic research” on botanical taxonomy, phylogeny, reproductive biology, and phenology but also in “applied research” focused on the measurement of environmental variables, including the quality of food and air. Aerobiology is one of the main fields, together with palaeoecology, which demonstrates the great power of pollen as a methodological approach to add details and information to other methods. In addition, paleoenvironmental studies are based on the analysis of pollen from sediments and archaeological layers, which provides a long-term perspective to understand ecosystem responses to different human and climate triggers. In this sense, recent palynological research has repeatedly demonstrated that past cultures adopted cultural choices to tackle environmental and climate changes to ensure social resilience by using multi-functional land uses to exploit nature without compromising the environment.

Starting from the MedPalynoS-2021 meeting, this issue aims to collect groundbreaking papers using palynology as a cornerstone for their research, including some papers awarded during the conference. Pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, and sedimentary charcoal are excellent bioindicators for detecting human impact and landscape development. For this reason, interdisciplinary bio-geo-archaeo investigations on on-site/off-site integration and Holocene contexts and palynology in studies on phylogeny, reproductive strategy, melissopalynology, and forensic sciences are welcomed.

We encourage submissions of research articles from the palynological community on all aspects of the discipline, especially reporting the latest updates to face future challenges.

Any article submitted by a Guest Editor will be handled by a member of the Editorial Board to avoid any conflicts of interest.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Sustainability.

Dr. Anna Maria Mercuri
Dr. Assunta Florenzano
Dr. Eleonora Clò
Dr. Gabriel Servera-Vives
Guest Editors

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Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Quaternary is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

pollen
botany
aeropalynology
melissopalynology
pollen biology
pollen morphology
paleopalynology
archaeopalynology
forensic palynology
landscape
bioarchaeology
paleoecology
conservation
sustainability
biodiversity
land-use
human impact
environmental change
climate change

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Related Special Issue

Palynology for Sustainability: A Classical and Versatile Tool for New Challenges in Sustainability (8 articles)

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 6529 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Palynology of Gardens and Archaeobotany for the Environmental Reconstruction of the Charterhouse of Calci-Pisa in Tuscany (Central Italy)

by Gabriele Gattiglia, Eleonora Rattighieri, Eleonora Clò, Francesca Anichini, Antonio Campus, Marta Rossi, Mauro Buonincontri and Anna Maria Mercuri

Quaternary 2023, 6(3), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat6030045 - 8 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1873

Abstract

In central Italy, the Charterhouse of Calci hosts the Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa. This monumental monastery was founded in 1366 by Carthusian monks. The Charterhouse has experienced various transformations over the centuries, until its abandonment in the 1970s. Since 2018, interdisciplinary archaeological research focused on the monks’ gardens (and particularly: the Prior’s, the Apothecary’s, and the Master’s garden) and the green spaces outside the cloister walls, consisting of courtyards and orchards, to determine the individual (gardens) and collective (green spaces and surrounding woods) practices adopted by Carthusians. Palynology and archaeobotany have allowed to reconstruct the plant biodiversity, with flowers and ornamental, aromatic, and medicinal herbs that grew in the gardens, as well as the management of local hilly woods and agricultural practices, including the cultivation of fruit trees, such as chestnut, olive tree, almond tree, and grapevine. Our research has been based on a solid theoretical approach, interpreting archaeological and archaeobotanical data in relation to the intricate network of human and non-human connections. Gardens are seen as a co-creation made together by human and non-human agencies, and their diachronic transformation is read as an expression of personalities of the monks, feelings, and connections with nature and divinity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Palynology for Sustainability: A Classical and Versatile Tool for New Challenges)

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15 pages, 13240 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Multidisciplinary Study of Wild Grapevines in the River Crati Natural Reserve, South Italy (Calabria): Implications in Conservation Biology and Palaeoecological Reconstructions

by Eleonora Clò, Paola Torri, Michele Baliva, Agostino Brusco, Roberto Marchianò, Elisabetta Sgarbi, Jordan Palli, Anna Maria Mercuri, Gianluca Piovesan and Assunta Florenzano

Quaternary 2023, 6(3), 43; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat6030043 - 7 Aug 2023

Viewed by 1706

Abstract

Nowadays, wild grapevine populations are quite limited and sporadic mainly due to habitat destruction, land-use change, and the spread of pathogens that have reduced their distribution range. Palaeoecological, archaeobotanical, and genetic studies indicate that modern cultivars of Vitis vinifera are the results of the domestication of the dioecious, and sometimes hermaphrodite, wild species standing in riparian zones and wet environments. Wild grapevine populations have declined as a consequence of various forms of anthropogenic disturbance and were assigned by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to the Least Concern category. The River Crati Natural Reserve (Riserva Naturale Foce del Crati), located in southern Italy, hosts a population of Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris in a rewilding wet forest close to the Ionian Sea. These protected areas are of high scientific, biogeographic, and conservation interest in terms of Mediterranean biodiversity. Dendroecological and pollen morpho-biometric analyses of the wild grapevine are presented in this study. Palaeoecological perspectives for a landscape management strategy aimed at conserving and restoring the relic grapevine population are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Palynology for Sustainability: A Classical and Versatile Tool for New Challenges)

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32 pages, 5157 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Pollen Representation in NW Italy (Liguria and Piedmont)

by Davide Attolini, Francesco Ciani, Maria Angela Guido and Carlo Montanari

Quaternary 2023, 6(2), 36; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat6020036 - 9 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2643

Abstract

This research focuses on the recent pollen image of several vegetation types in NW Italy. In 201 arboreal, shrubby, and herbaceous plant populations, pollen samples were taken from moss polsters, and the corresponding vegetation was recorded using the phytosociological method. Since studies on recent pollen rain in the Mediterranean mountains and coast are rare, this research aims to provide new data and tools to better interpret fossil pollen spectra. Pollen analysis provided data for the comparison between surface spectra and vegetation. Davis indices, fidelity, dispersion, and the relation with vegetation data were calculated for each taxon, and PCA was carried out. Most vegetation types are identifiable through the taxa dominating the pollen spectra, as frequently happens in woodlands (e.g., beech woods, chestnut woods, etc.). Characterizing shrubland and certain tree-dominated vegetation types (e.g., Larix forests) through pollen data is more complex. In this regard, Davis indices are particularly useful for identifying pollen/plant association, over- and underrepresentation of pollen, and taxa indicating vegetation types. Pollen threshold values were calculated which allow the assessment of the local presence of a plant. Overall, the achieved results partially confirm those of previous research carried out in the region, greatly expanding the comparisons between several different plant communities and the database in view of future sharing through the EMPD. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Palynology for Sustainability: A Classical and Versatile Tool for New Challenges)

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19 pages, 11934 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Plants, Fire and Landscape at the Prehistoric Pile-Dwelling Village of Palù di Livenza (PaluON1), UNESCO Site in the Italian Alps

by Jessica Zappa, Nicola Degasperi, Michele Bassetti, Assunta Florenzano, Paola Torri, Gabriel Servera-Vives, Anna Maria Mercuri and Roberto Micheli

Quaternary 2023, 6(2), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat6020034 - 1 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2097

Abstract

This paper presents palynological data obtained from a trench excavated at the Neolithic pile-dwelling archaeological site of Palù di Livenza (northeastern Italy). The site is in a wetland located in a tectonic basin at the foot of the Cansiglio plateau, crossed by the Livenza river. Environmental conditions have made this wetland a suitable area for settlements since prehistoric times. Thanks to the peaty sediments that characterise the area, archaeological materials and botanical remains have been exceptionally well preserved. Their study has shed light on a Neolithic pile-dwelling settlement that developed in various phases between c. 6350 and 5600 cal BP (c. 4400 and 3650 BC), and has also allowed for a detailed environmental reconstruction of the surrounding environment. A vertical sequence of 20 samples was analysed to study pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs and microcharcoals. An age-depth model was performed based on three radiocarbon dates. The palynological analysis provided insight into the response of vegetation to environmental changes caused by both climatic fluctuations and human pressure. In this sense, it was possible to highlight differences in vegetation cover, some fires, the use of woody resources, the spread of cereal fields, as well as the presence of other cultivated plants and plant processing by the people within the village. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Palynology for Sustainability: A Classical and Versatile Tool for New Challenges)

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21 pages, 8681 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vegetation Composition in a Typical Mediterranean Setting (Gulf of Corinth, Greece) during Successive Quaternary Climatic Cycles

by Aikaterini Kafetzidou, Eugenia Fatourou, Konstantinos Panagiotopoulos, Fabienne Marret and Katerina Kouli

Quaternary 2023, 6(2), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat6020030 - 5 May 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2233

Abstract

The Gulf of Corinth is a semi-isolated basin in central Greece interrupting the Pindus Mountain Range, which nowadays is a biodiversity hotspot. Considering its key location, deep drilling was carried out within the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP; Expedition 381: Corinth Active Rift Development) aiming to improve our understanding of climatic and environmental evolution in the region. Here, we present a new long pollen record from a Mediterranean setting in the southernmost tip of the Balkan Peninsula recording the vegetation succession within the Quaternary. The Corinth pollen record shows no major shifts in arboreal pollen between glacial and interglacial intervals, while Mediterranean and mesophilous taxa remain abundant throughout the study interval. During interglacials, the most frequent reconstructed biomes are cool mixed evergreen needleleaf (CMIX) and deciduous broadleaf forests (DBWB), while graminoid with forb (GRAM) and xerophytic shrubs (XSHB) dominate within glacials. Our findings support the hypothesis that the study area was a significant refugium, providing suitable habitats for Mediterranean, mesophilous and montane trees during successive Quaternary climate cycles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Palynology for Sustainability: A Classical and Versatile Tool for New Challenges)

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24 pages, 3521 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Landscape Response to Dynamic Human Pressure in the Paliouras Lagoon, Halkidiki Peninsula, Macedonia, Greece

by Lucrezia Masci, Cristiano Vignola, Georgios C. Liakopoulos, Katerina Kouli, Olga Koukousioura, Elina Aidona, Matthias Moros, Konstantinos Vouvalidis, Adam Izdebski and Alessia Masi

Quaternary 2022, 5(4), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat5040054 - 16 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2672

Abstract

High-resolution pollen analysis of a sediment core recovered from Paliouras lagoon (Greece) allowed us to reconstruct the environmental dynamics of the Halkidiki peninsula during the last 4000 years. Palynological results have been interpreted and compared with detailed historical data, showing distinct phases of human-landscape interactions from the Bronze Age until recent times. Pollen spectra revealed an environment characterized by Mediterranean vegetation, mixed deciduous forest, and pine stands from the Late Bronze Age until the 11th century CE. The first signs of human impact were attested during the Archaic period with the cultivation of Olea, Castanea, and Vitis in the inland of the study area. An intensive land management was highlighted by arboriculture and cereal cultivation (Secale and Hordeum group) in Roman times. Late Antique-Early Medieval times coincided with less human pressure due to warfare-related crises, leading to the expansion of the forest and the abandonment of fields colonized by Amaranthaceae. A massive increase in pastoral activities, suggested by the high percentages of Cichorieae during the Ottoman period, is possibly linked to the significant demographic growth of the nearby city of Thessaloniki in the 16th century CE. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Palynology for Sustainability: A Classical and Versatile Tool for New Challenges)

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17 pages, 4008 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Palaeoenvironment, Settlement, and Land Use in the Late Neolithic—Bronze Age Site of Colombare di Negrar di Valpolicella (N Italy, On-Site)

by Umberto Tecchiati, Paola Salzani, Fiorenza Gulino, Barbara Proserpio, Chiara Reggio, Cristiano Putzolu, Eleonora Rattighieri, Eleonora Clò, Anna Maria Mercuri and Assunta Florenzano

Quaternary 2022, 5(4), 50; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat5040050 - 5 Dec 2022

Viewed by 2115

Abstract

Palynological and archaeobotanical analyses have been carried out as part of the interdisciplinary project of Colombare di Negrar, a prehistoric site in the Lessini Mountains (northern Italy). The palaeoenvironmental and economic reconstruction from the Late Neolithic to the beginning of the Early Bronze Age was based on 16 pollen samples and three samples of macroremains taken from two contiguous trenches. The landscape reconstruction shows the presence of natural clearings in the wood. Forest cover was characterised by oak wood, with Ulmus and Tilia. The intermediate morphology of size and exine of Tilia cordata/platyphyllos pollen may be regarded as the first palynological evidence of lime hybrids in palaeorecords. Hygrophilous trees and Vitis vinifera testify to the presence of riparian forests and moist soils. Among trees supplying fruits, in addition to the grapevine, hazelnut (Corylus avellana) and walnut (Juglans regia) were present. A mixed economy based on animal breeding and cultivation of cereals (Hordeum vulgare, Triticum monococcum, T. dicoccum, T. timopheevii) emerged from the data. The combined analysis of pollen and plant macroremains suggests that different activities were carried out simultaneously in Colombare and a relationship between natural resources and the socio-economic and cultural evolution of the territory. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Palynology for Sustainability: A Classical and Versatile Tool for New Challenges)

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16 pages, 2304 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multiporate Pollen of Poaceae as Bioindicator of Environmental Stress: First Archaeobotanical Evidence from the Early–Middle Holocene Site of Takarkori in the Central Sahara

by Anna Maria Mercuri, Eleonora Clò and Assunta Florenzano

Quaternary 2022, 5(4), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat5040041 - 1 Oct 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2834

Abstract

This paper reports on the most ancient unusual morphological trait of the apertures of Poaceae pollen found in archaeological layers. In Poaceae, high levels of hybridization, polyploidy, apomixis, and multiporate pollen are often related. Multiple genomes in polyploids are critical for the adaptation of plant species to stresses and could be revealed by anomalies in pollen development. Therefore, the paleoenvironmental research can gain great benefits from identifying polyploids in past contexts by observing anomalous pollen morphology during pollen counts. The occurrence of multiporate pollen in Poaceae has also been related to special features of the ecology of the species showing this anomaly, as well as to climatic and environmental stresses experienced by Poaceae living in a given region. Multiporate and bi- or tri-porate instead of monoporate pollen grains have been observed in samples taken from Takarkori rockshelter, an archaeological site in southwestern Libya (central Sahara) that has been occupied between ~10,200 and ~4650 cal BP. Multiporate pollen was found in organic sands and coprolites of ovicaprines. On the basis of archaeobotanical research, this work aims to investigate whether the presence of supernumerary pores in Poaceae pollen may be an effect of both climatic/hydrological changes and continued anthropogenic pressure on the wild grasses living in the region. The presence of multiporate pollen reveals that Poaceae that lived in central Sahara tackled several kinds of stress during the early and middle Holocene. The Takarkori pollen record suggests that climate change could have played a major role in the early Holocene, while human pressure became stronger during the middle Holocene. The change in environmental conditions determined adaptive responses of polyploid grasses even in the form of multiporate pollen. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Palynology for Sustainability: A Classical and Versatile Tool for New Challenges)

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