Search Menu
DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Search Scholarly Publications

Title: Historical ecology reveals landscape transformation coincident with cultural development in central Italy since the Roman Period

Abstract

Knowledge of the direct role humans have had in changing the landscape requires the perspective of historical and archaeological sources, as well as climatic and ecologic processes, when interpreting paleoecological records. People directly impact land at the local scale and land use decisions are strongly influenced by local sociopolitical priorities that change through time. A complete picture of the potential drivers of past environmental change must include a detailed and integrated analysis of evolving sociopolitical priorities, climatic change and ecological processes. However, there are surprisingly few localities that possess high-quality historical, archeological and high-resolution paleoecologic datasets. We present a high resolution 2700-year pollen record from central Italy and interpret it in relation to archival documents and archaeological data to reconstruct the relationship between changing sociopolitical conditions, and their effect on the landscape. Here, we found that: (1) abrupt environmental change was more closely linked to sociopolitical and demographic transformation than climate change; (2) landscape changes reflected the new sociopolitical priorities and persisted until the sociopolitical conditions shifted; (3) reorganization of new plant communities was very rapid, on the order of decades not centuries; and (4) legacies of forest management adopted by earlier societies continue to influence ecosystem services today.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [5]; ORCiD logo [6]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV (United States). Dept. of Geography
  2. Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV (United States). Dept. of History
  3. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States). Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry
  4. Univ. of Nevada, Reno, NV (United States). Dept. of Geological Sciences and Engineering
  5. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome (Italy)
  6. DAFNE Univ. degli Studi della Tuscia, Viterbo (Italy). Dendrology Lab.
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
OSTI Identifier:
1460938
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-736167
Journal ID: ISSN 2045-2322; 889074
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC52-07NA27344
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Scientific Reports
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 8; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Citation Formats

Mensing, Scott A., Schoolman, Edward M., Tunno, Irene, Noble, Paula J., Sagnotti, Leonardo, Florindo, Fabio, and Piovesan, Gianluca. Historical ecology reveals landscape transformation coincident with cultural development in central Italy since the Roman Period. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-20286-4.
Copy to clipboard
Mensing, Scott A., Schoolman, Edward M., Tunno, Irene, Noble, Paula J., Sagnotti, Leonardo, Florindo, Fabio, & Piovesan, Gianluca. Historical ecology reveals landscape transformation coincident with cultural development in central Italy since the Roman Period. United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20286-4
Copy to clipboard
Mensing, Scott A., Schoolman, Edward M., Tunno, Irene, Noble, Paula J., Sagnotti, Leonardo, Florindo, Fabio, and Piovesan, Gianluca. Thu . "Historical ecology reveals landscape transformation coincident with cultural development in central Italy since the Roman Period". United States. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20286-4. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1460938.
Copy to clipboard
@article{osti_1460938,
title = {Historical ecology reveals landscape transformation coincident with cultural development in central Italy since the Roman Period},
author = {Mensing, Scott A. and Schoolman, Edward M. and Tunno, Irene and Noble, Paula J. and Sagnotti, Leonardo and Florindo, Fabio and Piovesan, Gianluca},
abstractNote = {Knowledge of the direct role humans have had in changing the landscape requires the perspective of historical and archaeological sources, as well as climatic and ecologic processes, when interpreting paleoecological records. People directly impact land at the local scale and land use decisions are strongly influenced by local sociopolitical priorities that change through time. A complete picture of the potential drivers of past environmental change must include a detailed and integrated analysis of evolving sociopolitical priorities, climatic change and ecological processes. However, there are surprisingly few localities that possess high-quality historical, archeological and high-resolution paleoecologic datasets. We present a high resolution 2700-year pollen record from central Italy and interpret it in relation to archival documents and archaeological data to reconstruct the relationship between changing sociopolitical conditions, and their effect on the landscape. Here, we found that: (1) abrupt environmental change was more closely linked to sociopolitical and demographic transformation than climate change; (2) landscape changes reflected the new sociopolitical priorities and persisted until the sociopolitical conditions shifted; (3) reorganization of new plant communities was very rapid, on the order of decades not centuries; and (4) legacies of forest management adopted by earlier societies continue to influence ecosystem services today.},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-018-20286-4},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
number = 1,
volume = 8,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}
Copy to clipboard
Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-20286-4
Copyright Statement
Other availability
Search WorldCat Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 25 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: Selected sedimentary data, pollen types, non-pollen palynomorphs and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) scores from pollen data for Lago Lungo plotted against core depth and age (Common Era). Titanium obtained using XRF is reported in kilacounts per second. Summary pollen groups (e.g. Mesic) were aggregated on the basis ofmore » the NMDS ordination: Mesic taxa include: Ostrya, Fagus, Carpinus, Acer, Ulmus, Fraxinus excelsior, Betula; Mediterranean shrubs include: Fraxinus ornus, Pistacia, and Myrtus; Cultivated trees include Olea, Castanea and Juglans; Herbs include: Apiaceae, Plantago, Amaranthaceae, Trifolium, Galium, Polygonum, Salvia, Caryophyllaceae, Asteraceae, and Cichorieae; Poaceae includes Cyperaceae. The Q-mode cluster of samples—constrained by stratigraphic order—recognizes 5 main groups of samples, with group 2 further divided into three clusters. Historical periods associated with pollen zones are SAB—Sabini; RR—Roman Republican; RI—Roman Imperial; O—Ostragoth; L—Lombard; C—Carolingian; M—Medieval; R&EM—Renaissance and Early Modern; LM&C—Late Modern and Contemporary. Historical dates noted in the figure are (a) conquest of Manius Curius Dentatus and construction of Cava Curiata; (b) Last Roman emperor deposed; (c) Beginning Ostragoth occupation; (d) Gothic wars; (e) Lombard conquest; (f) Charlemagne conquest; (g) Land charter phase; (h) Hill-town charter phase; (i) Black Plague; (j–m) Canal construction phase.« less
All figures and tables (3 total)
Save / Share:
Export Metadata
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.

Works referenced in this record:

Unmasking the 1349 earthquake source (southern Italy): paleoseismological and archaeoseismological indications from the Aquae Iuliae fault
journal, February 2009

  • Galli, Paolo Antonio Costantino; Naso, José Alfredo
  • Journal of Structural Geology, Vol. 31, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jsg.2008.09.007

Unmasking the 1349 earthquake source (southern Italy): paleoseismological and archaeoseismological indications from the Aquae Iuliae fault
journal, February 2009

  • Galli, Paolo Antonio Costantino; Naso, José Alfredo
  • Journal of Structural Geology, Vol. 31, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jsg.2008.09.007

Ancient human disturbances may be skewing our understanding of Amazonian forests
journal, January 2017

  • McMichael, Crystal N. H.; Matthews-Bird, Frazer; Farfan-Rios, William
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 114, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1614577114

Ancient human disturbances may be skewing our understanding of Amazonian forests
journal, January 2017

  • McMichael, Crystal N. H.; Matthews-Bird, Frazer; Farfan-Rios, William
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 114, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1614577114

Forest re-growth on medieval farmland after the Black Death pandemic—Implications for atmospheric CO2 levels
journal, August 2006

  • van Hoof, Thomas B.; Bunnik, Frans P. M.; Waucomont, Jean G. M.
  • Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Vol. 237, Issue 2-4
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.12.013

Marine response to climate changes during the last five millennia in the central Mediterranean Sea
journal, July 2016

Dark Ages Cold Period: A literature review and directions for future research
journal, February 2017

Contrasting patterns of climatic changes during the Holocene across the Italian Peninsula reconstructed from pollen data
journal, January 2013

Human behaviour as a long-term ecological driver of non-human evolution
journal, February 2017

  • Sullivan, Alexis P.; Bird, Douglas W.; Perry, George H.
  • Nature Ecology & Evolution, Vol. 1, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41559-016-0065

The last 7 millennia of vegetation and climate changes at Lago di Pergusa (central Sicily, Italy)
journal, January 2013

The longevity of broadleaf deciduous trees in Northern Hemisphere temperate forests: insights from tree-ring series
journal, May 2015

  • Di Filippo, Alfredo; Pederson, Neil; Baliva, Michele
  • Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 3
  • DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2015.00046

Contrasting patterns of climatic changes during the Holocene across the Italian Peninsula reconstructed from pollen data
journal, January 2013

2500 Years of European Climate Variability and Human Susceptibility
journal, January 2011

Persistent effects of pre-Columbian plant domestication on Amazonian forest composition
journal, March 2017

Framing the Early Middle Ages
journal, January 2011

2000 Years of Grazing History and the Making of the Cretan Mountain Landscape, Greece
journal, June 2016

U/Th dating of freshwater travertine from Middle Velino Valley (Central Italy): paleoclimatic and geological implications
journal, August 2002

  • Soligo, M.; Tuccimei, P.; Barberi, R.
  • Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Vol. 184, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1016/S0031-0182(02)00253-5

A composite annual-resolution stalagmite record of North Atlantic climate over the last three millennia
journal, June 2015

  • Baker, Andy; C. Hellstrom, John; Kelly, Bryce F. J.
  • Scientific Reports, Vol. 5, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/srep10307

2500 Years of European Climate Variability and Human Susceptibility
journal, January 2011

Persistent effects of pre-Columbian plant domestication on Amazonian forest composition
journal, March 2017

Human behaviour as a long-term ecological driver of non-human evolution
journal, February 2017

  • Sullivan, Alexis P.; Bird, Douglas W.; Perry, George H.
  • Nature Ecology & Evolution, Vol. 1, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41559-016-0065

The last 7 millennia of vegetation and climate changes at Lago di Pergusa (central Sicily, Italy)
journal, January 2013

The new assessment of soil loss by water erosion in Europe
journal, December 2015

Dark Ages Cold Period: A literature review and directions for future research
journal, February 2017

Marine response to climate changes during the last five millennia in the central Mediterranean Sea
journal, July 2016

Using multiple archives to understand past and present climate–human–environment interactions: the lake Erhai catchment, Yunnan Province, China
journal, December 2007

Mediterranean Holocene climate, environment and human societies
journal, March 2016

Cooling and societal change during the Late Antique Little Ice Age from 536 to around 660 AD
journal, February 2016

  • Büntgen, Ulf; Myglan, Vladimir S.; Ljungqvist, Fredrik Charpentier
  • Nature Geoscience, Vol. 9, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1038/ngeo2652

Natural and human impact in Mediterranean landscapes: An intriguing puzzle or only a question of time?
journal, October 2016

  • Marignani, M.; Chiarucci, A.; Sadori, L.
  • Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology, Vol. 151, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1080/11263504.2016.1244121

Cooling and societal change
journal, February 2016

2000 Years of Grazing History and the Making of the Cretan Mountain Landscape, Greece
journal, June 2016

Climate or humans?
journal, April 2015

Ecological consequences of human niche construction: Examining long-term anthropogenic shaping of global species distributions
journal, June 2016

  • Boivin, Nicole L.; Zeder, Melinda A.; Fuller, Dorian Q.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 113, Issue 23
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1525200113

A regional archeomagnetic model for Europe for the last 3000 years, SCHA.DIF.3K: Applications to archeomagnetic dating: SCHA.DIF.3K EUROPEAN ARCHEOMAGNETIC MODEL
journal, March 2009

  • Pavón-Carrasco, F. Javier; Osete, Maria Luisa; Torta, J. Miquel
  • Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, Vol. 10, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1029/2008GC002244

A composite annual-resolution stalagmite record of North Atlantic climate over the last three millennia
journal, June 2015

  • Baker, Andy; C. Hellstrom, John; Kelly, Bryce F. J.
  • Scientific Reports, Vol. 5, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/srep10307

Winter North Atlantic oscillation effects on the tree rings of the Italian beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.)
journal, September 2000

  • Piovesan, G.; Schirone, B.
  • International Journal of Biometeorology, Vol. 44, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1007/s004840000055

Land surface temperature changes in Northern Iberia since 4000yrBP, based on δ13C of speleothems
journal, May 2011

  • Martín-Chivelet, Javier; Muñoz-García, M. Belén; Edwards, R. Lawrence
  • Global and Planetary Change, Vol. 77, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2011.02.002

Cooling and societal change during the Late Antique Little Ice Age from 536 to around 660 AD
text, January 2016

  • Buentgen, Ulf; Myglan, Vs; Ljungqvist, Fc
  • Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository
  • DOI: 10.17863/cam.50278

Critical perspectives on historical collapse
journal, February 2012

  • Butzer, K. W.; Endfield, G. H.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 109, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1114772109

Using multiple archives to understand past and present climate–human–environment interactions: the lake Erhai catchment, Yunnan Province, China
journal, December 2007

Abandonment of farmland and vegetation succession following the Eurasian plague pandemic of ad 1347?52
journal, April 2007

Land surface temperature changes in Northern Iberia since 4000yrBP, based on δ13C of speleothems
journal, May 2011

  • Martín-Chivelet, Javier; Muñoz-García, M. Belén; Edwards, R. Lawrence
  • Global and Planetary Change, Vol. 77, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2011.02.002

Winter North Atlantic oscillation effects on the tree rings of the Italian beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.)
journal, September 2000

  • Piovesan, G.; Schirone, B.
  • International Journal of Biometeorology, Vol. 44, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1007/s004840000055

Climate or humans?
journal, April 2015

Natural and human impact in Mediterranean landscapes: An intriguing puzzle or only a question of time?
journal, October 2016

  • Marignani, M.; Chiarucci, A.; Sadori, L.
  • Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology, Vol. 151, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1080/11263504.2016.1244121

Cooling and societal change
journal, February 2016

Critical perspectives on historical collapse
journal, February 2012

  • Butzer, K. W.; Endfield, G. H.
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 109, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1114772109

Abandonment of farmland and vegetation succession following the Eurasian plague pandemic of ad 1347?52
journal, April 2007

Cooling and societal change during the Late Antique Little Ice Age from 536 to around 660 AD
journal, February 2016

  • Büntgen, Ulf; Myglan, Vladimir S.; Ljungqvist, Fredrik Charpentier
  • Nature Geoscience, Vol. 9, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1038/ngeo2652

The new assessment of soil loss by water erosion in Europe
journal, December 2015

The last 7 millennia of vegetation and climate changes at Lago di Pergusa (central Sicily, Italy)
journal, January 2013

Mediterranean Holocene climate, environment and human societies
journal, March 2016

    Sort by:
    [ × clear filter / sort ]

    Works referencing / citing this record:

    The Justinianic Plague: An inconsequential pandemic?
    journal, December 2019

    • Mordechai, Lee; Eisenberg, Merle; Newfield, Timothy P.
    • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 116, Issue 51
    • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1903797116

    Influences of Native American land use on the Colonial Euro-American settlement of the South Carolina Piedmont
    journal, March 2018

    Geographical adaptation prevails over species‐specific determinism in trees’ vulnerability to climate change at Mediterranean rear‐edge forests
    journal, February 2019

    • Dorado‐Liñán, Isabel; Piovesan, Gianluca; Martínez‐Sancho, Elisabet
    • Global Change Biology, Vol. 25, Issue 4
    • DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14544

    Influences of Native American land use on the Colonial Euro-American settlement of the South Carolina Piedmont
    journal, March 2018

    From influence to impact: The multifunctional land use in Mediterranean prehistory emerging from palynology of archaeological sites (8.0-2.8 ka BP)
    journal, February 2019

    • Mercuri, Anna Maria; Florenzano, Assunta; Burjachs, Francesc
    • The Holocene, Vol. 29, Issue 5
    • DOI: 10.1177/0959683619826631
      Sort by:
      [ × clear filter / sort ]

      Figures / Tables found in this record:

      Figure 1 (p. 3)figure
      Figure 2 (p. 3)figure
      Figure 3 (p. 4)figure
        [ × clear filter / sort ]
        Figures/Tables have been extracted from DOE-funded journal article accepted manuscripts.

        Similar Records in DOE PAGES and OSTI.GOV collections: