Microstratigraphic Records as Tools for the Detection of Climatic Changes in Tana di Badalucco Cave (Liguria, NW Italy)

Tana di Badalucco cave is located in Imperia (Liguria, Italy), not far from the French border. This site is scarcely known and it has never been studied accurately, even though dierent archaeological excavations have returned really important elements, both in the archaeological and the paleoenvironmental aspects. Its stratigraphy ranges from Middle Paleolithic to Metal Ages, thus it has registered important climate and environmental variations specific to the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene. From 2012, the Soprintendenza Archeologia della Liguria, the Museo di Archeologia Ligure, and DiSTAV (University of Genova) have been collaborating in order to finally study this promising and complex stratigraphy, trying to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental context of the region. In this work, we present what we were able to assess thanks to the use of micromorphology, the study of undisturbed thin soil sections. This technique has proven useful in recognizing the alternating of cold and warmer conditions during the Quaternary, as well as in identifying primitive signs of human and animal occupation

Icno-archeology of a human palaeolithic ecosystem: The human and animal footprints in the Grotta Della Basura (Toirano, Northern Italy)

The footprints of human and animal trackmakers, which around 12,000 years B.P. attended the Cave of B\ue1sura (Toirano, Liguria, Northern Italy), were studied through morpho-classificatory and morphometric approaches. First results indicate at least three different human producers, two youths and the third of tender age, bears and wolves (or dogs). Analysis of the data demonstrate the power of 3D, of landmark based morphometrics and the utility to use the methods of forensic anthropology in the determination of human foot-prints. The analysis of the number of trackmakers using the PCA analysis on 'multi-trampling' surfaces could represent a model in the study of cave sites

Towards a map of the Upper Pleistocene loess of the Po Plain Loess Basin (Northern Italy)

Upper Pleistocene (MIS 4-2) loess sequences occur in most of continental Europe and in Northern Italy along the Po Plain Loess Basin. Loess is distributed along the flanks of the Po Plain and was deposited on glacial deposits, fluvial terraces, uplifted isolated hills, karst plateaus, slopes and basins of secondary valleys. Loess bodies are generally tiny and affected by pedogenesis, being locally slightly reworked by slope processes and bioturbation. Notwithstanding, loess in the Po Plain is an important archive of paleoenviron-mental record and its mapping provides new insights in paleoenvironmental and palaeoseismic reconstructions of Northern Ital

Suoli e Paleosuoli della Liguria Occ.: alcuni esempi e loro applicazioni paleoambientali

none1I. RelliniRellini, Ivan

The geographic distribution of Protura (Arthropoda: Hexapoda): a review

Protura is a poorly known class of Hexapoda represented by more than 800 species belonging to 77 genera worldwide. They are tiny soil organisms with low dispersal ability, mainly attributable to water and human-mediated transfer. The analysis of biogeography of Protura is hindered by the lack of knowledge on their natural history, systematics and distribution. In order to provide a starting point for future more detailed investigations, we reviewed the available literature on their geographic distribution, making a distinction between continental and insular areas. A general overview based on Wallace’s biogeographic regionalization is outlined, highlighting a maximum of known richness and endemism at the genus level in the Palearctic region, and particularly within its eastern part. Some detailed examples of disjunct distribution and their interpretation based on vicariance or dispersal events are given

The geographic distribution of Protura (Arthropoda: Hexapoda): a review

Protura is a poorly known class of Hexapoda represented by more than 800 species belonging to 77 genera worldwide. They are tiny soil organisms with low dispersal ability, mainly attributable to water and human-mediated transfer. The analysis of biogeography of Protura is hindered by the lack of knowledge on their natural history, systematics and distribution. In order to provide a starting point for future more detailed investigations, we reviewed the available literature on their geographic distribution, making a distinction between continental and insular areas. A general overview based on Wallace’s biogeographic regionalization is outlined, highlighting a maximum of known richness and endemism at the genus level in the Palearctic region, and particularly within its eastern part. Some detailed examples of disjunct distribution and their interpretation based on vicariance or dispersal events are given

First application of the QBS-ar Index in South America for the assessment of the biological quality of soils in Chile

The QBS-ar (Biological Quality of Soil, based on arthropods) index was applied in Coyhaique National Reserve (Chile). The aims of our research were to assess the abundance and diversity of soil microarthropods in different South American habitats, evaluating to what extent chemical parameters and seasonal changes of weather conditions can affect these organisms. Moreover we wanted to verify if the QBS-ar index was applicable in the Neotropical biogeographic region in order to distinguish between habitats subject to different levels and types of disturbance. Therefore, four habitats were investigated: primary native Nothofagus spp. forest (OG), native forest of secondary growth after fires (SG), reforestation pine forest (PI) and anthropogenic grassland (PR). During each of seven sampling sessions (nearly one every 10 days) between October and December 2017, five 1 liter soil cores were collected in each habitat. Microarthropods extracted by means of Berlese-Tullgren funnels were counted, identified to the order level and evaluated based on their morphological adaptation to life in soil in order to assess QBS-ar values and related quality classes. Both microarthropods communities and QBS-ar values comparisons showed that OG and SG forests are close to each other, and the same is true for PI and PR. Soils of the former couple of habitats were characterized by a much higher biological quality level with QBS-ar values of 129.1 \ub1 20.2 and 111.8 \ub1 6.4, respectively, both corresponding to the quality class 6 (out of a maximum of 7). On the contrary, PI and PR scored QBS-ar values of 83 \ub1 13.5 and 80.3 \ub1 10.8, respectively, and quality classes ranged between 3 and 4. Relationships among dominant and subdominant microarthropods taxa and environmental variables were analysed. In particular some chemical properties of soils (pH, CaCO3, Nt , soluble P, exchangeable K, organic matter, C/N ratio) and weather variables (cumulated rainfalls and mean temperatures during the 7 days before each sampling session) were considered. This is the first time the QBS-ar index has been applied in the Southern Hemisphere. Our results seem to indicate this index can be \u201cexported\u201d also to South America, resulting a useful tool for a user friendly assessment of the impact on terrestrial environments by different forms of disturbances and of habitat management