Vegetation reconstruction on the basis of pollen in Late Pleistocene hyena coprolites from San Teodoro Cave (Sicily, Italy)

Vegetation reconstruction based on pollen from coprolites of extinct spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta spelaea, Goldfuss 1832) recovered from excavations carried out in 1998 at San Teodoro Cave (Sicily, Italy) supports previous indications of pre-Late Glacial conditions. Eight of the twelve coprolites analysed contained well-preserved pollen grains. There is a general similarity between the pollen contents from the coprolites but they show variability. They suggest a main vegetation type dominated by steppic taxa (Poaceae, Artemisia, Ephedra, Chenopodiaceae and Asteraceae) but also including arboreal taxa (Pinus and Cupressaceae). Low percentages of pollen of mesophilous woody taxa (Quercus, Betula, Abies, Alnus, Pistacia, among others) are noticeable, suggesting the existence of nearby refugia for temperate and Mediterranean vegetation. A reconstruction of the landscape, using the coprolite pollen record and other pollen records from Sicily and south Italy, shows the predominance, during the pre-Late Glacial, of a wooded steppe biome, with elements representing a variety of local environmental conditions.     

Vegetational change in the Balearic Islands (Spain) during the Holocene

New information about the vegetational history of the Balearic Islands during part of the Holocene derives from the results of a pollen study of a 20‐metre‐deep core from Cala Galdana on the SW coast of Minorca.

The lower part of the pollen diagram at the beginning of the Atlantic Period records significant quantities of pollen of Corylus and also local taxa indicating swamp vegetation. In the middle part, Corylus is greatly reduced, AP percentages decrease appreciably and Olea and Ericaceae reach important values, while Plantago Poaceae and Cerealia increase significantly. In the upper part, a rise in Chenopodiaceae occurs, during which a slight increase of the arboreal taxa takes place with greater dryness. Most recently, vegetation changes reflect human activity.