Il delta del fiume centa (Liguria Occidentale): Un esempio di modificazione recente del clima e del paesaggio

Abstract

The coastal morphological features of the area between Capo Santa Croce and Ceriale (western Liguria, NW Italy) are governed by the river Centa and its delta. Results of textural and pollen analyses carried out on samples of cored deposits from six boreholes in front of the river mouth, are reported. Rhizoids of Posidonia oceanica at -4.42 m from borehole mouth are radiocarbon dated to 2495 ± 60 years B.P. (absolute age). The study of the evolution of the area from the Vlth century B.C. to present shows interaction between the presence of man and the environment as testified by: i) different types of vegetation; ii) evolution of agricolture (disappearence of fir, appearence of chestnut and olive, increase of pine, increase of the "anthropic fre- quentation index"); iii) reclamation of fenlands (decrease of forms typical of this facies); iv) extreme meteo-hydrological events (fluvial floods).