Lateglacial and early Holocene lake sediments from the northern Apennines, Italy – pollen stratigraphy and radiocarbon dating

Radiocarbon-dated pollen profiles are presented from two basins in Prato Spilla, near Val Parma in the northern Apennines. One basin contains a complete Holocene succession, the other a full Lateglacial to mid-Holocene record. The data provide the most comprehensive Lateglacial-early Holocene pollenstratigraphic succession yet reported from the northern Apennines accompanied by an internally consistent radiocarbon chronology. They provide fresh impetus for (a) a discussion of the strength of the Younger Dryas 'signal' in pollen-stratigraphic profiles from southern Europe, (b) an assessment of the palaeovegetation of northern Italy during the last glacial-interglacial transition, and (c) the altitude of the snowline in the region during the Younger Dryas.