Late Pliocene Vegetation and Climate in central Italy: high resolution pollen analysis from the Fosso Bianco succession (Tiberino basin).

Palynological analyses from the long and continuous Fosso Bianco sedimentary succession delineate the palcoenvironmental history of the continental deposits from the Tiberino basin, during the Gelasian. The floristic and vegetational data fill the palynological gap in Central Italy for a period of ca 400 kyr, between the 100 and 82 isotopic stages. The response of the vegetation to the glacial-interglacial cycles is testified by a competition between a coniferous forest dominated by Picea and a thermophilous forest characterized by deciduous elements and Taxodiaceae. A competition between the thermophilous forest and the steppe associations is not so evident as recorded in some sites from the Mediterranean area, though herbs show repeated phases of expansion.