Pollen analysis is of fundamental importance in the study of the paleoclimate and of the environmental changes of the past. The Mediterranean basin is one of the most sensitive places to climate change in particular in historical time. For this reason, it has long been studied to understand, using various types of analyses, adaptation strategies of plants and animals to the progressive increase in temperatures and human pressure. The area of Southern Balkan, due to the long, continuous and important human history is of particular interest. The palynological study of the sediments of Lake Volvi (Macedonian Region, Greece) will be a valuable contribution to the environmental reconstruction of the last ca. 2,000 years. The high-resolution pollen sequence will describe in detail the vegetation dynamics for the region in historical times. In fact, given the importance of the Macedonian region, that was an important trade-hub during Roman and Byzantine times, the study of the Volvi record constitutes a novelty, as this is the first time that such a 360° investigation is proposed in the Balkan peninsula for the last few millennia. Thanks to a multidisciplinary approach, the project will improve three main aspects of knowledge: (1) providing an important palaeoenvironmental archive on a lake never studied before ; (2) combining environmental and historical data in order to address specific roles played by nature and humans using a new methodology; (3) achieving deep comprehension of vegetation dynamics using the integration between palaeoecological and ecological data.
This project will improve three main aspects of the state of art:
1- An important palaeoenvironmental archive, that has never been studied before, will be investigated. Although some palynological records have already been provided for the Macedonia region (Tenaghi Philippon: Glais et al., 2016; Lower Angitis Valley: Lespez et al., 2016; Lake Dojran: Masi et al., 2018; Tristinika coastal marsh: Panajiotidis & Papadopoulou 2016), an important high-resolution regional record is still missing. The palaeoenvironmental and ecological study of Lake Volvi will be of strategic importance in the study of development and spreading of cultures under climate changes.
2- We propose a new approach in interpreting palaeodata in order to address specific roles played by nature and humans. Human-environment interactions are one of the most important topics of the last years. The assessment of the past degree of connection between natural archives and human history must be central in scientific investigations. "Paleo-sciences" approach is the only way to learn from the past thanks to the long-term view and the possibility to describes trends and changes that took place over time. At the same time, written historical sources help in the comprehension of the evolution of the natural community and the assessment of resilience skills of ecosystems facing with human inference. Oversimplification must be avoided both in terms of explanation of past behavior and in planning present and future environmental reconstructions and management.
3- Palaeoecology and ecology are usually distinct disciplines (Froyd & Willis, 2008; Gillson & Marchant, 2014; Mercuri, 2014; Bjune et al., 2015) that have been rarely carried out in parallel. They in fact are different specializations with important differences in data source, terminology and methodologies that lead to a lack of cooperation among scientist. In our project, we plan to find the way to share expertise, terminology and knowledge, establishing a new methodology integrating palaeo- and neo-environmental study.
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