Edoardo MartinettoUniversità degli Studi di Torino | UNITO · Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra
Edoardo Martinetto
PhD
About
136
Publications
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Introduction
November 2020 "Smart working": Carex, Lycopus, Sideroxylon, Solanaceae, high elevation Holocene seed assemblages, Pliocene climate related vegetation changes, and also trying to help colleagues for the study of Holocene fruit and seeds in Armenia and the management of Early Triassic vertebrate footprints. Still busy in teaching Nature Through Time (Project supported by a freshly published book on virtual visits to past environments to be used learning programmes for university students).
Additional affiliations
October 2014 - present
Publications
Publications (136)
Several terrestrial plant fossils found in the late Cenozoic of Europe belong to thermophilous genera or infrageneric taxa which do not grow in this continent today, and are usually called “exotic elements”. Within this large group we singled out three more precisely defined categories based on the hypothesis that the change of geographic distribut...
The first comprehensive and comparative analysis of the main micro (pollen) – and macro (leaves, fruits and seeds) – palaeobotanical data from northern and central Italian sites, allows four transects of ancient vegetation for the Messinian to Piacenzian interval to be constructed. Standard criteria for the reconstruction of vegetation transects ar...
Mummified foliage, seeds and cones of Glyptostrobus europaeus (Brongniart) Unger (Taxodiaceae, or Cupressaceae s. l.) are very common within muddy sediments embedding large arboreal stumps in several Pliocene localities of northern and central Italy. Recent investigations in one of these fossil forests, which crops out 20 km North of Turin (NW Ital...
Along the Stura di Lanzo River, 20 km north of Turin, several large stumps in growth position crop out, thus providing a well-preserved example of fossil forest. This is formed by conifers which bear the Glyptostrobus europaeus type of cone-foliage and the Glyptostroboxylon rudolphii wood-type. Stratigraphic and plant taphonomic analyses of the out...
Despite the existence of a rich record, fossils of Carex have been largely neglected by neobotanists. Here we present an exhaustive critically commented checklist of the so-far published pre-Pleistocene records ascribed to Carex. We have made every attempt to include all pertinent paleobotanical literature. The extensive collection of the Museum fü...
Piemonte is widely acknowledged as a remarkable Pliocene palaeontological spot, due to its potential for the observation and study of marine and terrestrial fossils in abundant outcrops. Our observations on about 80 palaeobotanical localities, representing both terrestrial and marine sedimentary deposits, show that some of them could easily provide...
Elongated biconvex Carex fossil fruits are relatively common in fossil assemblages, but they are of much uncertain taxonomic affinity. Three fossil-species have been erected to accommodate the materials from the respective type localities (C. klarae, C. paucifloriformis and C. paucifloroides) and a number of superficially similar-looking fossils we...
I geositi sono luoghi di importanza geo-paleontologica e la raccolta di dati
inerenti ad essi può dare impulso a future indagini per la loro gestione e
conservazione.
Qui viene applicata a due siti piemontesi, Cava Ex Fornace RDB e Valle Botto
(Pavia et al. 2004), un’innovativa procedura per la valutazione analitica della
rilevanza di siti fossilif...
Citation: Ucchesu, M.; Martinetto, E.; Sarigu, M.; Orrù, M.; Bornancin, M.; Bacchetta, G. Morphological Characterization of Fossil Vitis L. Abstract: The discovery of well-preserved fossil Vitis L. seeds from the Gelasian stage in Italy has provided a unique opportunity to investigate the systematics of fossilized Vitis species. Through seed image...
Plant macrofossils were observed in abundance at an outcrop close to the Valduggia village, in
the province of Vercelli (Piedmont, Italy). The sediments, predominantly sandy and often
fossiliferous, are attributed to a Pliocene marine palaeoenvironment (Fantoni et al., 2005), in
which leaves that drifted in from a terrestrial environment were burie...
The northern Mediterranean reptiles and amphibians show contrasting biogeographic histories during the Plio-
Pleistocene. The influence of European climate changes on the evolution of the biogeographic ranges of taxa with
a rich fossil record is determined herein combining different proxies to obtain well-supported palaeoclimatic
scenarios. Ecolo...
In the Caucasus, peat deposits exposed near Lake Sevan (Armenia) provide a Middle to Late Holocene record of lake level fluctuations. The Tsovinar-1 section at the southern shore of Lake Sevan in the Armenian Highlands reveals a well-dated and divers pollen and carpo-flora covering a time span from 6000 BC to 900 AD. The abundances of pollen of for...
In the Piedmont Basin (PB), one of the northernmost Mediterranean basins recording the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC), pollen and plant macroremains (leaves, fruits and seeds) were studied in four sedimentary sections of the post-evapor- itic interval (5.6–5.33 Ma). The joint palaeobotanical investigations of the two datasets allowed the reconstru...
The late Early Pleistocene was the last time of equable climate in northern Central Italy, reflected in its large mammal fauna and numerous palynological records. Reliably dated leaf fossils from this time are rare, but provide crucial information on local and regional vegetation, biogeographic relationships, and species turnover coinciding with th...
The first results of a multidisciplinary study on the Messinian evaporitic interval of the Govone section (northwestern Italy), subdivided into several sedimentary cycles, are reported here. Primary sulphate evaporites and intercalated shaly deposits, which formed during the Messinian Salinity Crisis, contain well-preserved and taxonomically determ...
Alpine soils can provide valuable paleo-environmental information, representing a powerful tool for paleoclimate reconstruction. However, since Pleistocene glaciations and erosion-related processes erased most of the pre-existing landforms and soils, reconstructing soil and landscape development in high-mountain areas can be a difficult task. In pa...
Lycopus is a widespread herbaceous plant, currently part of European flora. Fossil remains of fruits (nutlets or mericarps) attributed to this genus are frequently found in European archaeological and palaeontological sites, being easily preserved in sedimentary deposits. In a worldwide context, the oldest fossils are from the early Oligocene (ca....
The most accepted killing model for the Permian-Triassic mass extinction (PTME) postulates that massive volcanic eruption (i.e., the Siberian Traps Large Igneous Province) led to geologically rapid global warming, acid rain and ocean anoxia. On land, habitable zones were drastically reduced, due to the combined effects of heating, drought and acid...
Evidence from various climate proxies provides us with increasingly reliable proof that only in the past 10 millennia were natural systems more or less as we see them at the present (without considering human impact). Prior to 10,000 years ago, natural systems repeatedly changed under the influence of an unstable climate. This is particularly true...
At the onset of the Mesozoic Era, all of the landmasses were assembled into a single supercontinent (Pangea) that enclosed a smaller ocean, called Tethys, and was surrounded by a single vast ocean (Panthalassa). Carnivorous archosaurs and crocodile-like reptiles, together with amphibians, populated the land, but these groups witnessed a dramatic ch...
Large areas of Earth’s continents were covered by temperate forests before the dramatic increase of the human population in the past two millennia. Prior to human expansion, temperate forests were more extensive in the Neogene (23–2.6 Ma) when climate at the middle latitudes was slightly warmer and more equable than at the present. These temperate...
The section of São Pedro da Torre (NW Portugal) is relevant because its rich pollen content, chronologically correlated to the late Pliocene assemblages of the reference section of Rio Maior. The purpose of this study was to carry out, for the first time in the area, a taxonomic analysis of the carpological remains and integrate the results with th...
This book simulates a historical walk through nature, teaching readers about the biodiversity on Earth in various eras with a focus on past terrestrial environments. Geared towards a student audience, using simple terms and avoiding long complex explanations, the book discusses the plants and animals that lived on land, the evolution of natural sys...
Carex buekii is a tall sedge, forming large stands in wetlands, particularly in river floodplains across Central Europe and thus on many sites determining the typical appearance of riverine habitats. Our paper aims at increasing the knowledge on ecology of C. buekii and its role in the wetlands. Field data were collected in Poland, the Czech Republ...
Carex elata All. is a well-known species widely distributed in western Eurasia. The name C. elata All. is the oldest name applied to the species of concern, but it was abandoned for C. stricta Gooden soon after publication. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, different authors dismissed C. stricta Gooden. as a late...
A natural outcrop at Lake Cadagno (Canton Ticino, Switzerland) yielded some interesting plant macrofossils,
including coniferous seeds and cones. The radiocarbon analysis of a cone of Picea abies provided a dating of about 4800-4700
calendar years before 1950 (4.8-4.7 ka cal BP, Atlantic period, Copper Age or End Neolithic). The study of the new ma...
In Italy the “things that concern palaeontology” are considered cultural heritage to be protected according to the pertinent law (the “Urbani Code”). A collection of data and information on the management of these “things” in Italy is presented, attempting to
establish, according to the current regulatory framework, what one can or can not do with...
The analysis of a taxonomical database containing Italian pollen and macrofossil records of the Messinian – Piacenzian time interval allowed us to evaluate the possible assemblage of different parts within a Whole-Plant Concept. The fossil plant parts that we deemed more significant were: “herbarium-like” specimens, foliage, female and male reprodu...
Carex buekii is a rare species, native to Europe and the Middle East, although its full geographical distribution is poorly known. Attention is paid to the global occurrence of C. buekii. Its situation and threat status is presented in relation to each country from which this species is known. Carex buekii forms four (rare) hybrids, each with other...
Within the Neogene-Quaternary evolution of the Mediterranean intermountain basins, the eastern Tiberino Basin provides new multifaceted chronological, biostratigraphic, palaeoecological, and palaeoenvironmental information, appreciably improving the knowledge of palaeoenvironmental and climate conditions during the middle-late Matuyama Chron (late...
An updated inventory of the vascular flora alien to Italy, providing details on the occurrence at regional level, is presented. The checklist includes 1,597 species, subspecies, and hybrids, distributed in 725 genera and 152 families; 2 taxa are lycophytes, 11 ferns and fern allies, 33 gymnosperms, and 1,551 angiosperms. 157 taxa are archaeophytes...
An updated inventory of the native vascular flora of Italy, providing details on the occurrence at regional level, is presented. The checklist includes 8195 taxa (6417 species and 1778 subspecies), distributed in
1092 genera and 152 families; 23 taxa are lycophytes, 108 ferns and fern allies, 30 gymnosperms and 8034 angiosperms. The taxa currently...
We present new chronological constraints for a reference European palaeoflora based on integrated stratigraphic, palaeobotanical, palaeomagnetic and micropalaeontological analysis carried out on the Pliocene section of Ca' Viettone, northwestern Italy. This site is characterized by rich fossil plant records of high taxonomic diversity, good preserv...
In Pliocene sedimentary successions of northern and central Italy, fossil swamp forests are relatively common.
Most of them pertain to the Piacenzian stage and show a dominance of the conifer Glyptostrobus europaeus as an arboreal element. A new fossil forest that recently cropped out at Fossano in the Piedmont region represents the first Zanclean...
A multiproxy study of the lignite-bearing lacustrine sequence cropping out at Castel San Pietro (CSP) (Rieti, central Italy) provides new insights on the paleoenvironmental evolution of an extensional basin, located on the Tyrrhenian side of the Apennine range. The CSP fossiliferous levels reflect deposition in a stable lacustrine environment. Mamm...
This paper describes palaeobotanical material discovered in new fossiliferous localities from the late Palaeozoic fluviolacustrine deposits of the Ollano Formation in the central part of the Ligurian Alps (north western Italy). Despite the tectono-metamorphic history that generally results in poor preservation of plant remains, abundant fossil plan...
The Pliocene and Early Pleistocene (5.2–1 Ma) palaeoclimate for localities in Italy is evaluated using stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of tooth enamel of fossil specimens from Rhinocerotidae (Stephanorhinus sp.) and Gomphotheriidae (Anancus sp.) taxa. Carbon isotope composition was measured in the structural carbonate (δ¹³C), while ox...
Accumulations of Osmunda (Plenasium) lignitum (GIEBEL) STUR fern foliage have been recently recovered in the Oligocene deposits of northern Italy at Cassinelle and western Germany at Niederpleis-1 (Sankt Augustin; Winterscheid 2006). They morphologically match other European records distributed from the Eocene to the Oligocene (– early Miocene). Ma...
Compressions of fossil leaves on marl blocks soaked with water are tricky palaeobotanic findings to deal with. In fact, this peculiarity makes the findings exposed to serious degradation: the evaporation of water causes shrinkage of the matrix and the leaf leading to fragmentation, delamination and exfoliation of the fossil, until its final disappe...
The nature, structure and extent of a palaeo-basin sedimentary infill exposed in the Aran valley (Central Pyrenees) was studied by combining stratigraphical and biostratigraphical analyses and an audio-magnetotelluric survey. The basin developed on top of a pre-existing peneplain and was formed by the North Maladeta Fault activity. The fluvio-palus...
Parole chiave: litostratigrafia, sedimentologia, micropaleontologia, Pleistocene, Lombardia. Abstract New data are presented about the subsoil of the San Colombano al Lambro and Lambro-Molgora (SW Pianura Padana, Northern Italy) areas, collected from core cuttings and geognostic surveys. In the area around the hill of San Colombano al Lambro, the s...
Juglans bergomensis is the name of a fossil-species belonging to Juglans sect. Cardiocaryon that is based on the basionym Juglandites bergomensis, whose type material, represented by a single fruit, is missing. However, the type locality can be indicated with certainty in the Early Pleistocene brown coal bearing sediments of Leffe, in northern Ital...
The fruits and seeds unearthed from Pliocene and Early Pleistocene deposits of Italy sum up to millions of specimens from over 50 sites, which have not yet been treated in a comprehensive way. To make all the information contained in these palaeofloras accessible, a monographic investigation similar to those published by Dieter Hans Mai and Harald...
Fossil leaves of Messinian age (ca. 5.7 Ma) from two sites of the Vena del Gesso Fm. (Monte Tondo and Tossignano, Ravenna and
Bologna provinces, Italy) were studied morphologically to assess the taxonomic composition of the assemblages and carry out a palaeoenvironmental
analysis. The flora of Tossignano so far comprises 41 vascular plant taxa with...
The references of my papers to facilitate citations by colleagues
Several terrestrial plant fossils found in the late Cenozoic of Europe belong to thermophilous genera or infrageneric taxa which do not grow in this continent today, and are usually called "exotic elements". Within this large group we singled out three more precisely defined categories based on the hypothesis that the change of geographic distribut...
Interest in the sedimentary succession in the Asti Reliefs fostered research since the beginning of the science of geology, before the designation by Pareto (1865) of the " Piano Villafranchiano " and its type area at Villafranca d'Asti. The villafranchian sediments have been the subject of many recent investigations, which focused largely on the p...
New records of plant macrofossils of palms and other groups are evaluated within the framework of the Messinian environment at the newly studied site of Capo di Fiume, Palena, central Italy. Similar palm foliage has been also recovered from the Messinian deposits of Pollenzo near Alba, northern Italy. The palm leaves were assigned to Phoenicites sp...
RIASSUNTO – Nell'affioramento quaternario di Rocca del Campione, situato nel comune di Cherasco (CN), si osservano depositi continentali sabbioso-ghiaiosi in strati suborizzontali, discordanti rispetto alla succesione messiniana sottostante. Il deposito è potente circa 10 metri e si trova circa 40 metri al di sopra del livello attuale del fiume Tan...
Carex buekii Wimmer (1852: 83) is the name currently applied to a species belonging to Carex sect. Phacocystis Dumortier (1827:146) (Cyperaceae) that occurs throughout Central-Eastern Europe to SW Asia (Chater 1980, Egorova 1999, Jimenez-Mejias & Luceno 2011a, 2011b, Koopman 2011).
Dunarobba and Pietrafitta are two outstanding fossil sites, which provide us with a glimpse on central Italian palaeoenvironments during two different time spans. The still poorly dated Dunarobba succession is framed, mainly on the basis of continental mollusc biochronology, within the Piacenzian-Gelasian interval, whereas the Pietrafitta one is re...
Premise of the study:
Despite growing interest in the systematics and evolution of the hyperdiverse genus Carex, few studies have focused on its evolution using an absolute time framework. This is partly due to the limited knowledge of the fossil record. However, Carex fruits are not rare in certain sediments. We analyzed carpological features of...
In this work we present the results of a detailed magnetostratigraphic
study carried out on fine-grained lenses of a fluvial succession,
exposed in the southern border of the Alessandria Basin (NW Italy), of
Plio-Quaternary age. The studied succession mainly consists of coarse
sands and gravels. Several fine-grained lenses, related to abandoned
cha...