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.