Sprecher
Beschreibung
The lower Permian of the Southern Alps (N Italy) represents one of the largest and best-preserved volcanic successions of the upper Cisuralian in Europe, including the Athesian Volcanic District (AVD), the Collio Basin, and the Orobic Alps. The AVD, in particular, provides an exceptionally high-resolution chronostratigraphic framework supported by detailed geological mapping and U–Pb zircon geochronology. Continental sedimentary sequences intercalated within volcanic units were deposited during phases of reduced volcanism, mainly in alluvial–lacustrine environments and yield abundant and diverse paleobotanical remains. Palynological assemblages from ten stratigraphic sections belonging to the Monte Luco, Verano, Guncina, and Tregiovo formations have been studied, spanning a middle to upper Kungurian age interval. Two palynozones were differentiated: the Vittatina and Protohaploxypinus palynozones. Comparative analysis of these assemblages allows refinement of the stratigraphic ranges of several key Permian palynological taxa. New AVD records of these taxa, traditionally considered typical of younger intervals (Guadalupian to Lopingian), have implications for their chronostratigraphical ranges, at least within the southeastern Euramerican phytoprovince. On the other hand, preliminary paleoecological results further suggest changes in palynofloral composition potentially linked to volcanically driven environmental perturbations. These results highlight the value of the AVD as a radiometrically calibrated reference for Cisuralian continental palynostratigraphy, providing a framework for future interbasinal correlations across the Southern Alps. Moreover, the paleoecological analysis emphasizes the relevance of these associations for understanding the effects of volcanic environmental stress over deep time floras.