When a pedomarker is lacking: palynological and chemical multianalysis of a Lateglacial-Holocene buried soil suite (Bologna, Italy).

A thirteen-metres long sedimentary suite was recorded and sampled in the courtyard of Sant’Orsola Hospital in Bologna to reconstruct the surrounding area’s paleoenvironmental evolution. Fourteen buried Soil Units (SU) were recognized, three of which were characterized by a peculiar darkening. Three stratigraphic markers allowed us to chronologically constrain the soil sequence between the Roman Age and 13230±70 calibrated years BP. The geomorphological study and the chemical multianalysis provided data for the understanding of the pedological palaeoenvironment, whereas the pollen analysis permitted to suggest the lowest buried soil (SU 14) to be a lateral equivalent of the lacking Bölling chronozone alfisol, proposed as a fundamental marker in the Emilia-Romagna regional chronostratigraphic scale. A small creek (Fossa Cavallina) was the main local morphosedimentary dynamic driver whereas the human settlement appears to have been a subordinate factor. These results highlight the importance of the integrated approach of geomorphology, pedology and palynology for the study of continental deposits.