Overview of Pliocene plant macrofossil localities of the Piemonte region (NW Italy) with a partial analysis of palaeobotanical and geoconservation interest

Abstract

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 more significant materials than those available today. About 30 plant-bearing Pliocene sites were selected for morphological analyses on plant fossils, mainly leaf remains. The main features of each assemblage, including the systematic placement of about 400 plant samples within 52 taxa, are indexed and described in this paper, by combining analysis of palaeontological collections and field observations. The results obtained so far encourage further studies in specific areas of palaeobotanical interest, whose results could easily provide major palaeoenvironmental insights. Finally, we suggest considering more carefully the Piemonte palaeobotanical sites in the frame of geoconservation strategies and we point out the relevance of ex-situ protection of endangered plant fossil samples (collections) in order to assure their availability for future studies.