BRIEF CURRICULUM VITAE¹ - CHIARA MOLINARI

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Date of Birth: 6^th October, 1978

Nationality: Italian

Current employment

Full-time researcher at the Department of Physical Geography and Earth and Ecosystem Science, Lund University (Sweden).

Phone: +46 (0)46 - 222 8691

Email: Chiara.Molinari@nateko.lu.se

Visiting address: Geocentrum II, Sölvegatan 12, room 371

Post address: Department of Earth and Ecosystem Analysis, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62 Lund, Sweden

Research

My interest in Geology, Physical Geography, Climatology, Ecology and Soil Science mainly concerns past environmental history and the role of historical land uses connected with the ongoing climate change. I have previous experience in the study of Holocene pollen and charcoal samples from peat bogs, mires and soils, but also with older sequences (Pleistocene) from lakes deposits. I’m skilled at pollen, charcoal (micro- and macro-) and sedimentological laboratory analyses, at the interpretation of palaeomagnetic data, at various analytical techniques and at stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental interpretations. I have some basic knowledge in statistical analysis and in programming using R.

My present position is within the framework of the Lund University Centre for Studies of Carbon Cycle and Climate Interaction (LUCCI). My research is focused on the reconstruction of European biomass burning over the Holocene based on sedimentary charcoal records trying to better understand the interpretation of past fire history and environmental dynamics and to validate dynamic ecosystem models designed to project potential future responses of fires to climate, vegetation and anthropogenic land-cover variations. Due to multiple interactive factors influencing fire patterns (such as atmosphere–climate–fire–vegetation feedbacks at continental/regional scales and fire–vegetation–soil–land use feedbacks at local scales), driving forces of biomass burning are in fact still highly uncertain. I’m firmly satisfied that palaeoecological reconstructions can provide an important source of information about how our climate system actually works. For this reason - concerning the exploration of long-term fire regimes and their possible connection with major global and regional interacting changes - I’m also trying to use a palaeo-parameterisation of a new model applied within the dynamic vegetation modelling framework LPJ-GUESS.

Education history

Primary degree

Year: February 2003

Agrarian Faculty, Turin University, Italy (October 1997 – December 2002)

Subject: Vegetation dynamics, palynology, palaeoecology, forestry

Thesis title: “2500 years of forest dynamics at Söndre Skog, a semi-natural forest on Hallands Väderö island, southern Sweden”. The research was focused on palaeopalinological and palaeobotanical topics. It was a collaborative project between SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences – Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Alnarp - Sweden), GEUS (Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen - Denmark) and the Forestry Department of The Agricultural Faculty of Turin University (Italy).

Doctoral degree

Year: April 2010

PhD in Historical Geography for the Development of the Environmental and Historical Heritage, PhD School of Human Sciences, University of Genoa, Italy (January 2007 – December 2009)

Subject: Vegetation dynamics, palynology, palaeoecology, human impact on terrestrial ecosystems.

Thesis title: “Palynological researches for the identification of historical agro-silvo-pastoral practices”. For this project I was involved on the identification, at a local scale, of some agro-sylvi-pastoral practices on the base of palynologycal and anthracological data with particular attention to the historical time and to the effects that different management practices have had on post-cultural dynamics of the vegetation cover. It was a collaborative project with historians, geographers and archaeologists.

Previous positions

August – November 2004: Researcher at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Copenhagen (Denmark) for the Agricultural University of Norway (NLH), Ås, (Norway).

January-June 2006: Collaboration in palynological researches at the Department for the Study of the Territory and its Resources (DipTeRis) and at the Department of Modern and Contemporary History (DiSMeC) of Genoa University (Italy).

June-December 2006: Winner of a scholarship at the Department for the Study of the Territory and its Resources (DipTeRis) and at the Department of Modern and Contemporary History (DiSMeC) of Genoa University (Italy).

May 2010 – April 2012: Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences - Division of Physical Geography and Ecosystems Analysis, Lund University (Sweden) in the frame of the Lund Centre for studies of Carbon Cycle and Climate Interaction (LUCCI).

Scientific activities

Since June 2012: Leader of Work Package 5 “Modelling of present and future processes and conditions with a background of Holocene and pre-Holocene scenarios and data” and core group member in the frame of the Lund University Centre for Studies of Carbon Cycle and Climate Interactions (LUCCI).

Since May 2010: Member of the Lund University Centre for Studies of Carbon Cycle and Climate Interactions (LUCCI) and involved in the Work Package 5 “Modelling of present and future processes and conditions with a background of Holocene and pre-Holocene scenarios and data”.

Since May 2010: Member of the Lund University Ecosystem Modelling and Biodiversity Studies Group.

Since March 2009: Participation in the Project “UNESCO Portovenere - Cinque Terre” carried out by L.A.S.A. (Laboratory of Archaeology and Environmental History, University of Genoa, Italy) teamwork in collaboration with the Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici della Liguria.

Since September 2008: Participation in the research project “National Catalogue of Rural Landscapes with Historical Interest”, financed by the Agricultural and Forestry Ministry and coordinated by Prof. Mauro Agnoletti, Florence University.

Since January 2007: Participation in the project “Les paysages de l’arbre hors foret: multi-valorisation dans le cadre d’un développement local durable en Europe du sud”, carried out by L.A.S.A. (Laboratory of Archaeology and Environmental History, University of Genoa, Italy) workgroup in collaboration with the Universities of Toulouse (France) and Granada (Spain).

Since July 2006: Participation in the research program PRIN2005 "The Agricultural Park: a New Territorial Planning Instrument for Unbuilt Areas", carried out by L.A.S.A. (Laboratory of Archaeology and Environmental History, University of Genoa, Italy) workgroup in collaboration with the University of Florence, Milan and Palermo (Italy).

August – November 2004: Participation in the research project "Land use and ecosystem functions in boreal forests" coordinates by Prof. Mikael Ohlson of the Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management (INA), Norwegian University of Life, Ås, Norway.

Publications

· Molinari C., Lehsten V., Bradshaw R.H.W., Power M.J., Harmand P., Arneth A., Kaplan J.O., VanniÈre B. and Sykes M.T., 2013. Exploring potential drivers of European biomass burning over the Holocene: a data-model analysis. Global Ecology and Biogeography, DOI: 10.1111/geb.12090.

· Molinari C. and Lehsten V., 2013. Reconstructing spatial pattern of historical fires from paired tree-ring fire-scar and sedimentary charcoal data. In Lindroth A., Linderson M.-L. and Olsson S. (Eds.), LUCCI Annual Report 2012/2013, pp. 155-157. ISBN 978-91-85793-30-3.

· Molinari C., 2013. Rachixina. In Cevasco R. (Ed.), La natura della montagna, pp. 391-401. Oltre Edizioni. ISBN 978-88-97264-22-4.

· Molinari C., 2013. Lagorara. In Cevasco R. (Ed.), La natura della montagna, pp. 529-537. Oltre Edizioni. ISBN 978-88-97264-22-4.

· Molinari C., Smolander S., Lehsten V., Power M., Bradshaw R.H.W., Sykes M. and Arneth A., 2012. Exploring climatic and anthropogenic controls on Holocene biomass burning based on sedimentary charcoal data and process-based modelling. Quaternary International, Volumes 279–280, November 2012, Page 332, ISSN 1040-6182.

· Molinari C. and Stagno A.M., 2010. Orti e castagneti terrazzati dell’Alta Valle Sturla. In Agnoletti M. (Ed.), Paesaggi Rurali Storici. Per un Catalogo Nazionale/Historical Rural Landscape. For a National Register. Editori Laterza, Roma-Bari. ISBN 978-88-420-9617-7.

· Cevasco R., Guido M.A., Menozzi B.I., Molinari C., Montanari C., Moreno D., Vaccarezza C., 2010.The historical ecology of Ligurian chestnut groves: archival documentation and field evidence. In Bounous G., Beccaro G. L. (Eds.), Proceedings of the First European Congress on chestnuts. “Castanea 2009”, 13-16 October, 2009, «Acta Horticulturae» n. 866, pp. 43-50. ISBN 978-90-66054-14-1, ISSN 0567-7572.

· Moreno D., Montanari C., Stagno A.M., Molinari C., 2010. A plea for a (New) Environmental Archaeology: the use of the geographical historical microanalitical approach in mountain areas of NW Italy. In Tzortzis S. and Delestre X. (Eds.), Archéologie de la montagne européenne - Actes de la table ronde internationale de Gap (Condé-sur-Noireau), 29 sept. - 1 oct. 2008, Bibliothèque d'Archéologie Méditerranéenne et Africaine, vol. 4, pp. 75-83. Editions Errance, Paris. ISBN/ISSN: 978-2-87772-423-4.

· Cevasco R., Molinari C., 2009. Microanalysis in Woodland Historical Ecology. Evidences of past leaf fodder production in NW Apennines (Italy). In Saratsi E., Burgi M., Johann E., Kirby K., Moreno D., Watkins, C. (Eds), ‘Woodland Cultures in Time and Space: tales from the past, messages for the future’, pp. 147-153. Embryo Publications, Athens. ISBN 9789608002531.

· Molinari C., G.E. Hannon, R.H.W. Bradshaw, M. Lindbladh, 2006. Studio dell’evoluzione di una foresta semi-naturale situata sull’isola di Hallands Väderö, Svezia meridionale. Informatore Botanico Italiano, 38 SUPPL. 1, pp. 85-89.

· Molinari C., R.H.W. Bradshaw, O. Risbol, M. Lie, M. Ohlson. 2005. Long-term vegetation history of a Picea abies stand in south-western Norway: implications for the conservation of biological values”. Biological Conservation: Volume 126, Issue 2, November 2005, Pages 155-165.

Oral conference presentations

· 17-20 June 2013: FIREMAN-BIODIVERSA Meeting “Managing Fire in Europe”. Villa Långbers, Tällberg, Dalarna, Sweden. Oral presentation: Molinari C., Lehsten V., Bradshaw R.H.W., Power M.J., Harmand P., Arneth A., Kaplan J.O., Vannière B. and Sykes M.T., A data-model analysis for the identification of potential drivers of European fire activity over the Holocene.

· 11-12 March 2013: 5th LUCCI annual meeting - Örenäs castle, Landskrona, Sweden. Oral presentation: Molinari C., Smith B., Progress Report WP 5 - Modelling of present and future processes and conditions with a bakground of Holocene and pre-Holocene scenarios and data.

· 23-30 August 2012: IPC XIII/IOPC IX, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan. Oral presentation: Molinari C., Lehsten V., Bradshaw R.H.W., Power M., Arneth A., Kaplan J., Vannière B., Sykes M., A data-model analysis for the identification of potential drivers of European fire activity over the last 9000 years.

· 7-8 March 2012: 4^thLUCCI annual meeting - Örenäs castle, Landskrona, Sweden. Oral presentation: Molinari C., Lehsten V., Bradshaw R.H.W., Power M., Arneth A., Sykes M., Exploring potential driving forces of European biomass burning during the Holocene: a data-model analysis.

· 5-6 April 2011: 3^rd LUCCI annual meeting - Bäckaskog castle, Kristianstad, Sweden. Oral presentation: Molinari C., Arneth A., Sykes M., Exploring the combined role of climatic and anthropogenic controls on Holocene biomass burning based on sedimentary charcoal data.

· 8 - 11 October 2009: “2eme Workshop International d’Archéologie du Paysage des Montagnes Européennes“, Maison de la reserche – Université de Toulouse 2, Toulouse, France. Oral presentation: Molinari C., Stagno A.M., Vaccarezza C., Environmental and rural archaeology of post-medieval terraced chestnut groves sites in NW Italian Mountains”.

· 24 – 25 November 2008: Workshop “Palaeobotany and biodiversity during the past” organised by the Palaeobotanical and Palynological Workgroups of the Italian Botanical Society (SBI), Modena University (Italy). Oral presentation: Molinari C., Stagno A.M., Reconstruction of vegetation resources past management practices since the XVI century onwards: a case study in the Aveto Regional Natural Park (Genoa).

· 29-30 September 2008: Table Ronde “Archaeologie de l'espace montagnard: confront d'expériences européennes“, Gap (France). Oral presentation : Moreno D., Montanari C., Stagno A.M., Molinari C., Pour une archéologie des ressources de l'environnement de montagne: l'apport de la microanalyse historique et géographique du site.

· 30 August – 5 September 2008: “12^th International Palynological Congress and 8^th International Organisation of Palaeobotany Conference”, Bonn (Germany). Oral presentation: Molinari C., Parola C., Guido M.A., Palynological reconstruction of long-term vegetation changes in the Ligurian Apennines, northern Italy.

· 04-06 June 2008: “International Workshop on Landscape Archaeology of European Mountain Areas: Current Researches and Future Perpespectives”, Tarragona (Spain). Oral presentation: Moreno D., Cevasco R., Montanari C., Guido M.A., Menozzi B., Stagno A.M., Molinari C., The archaeology of environmental resources: searching for records of cultural landscapes history in the N.W. Apennines (Italy).

· 28-29 January 2008: Seminar “Feux de végétation actuel et passé”, Besançon (France). Oral presentation: Moreno D., Menozzi B., Molinari C., Cevasco R., Maggi R., Montanari C., Environmental archaeology and vegetation fires: studies in a Mediterranean mountain chain (NW Apennines).

· 3-7 September2007: Conference “Woodland Cultures in Time and Space: tales from the past, messages for the future”, Thessaloniki (Greece). Oral presentation: Cevasco R., Molinari C., Microanalysis in Woodland Historical Ecology. Evidences of past leaf fodder production in NW Apennines (Italy).

· 22 March 2007: Conference “Images and truth: cartography and historical topography”, University of Genoa, Genoa Civic Library Berio. Oral presentation: Giana L., Molinari C., Pollen images and jurisdictional topography: two different lectures of a eighteen century source.

· 2-8 October 2006: PhD Master Class - International training course for PhD students on “Environmental & Landscape Change: Addressing an Interdisciplinary Agenda”, University of Aberdeen, School of Geosciences & The Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen, Scottish Highlands (United Kingdom). Oral presentation: Molinari C., Archaeobotany as a tool to study the history of Ligurian cultural landscapes.

· 20-21 November 2003: Interdisciplinary Meeting “La ricerca paleobotanica/ paleopalinologica in Italia: stato dell’arte e spunti d’interesse” organised by the Palaeobotanical and Palynological Workgrups of the Italian Botanical Society (SBI), Modena (Italy). Oral presentation: Molinari C., Hannon G., Bradshaw R.H.W., Lindbladh M., Studio dell’evoluzione di una foresta semi-naturale situata sull’isola do Hallands Väderö, Svezia meridionale.

¹Last updated October, 2013.