Humans outweigh climate. Human activities have a greater influence than climate on environmental change. This is the conclusion of an international study conducted by the University of Pisa on the major modifications of northern Tuscany's landscape during the last two thousand years. The study, published in the journal Anthropocene, detailed the environmental evolution of Lake Sibolla, a protected area at Altopascio, east of Lucca, using a combination of lake sediments, fossil pollen, historical sources, and climate reconstructions. "We contend that the case of Lucca is not an exception, and we maintain that as additional case studies emerge—featuring comprehensive historical archives integrated with well-resolved paleoecological data—it will become increasingly evident that anthropogenic pressures generally outweigh climatic factors in influencing environmental change", states Professor Giovanni Zanchetta of the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Pisa, author of the study. Researchers from numerous Italian and international institutes worked together on the project.