The calcareous tufas of the "Mannute Piccola" cave (Salento, South Italy).

Calcareous tufas of the "Mannute Piccola" cave (Salento, SE Italy) have been studied in order to obtain an interpretation of the accretion-process. Results showed that physico-chemical and biological features affect the growth of carbonate deposits in this area. Inside the "Mannute Piccola" cave, two types of tufas and one type of composite accretions were identified, respectively, erratic stalactites, bulky stalactites and pseudo-stalagmites. Each of them let us to reconstruct peculiar palaeo-environmental features. The location into the cave of the bulky stalactites appears incompatible with their accretion-process interpretation, suggesting that the entrance of the cave was more narrow than today, when the accretion-process was in course. Age determinations of such accretions are in progress. This study, improving knowledge about this geosite, represents a valuable preliminary phase for a geoheritage protection and valorization.