Examining the effects of climate change and human impacts on a high-resolution, late Holocene paleofire record from South Africa's winter rainfall zone
Fire is central to the Cape Floristic Region's highly biodiverse and disturbance-adapted Fynbos Biome. However, prehistoric fire regimes, their ecological consequences, and their relationships with large-scale climate drivers and human activities remain poorly understood. Here, we use a high-re...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:6acaf19ffeab44afa05c5e9d0af6f5c0 2024-09-15T17:45:40+00:00 Examining the effects of climate change and human impacts on a high-resolution, late Holocene paleofire record from South Africa's winter rainfall zone Stella G. Mosher Mitchell J. Power Lynne J. Quick Torsten Haberzettl Thomas Kasper Kelly L. Kirsten David R. Braun J. Tyler Faith 2024-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100194 https://doaj.org/article/6acaf19ffeab44afa05c5e9d0af6f5c0 EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000327 https://doaj.org/toc/2666-0334 2666-0334 doi:10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100194 https://doaj.org/article/6acaf19ffeab44afa05c5e9d0af6f5c0 Quaternary Science Advances, Vol 14, Iss , Pp 100194- (2024) Fire history Paleoecology Pastoralism Fynbos Cape Floristic Region Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Archaeology CC1-960 article 2024 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100194 2024-08-05T17:49:14Z Fire is central to the Cape Floristic Region's highly biodiverse and disturbance-adapted Fynbos Biome. However, prehistoric fire regimes, their ecological consequences, and their relationships with large-scale climate drivers and human activities remain poorly understood. Here, we use a high-resolution sedimentary charcoal record from Verlorenvlei, a coastal lake situated on the west coast, to interrogate links between fire, climate, and pastoralism in the Fynbos Biome. Our record has a robust chronology supported by 24 radiocarbon dates and provides a continuous sedimentary sequence spanning the last 4200 years, documenting fire activity before and after the local arrival of pastoralists in the Verlorenvlei area ∼1500 cal years BP. Fire at Verlorenvlei over the last 4200 years is variable, with relatively low activity until ∼2000 cal years BP, after which variable but generally higher fire activity occurs until the highest period of fire activity from ∼1450 to 1800 CE (∼500–150 cal years BP). The increase in fire activity ∼2000 years ago corresponds with a shift in the diatom assemblage at Verlorenvlei from marine towards brackish and freshwater species, reflecting increased precipitation derived from a strengthening of the southern westerly winds. The peak in fire activity beginning ∼1450 CE (∼500 cal years BP), near the onset of the Little Ice Age, tracks a second diatom-inferred strengthening of the westerly winds. Other southern hemisphere and Antarctic records further corroborate this increased westerly influence after ∼2000 years. Linear regression modeling on the fire record indicates that moisture availability is the primary driver of fire at Verlorenvlei, with little evidence that human populations influenced fire. Our reconstruction suggests that fire activity at Verlorenvlei is limited by moisture availability and that wetter conditions facilitate increased vegetation (i.e., fuel) and intensified fire at this otherwise fuel-limited site. This work has implications for management and conservation ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Quaternary Science Advances 14 100194 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Fire history Paleoecology Pastoralism Fynbos Cape Floristic Region Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Archaeology CC1-960 |
spellingShingle |
Fire history Paleoecology Pastoralism Fynbos Cape Floristic Region Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Archaeology CC1-960 Stella G. Mosher Mitchell J. Power Lynne J. Quick Torsten Haberzettl Thomas Kasper Kelly L. Kirsten David R. Braun J. Tyler Faith Examining the effects of climate change and human impacts on a high-resolution, late Holocene paleofire record from South Africa's winter rainfall zone |
topic_facet |
Fire history Paleoecology Pastoralism Fynbos Cape Floristic Region Geography. Anthropology. Recreation G Archaeology CC1-960 |
description |
Fire is central to the Cape Floristic Region's highly biodiverse and disturbance-adapted Fynbos Biome. However, prehistoric fire regimes, their ecological consequences, and their relationships with large-scale climate drivers and human activities remain poorly understood. Here, we use a high-resolution sedimentary charcoal record from Verlorenvlei, a coastal lake situated on the west coast, to interrogate links between fire, climate, and pastoralism in the Fynbos Biome. Our record has a robust chronology supported by 24 radiocarbon dates and provides a continuous sedimentary sequence spanning the last 4200 years, documenting fire activity before and after the local arrival of pastoralists in the Verlorenvlei area ∼1500 cal years BP. Fire at Verlorenvlei over the last 4200 years is variable, with relatively low activity until ∼2000 cal years BP, after which variable but generally higher fire activity occurs until the highest period of fire activity from ∼1450 to 1800 CE (∼500–150 cal years BP). The increase in fire activity ∼2000 years ago corresponds with a shift in the diatom assemblage at Verlorenvlei from marine towards brackish and freshwater species, reflecting increased precipitation derived from a strengthening of the southern westerly winds. The peak in fire activity beginning ∼1450 CE (∼500 cal years BP), near the onset of the Little Ice Age, tracks a second diatom-inferred strengthening of the westerly winds. Other southern hemisphere and Antarctic records further corroborate this increased westerly influence after ∼2000 years. Linear regression modeling on the fire record indicates that moisture availability is the primary driver of fire at Verlorenvlei, with little evidence that human populations influenced fire. Our reconstruction suggests that fire activity at Verlorenvlei is limited by moisture availability and that wetter conditions facilitate increased vegetation (i.e., fuel) and intensified fire at this otherwise fuel-limited site. This work has implications for management and conservation ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Stella G. Mosher Mitchell J. Power Lynne J. Quick Torsten Haberzettl Thomas Kasper Kelly L. Kirsten David R. Braun J. Tyler Faith |
author_facet |
Stella G. Mosher Mitchell J. Power Lynne J. Quick Torsten Haberzettl Thomas Kasper Kelly L. Kirsten David R. Braun J. Tyler Faith |
author_sort |
Stella G. Mosher |
title |
Examining the effects of climate change and human impacts on a high-resolution, late Holocene paleofire record from South Africa's winter rainfall zone |
title_short |
Examining the effects of climate change and human impacts on a high-resolution, late Holocene paleofire record from South Africa's winter rainfall zone |
title_full |
Examining the effects of climate change and human impacts on a high-resolution, late Holocene paleofire record from South Africa's winter rainfall zone |
title_fullStr |
Examining the effects of climate change and human impacts on a high-resolution, late Holocene paleofire record from South Africa's winter rainfall zone |
title_full_unstemmed |
Examining the effects of climate change and human impacts on a high-resolution, late Holocene paleofire record from South Africa's winter rainfall zone |
title_sort |
examining the effects of climate change and human impacts on a high-resolution, late holocene paleofire record from south africa's winter rainfall zone |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100194 https://doaj.org/article/6acaf19ffeab44afa05c5e9d0af6f5c0 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic |
op_source |
Quaternary Science Advances, Vol 14, Iss , Pp 100194- (2024) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000327 https://doaj.org/toc/2666-0334 2666-0334 doi:10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100194 https://doaj.org/article/6acaf19ffeab44afa05c5e9d0af6f5c0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100194 |
container_title |
Quaternary Science Advances |
container_volume |
14 |
container_start_page |
100194 |
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1810493565772496896 |