A palaeoecological investigation into the role of fire and human activity in the development of montane grasslands in East Africa |
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Authors: | Jemma Finch Rob Marchant |
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Institution: | (1) York Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Dynamics (KITE), Environment Department, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK;(2) Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7700, South Africa |
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Abstract: | Human activity has been widely implicated in the origin and expansion of montane grasslands in East Africa, yet little palaeoecological
evidence exists to test whether these grasslands are natural or secondary. Pollen and charcoal data derived from two Holocene
records in the Eastern Arc mountains of Tanzania are used as a case study to investigate the supposed secondary nature of
montane grasslands in Africa. Fossil pollen data are used to detect vegetation change, and charcoal analysis is used to reconstruct
fire history. The pollen data are characterised by stable proportions of local taxa suggesting permanence of grasslands throughout
the past ~13,000 years. Recent increases in fire adapted taxa such as Morella point towards the development of a grassland/forest patch mosaic possibly associated with burning. However, robust evidence
of human activity is absent from the records, which may be attributed to the late human occupation of the mountains. The records
indicate long-term persistence of grasslands which, coupled with a lack of evidence of human activity, suggests that these
grasslands are not secondary. These data support the hypothesis that grasslands are an ancient and primary component of montane
vegetation in Africa, but that they experienced some expansion during the late Holocene as a result of changing fire regime. |
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