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Early anthropogenic impact on Western Central African rainforests 2,600 y ago

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, 2018-03, Vol.115 (13), p.3261-3266 [Peer Reviewed Journal]

Volumes 1–89 and 106–114, copyright as a collective work only; author(s) retains copyright to individual articles ;Copyright National Academy of Sciences Mar 27, 2018 ;Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ;2018 ;ISSN: 0027-8424 ;EISSN: 1091-6490 ;DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1715336115 ;PMID: 29483260

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Title:
Early anthropogenic impact on Western Central African rainforests 2,600 y ago
Author: Garcin, Yannick ; Deschamps, Pierre ; Ménot, Guillemette ; de Saulieu, Geoffroy ; Schefuß, Enno ; Sebag, David ; Dupont, Lydie M. ; Oslisly, Richard ; Brademann, Brian ; Mbusnum, Kevin G. ; Onana, Jean-Michel ; Ako, Andrew A. ; Epp, Laura S. ; Tjallingii, Rik ; Strecker, Manfred R. ; Brauer, Achim ; Sachse, Dirk
Subjects: Africa ; Agricultural development ; Agricultural practices ; Agricultural technology ; Anthropogenic factors ; Anthropology ; Archaeology ; Biological Sciences ; Cameroon ; Climate Change ; Ecosystem ; Ecosystems ; Environmental changes ; Forests ; Fragmentation ; Human influences ; Humans ; Hydrogen isotopes ; Hydrologic data ; Hydrology ; Iron ; Lakes ; Metallurgy ; Physical Sciences ; Plants (botany) ; Pollen ; Rainforest ; Rainforests ; Savannahs ; Sciences of the Universe ; SEE COMMENTARY ; Time Factors ; Vegetation ; Vegetation changes ; Waxes
Is Part Of: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS, 2018-03, Vol.115 (13), p.3261-3266
Description: A potential human footprint on Western Central African rainforests before the Common Era has become the focus of an ongoing controversy. Between 3,000 y ago and 2,000 y ago, regional pollen sequences indicate a replacement of mature rainforests by a forest–savannah mosaic including pioneer trees. Although some studies suggested an anthropogenic influence on this forest fragmentation, current interpretations based on pollen data attribute the “rainforest crisis” to climate change toward a drier, more seasonal climate. A rigorous test of this hypothesis, however, requires climate proxies independent of vegetation changes. Here we resolve this controversy through a continuous 10,500-y record of both vegetation and hydrological changes from Lake Barombi in Southwest Cameroon based on changes in carbon and hydrogen isotope compositions of plant waxes. δ 13C-inferred vegetation changes confirm a prominent and abrupt appearance of C₄ plants in the Lake Barombi catchment, at 2,600 calendar years before AD 1950 (cal y BP), followed by an equally sudden return to rainforest vegetation at 2,020 cal y BP. δD values from the same plant wax compounds, however, show no simultaneous hydrological change. Based on the combination of these data with a comprehensive regional archaeological database we provide evidence that humans triggered the rainforest fragmentation 2,600 y ago. Our findings suggest that technological developments, including agricultural practices and iron metallurgy, possibly related to the large-scale Bantu expansion, significantly impacted the ecosystems before the Common Era.
Publisher: United States: National Academy of Sciences
Language: English
Identifier: ISSN: 0027-8424
EISSN: 1091-6490
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1715336115
PMID: 29483260
Source: Geneva Foundation Free Medical Journals at publisher websites
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Early anthropogenic impact on Western Central African rainforests 2,600 y ago

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