18,000 years of grassland evolution in the summer rainfall region of South Africa: evidence from Mahwaqa Mountain, KwaZulu-Natal

Neumann, Frank; Botha, G.A.; Scott, Louis

doi:10.1007/s00334-014-0445-3

Cited by 66 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Mahwaqa's age-depth model based on nine 14 C ages appears robust (Figs. A11; Neumann et al (2014)), and we conclude that local factors may be dominating the signal at the higher Fig. 6.…”

Section: Precipitation Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 92%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Southeast African records reveal a coherent shift from high- to low-latitude forcing mechanisms along the east African margin across last glacial–interglacial transition

Chevalier

Chase

2015

Quaternary Science Reviews

131

188

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“…Mahwaqa's age-depth model based on nine 14 C ages appears robust (Figs. A11; Neumann et al (2014)), and we conclude that local factors may be dominating the signal at the higher Fig. 6.…”

Section: Precipitation Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…This sequence is thus not included in the regional precipitation stacks. As noted by Neumann et al (2014), this sequence may be more suited to study changes in humidity rather than changes in absolute rainfall amount.…”

Section: Precipitation Reconstructionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Southeast African records reveal a coherent shift from high- to low-latitude forcing mechanisms along the east African margin across last glacial–interglacial transition

Chevalier

Chase

2015

Quaternary Science Reviews

131

188

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Previous analyses of the distribution of GCD sites in climate space showed that the data set has relatively broad coverage with respect to global biomes and climate gradients (Daniau et al, 2012). Many newly published fire-history records exist that can potentially be incorporated into subsequent versions of the GCD (Brown, 2005;Han et al, 2012;Harley et al, 2012;Iglesias et al, 2012;Daniau et al, 2013;Kelly et al, 2013;QuintanaKrupinski et al, 2013;Tan and Huang, 2013;Cordeiro et al, 2014;Courtney Mustaphi and Pisaric, 2014;Dunnette et al, 2014;Higuera et al, 2014;Iglesias and Whitlock, 2014;Neumann et al, 2014;Walsh et al, 2015) and many more are in development that will fill important spatial gaps where fire is key, including Africa and the tropics.…”

Section: Geographical Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructions of biomass burning from sediment-charcoal records to improve data–model comparisons

Kelly²,

et al. 2016

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Abstract. The location, timing, spatial extent, and frequency of wildfires are changing rapidly in many parts of the world, producing substantial impacts on ecosystems, people, and potentially climate. Paleofire records based on charcoal accumulation in sediments enable modern changes in biomass burning to be considered in their long-term context. Paleofire records also provide insights into the causes and impacts of past wildfires and emissions when analyzed in conjunction with other paleoenvironmental data and with fire models. Here we present new 1000-year and 22 000-year trends and gridded biomass burning reconstructions based on the Global Charcoal Database version 3 (GCDv3), which includes 736 charcoal records (57 more than in version 2). The new gridded reconstructions reveal the spatial patterns underlying the temporal trends in the data, allowing insights into likely controls on biomass burning at regional to global scales. In the most recent few decades, biomass burning has sharply increased in both hemispheres but especially in the north, where charcoal fluxes are now higher than at any other time during the past 22 000 years. We also discuss methodological issues relevant to data-model comparisons and identify areas for future research. Spatially gridded versions of the global data set from GCDv3 are provided to facilitate comparison with and validation of global fire simulations.

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“…Together, these proxies suggest the re‐establishment of a more extensive wetland, but with shallow water restricted to small ponds suitable for the establishment of macrophytes, and herbs along the drier wetland edge. This cool, moist period is consistent with results obtained from the eastern Drakensberg foothills (Neumann et al ., ) indicating a progressive shift from the arid conditions during the LGM.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At a regional scale, there is a considerable shift in vegetation along altitudinal gradients (Carbutt and Edwards, ; Mucina and Rutherford, ). The Sekhokong site is situated above the treeline, and given its high altitude and substantially depressed temperatures, much of the vegetation comprising the late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental record and the contemporary flora at the lower altitude Drakensberg palaeoenvironmental sites of Braamhoek Wetland at 1700 m asl (Norström et al ., , ) and Mahwaqa Mountain at 2083 m asl (Neumann et al ., ) are not present. However, it is likely that during warmer periods, some of these species were able to establish further upslope (Inouye, ).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

A multi‐proxy analysis of late Quaternary palaeoenvironments, Sekhokong Range, eastern Lesotho

Fitchett

Grab

Bamford

et al. 2016

J Quaternary Science

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The eastern Lesotho Highlands host an array of periglacial and glacial geomorphic features. Their analysis has provided past climate interpretations predominantly for cold periods, yet no multi‐proxy temporally continuous palaeoenvironmental records exist. This study presents a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction based on sedimentary characteristics, fossil pollen and diatoms from an alpine wetland located in the Sekhokong Mountain Range. The record commences in the late Pleistocene with a wet period from ∼16 450 to 14 440 cal a BP, interrupted by dry conditions from ∼16 350 to 15 870 cal a BP. From ∼14 150 to 8560 cal a BP, drier conditions are inferred, slowly transitioning to warmer, wetter conditions. Warmer, dry conditions are inferred for ∼8560–7430 cal a BP, followed by cold, wet conditions from ∼7280 to 6560 cal a BP. A dry, warmer period occurs from ∼6560 to 3640 cal a BP indicated by pollen, diatom and sedimentary records, followed by cool, wet conditions from ∼3400 to 1200 cal a BP. The period from ∼1110 cal a BP to the present is characterized by progressive drying. Pronounced cold events are detected from the diatom record. Moisture records appear relatively specific to the topographic setting of Sekhokong near the Great Escarpment edge, probably driven by orographically constrained synoptic controls.

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18,000 years of grassland evolution in the summer rainfall region of South Africa: evidence from Mahwaqa Mountain, KwaZulu-Natal

Cited by 66 publications

References 48 publications

Southeast African records reveal a coherent shift from high- to low-latitude forcing mechanisms along the east African margin across last glacial–interglacial transition

Southeast African records reveal a coherent shift from high- to low-latitude forcing mechanisms along the east African margin across last glacial–interglacial transition

Reconstructions of biomass burning from sediment-charcoal records to improve data–model comparisons

A multi‐proxy analysis of late Quaternary palaeoenvironments, Sekhokong Range, eastern Lesotho

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