Pollen evidence of late Quaternary vegetation and inferred climate changes in Congo

Bio‐indicator species and Central African rain forest refuges in the Campo‐Ma'an area, Cameroon

“…Detailed pollen records from Lake Barombi Mbo in western Cameroon, lake Ossa in south Cameroon, Lake Kitinia in western Congo, Lakes Mboandong and Njupi in south Congo reveal the presence of pseudo-periods of about 2000-2500 BP for several tree taxa typical of mature undisturbed forest (Elenga et al, 1994(Elenga et al, , 1996Reynaud-Ferrera et al, 1996). During this phase, the rainfall suddenly became more seasonal, reducing the moisture available for the vegetation, and therefore leading to a mass disappearance of mature forest tree species in several parts of Central Africa (Reynaud & Maley, 1994;Maley & Brenac, 1998;Maley, 1987Maley, , 2001).…”

Thirty thousand years of vegetation development and climate change in Angola (Ocean Drilling Program Site 1078)

“…Sacred Lake at 0 • S 37 • E (Coetzee, 1967), and Kashiru at 3 • S 30 • E (Bonnefille and Riollet, 1988;Bonnefille and Chalié, 2000). However, in Congo at Ngamalaka Pond (4 • S 15 • E) located at lower altitudes and nearer to the equator, no mountain elements were found (Elenga et al, 1994). Forest growth in the mountains might have been impeded by low temperatures at higher altitudes, dry conditions, and/or due to low glacial atmospheric carbon dioxide levels (Jolly and Haxeltine, 1997).…”

“…Star shows the position of ODP Site 1078 and numbers the locations of published sites mentioned in the discusion. 1, Sacred Lake (Coetzee 1967); 2, Kashiru (Bonnefille and Riollet, 1988;Bonnefille and Chalié, 2000); 3, Ngamalaka Pond (Elenga et al, 1994); 4, Barombi Mbo (Maley and Brenac, 1998); 5, Lake Malawi (Johnson et al 2004); 6, Lake Masoko (Vincens et al 2007); 7, Lake Rukwa (Vincens et al, 2005). Box denotes the area shown in detail.…”

“…2 Dupont, 1997), but present in core GIK16867 (3 • S 5 • E) further north along the trajectory of the trade winds (Dupont et al 1996). The terrestrial pollen records in Cameroon and Congo indicate a mixture of semi-deciduous forests and grasslands but neither an open savannah nor a Podocarpus forest (Elenga et al, 1994;Maley and Brenac, 1998;Elenga et al, 2004). Precipitation estimates based on deuterium of terrestrial plant waxes from a core off the Congo River mouth indicate minimal humidity in the Congo Basin (Schefuß et al, 2005).…”

Vegetation Evolution in the Mountains of Cameroon During the Last 20 000 Years: Pollen Analysis of Lake Bambili Sediments

“…Three pollen sites located in southern hemisphere, however, show a different pattern. At Ngamakala, a forest sites in the southern Congo located 400 m asl, the environment, although degraded, remains forest during the glacial period until 13,000 yrs BP (Elenga et al, 1994). At Kisiga Rugaro, a forested part of the Eastern Arc Mountains shows a certain environmental stability during the whole glacial period (Mumbai et al 2008).…”