A late Holocene record of human impacts on tropical environments from non-pollen palynomorphs, Albertine Rift, western Uganda

Abstract

AbstractNon-pollen palynomorphs and elemental geochemistry data from Lake Kifuruka in western Uganda provide evidence of environmental change in the tropical African region since the beginning of the Holocene. The multi-proxy record presented here shows that dry conditions dominated the end of the Pleistocene evidenced by calcium enriched sediments and suppressed fungal taxa activity. Moist conditions dominated the early Holocene and persisted until just after 1960 cal yr BP. Elevated frequencies of individual fungal spore taxa associated with herbivory and soil erosion, including Sordaria-type, Sporormiella-type, Chaetomium-type, and Glomus-type, about 4300 cal yr BP suggests a significant environmental change that could be linked to human activities. A convergence of multiple proxy data, including microscopic charcoal, elemental geochemistry, and fungal spores, strongly support the occurrence of anthropogenic forest disturbance in the Albertine Rift about 4300 cal yr BP.