In:
Climate of the Past, Copernicus GmbH, Vol. 18, No. 1 ( 2022-01-06), p. 1-21
Abstract:
Abstract. The Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) of
South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot of global significance, and its
archeological record has substantially contributed to the understanding of
modern human origins. For both reasons, the climate and vegetation history
of southwestern South Africa is of interest to numerous fields. Currently
known paleoenvironmental records cover the Holocene, the last
glacial–interglacial transition and parts of the last glaciation but do not
encompass a full glacial–interglacial cycle. To obtain a continuous
vegetation record of the last Pleistocene glacial–interglacial cycles, we
studied pollen, spores and micro-charcoal of deep-sea sediments from IODP
Site U1479 retrieved from SW of Cape Town. We compare our palynological
results of the Pleistocene with previously published results of Pliocene
material from the same site. We find that the vegetation of the GCFR, in
particular fynbos and afrotemperate forest, responds to precessional forcing
of climate. The micro-charcoal record confirms the importance of fires in
the fynbos vegetation. Ericaceae-rich and Asteraceae-rich types of fynbos
could extend on the western part of the Paleo-Agulhas Plain (PAP), which
emerged during periods of low sea level of the Pleistocene.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1814-9332
DOI:
10.5194/cp-18-1-2022
DOI:
10.5194/cp-18-1-2022-supplement
Language:
English
Publisher:
Copernicus GmbH
Publication Date:
2022
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2217985-9
