Late Quaternary Palynological Studies at Lake St Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal
Date
2023-08
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
Palynological studies were done on lacustrine sediments deposited during the last ~6300 and about ~2000 cal yrs BP in Mkhuze Swamp, which drains into the most northern part of Lake St Lucia located in the Indian Ocean Coastal Belt Biome of KwaZulu-Natal, eastern South Africa. The aim was to reconstruct the past vegetation and to infer past climate fluctuations as well as human disturbances to complement growing evidence from other disciplines about these questions in the area. Following standard palynological methods, samples from two cores Mkhuze River Delta (MKD-1, long core) and Mkhuze swamp (MK24-1, short core) were extracted and analyzed. Palynological results for both cores show a dominance of Poaceae (20-90%) suggesting a strong influence of grassy woodland savanna. Spirostachys pollen dominated the arboreal spectra of the pollen profile in MK24-1, but it dominated the arboreal pollen spectra for the last 2600 cal yrs BP in MKD-1 as Podocarpus pollen dominated the arboreal spectra from 6300-2600 cal yrs BP indicating a change from a forested environment to a more open woodland environment. The results also show that the mid Holocene was humid with high precipitation and high sea level while the late Holocene was warm, dry with Marine influence (more sea water flowing into the lake due to high evaporation and low fresh water supply caused by drought). Similar pollen fluctuations were observed in records from Lakes Eteza and Sibaya also located within the Indian Ocean Coastal Belt Biome. The presence of Pinus pollen at the top of the profiles suggests the onset of European settlement when pines were introduced for timber production. Other published pollen records from the region in the last ~7000 cal BP show a general trend from a mesic forested environment towards an open woodland environment with grasses which is due to climate change.
Description
A Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the academic requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Evolutionary Studies Institute), Faculty of Science, School of Geoscience, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023.
Keywords
Indian Ocean Coastal Belt Biome (IOCB), Mkhuze Swamp, Paleovegetation, Climate change, Human activities, UCTD
Citation
Effiom, Angela Charles. (2023). Late Quaternary Palynological Studies at Lake St Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal. [PhD thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg].https://hdl.handle.net/10539/42354