Vegetation, climate and fire in the eastern Andes (Bolivia) during the last 18,000 years

Williams, Joseph J.; Gosling, William D.; Brooks, Stephen J.; Coe, Angela L. and Xu, Sheng (2011). Vegetation, climate and fire in the eastern Andes (Bolivia) during the last 18,000 years. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 312(1-2) pp. 115–126.

DOI (Digital Object Identifier) Link:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.10.001
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Abstract

A c. 18 ka cal BP long sediment record from Laguna Khomer Kocha Upper (4153 m asl), Bolivia, shows that fire regime, governed by climatic variation, has long been a transformative agent in the eastern Andes. Before c. 14.5 ka cal BP, warming and relatively moist conditions free from fire, facilitated the expansion of high Andean Polylepis woodland. Fire onset at c. 14.5.ka cal BP, quickly transformed the local vegetation and the woodlands became restricted to areas protected from fire. A major increase in burning, c. 10.1–6.4 ka cal BP removed Polylepis woodland locally and this coincided with a region-wide Holocene dry event (HDE) which caused falling lake levels and allowed fire intensification. A decline in burning at c. 6.4 ka cal BP and an increase in marsh–woodland (Alnus) marked the termination of the HDE and a return to wetter conditions. As well as recording the environmental history of local vegetation dynamics, long-distance pollen transport provides evidence of changes in the Yungas montane forests, highlighting their sensitivity to climate and burning regimes. Simultaneous adjustments in both Andean and Yungas montane taxa suggest that vegetation dynamics in the two environments are linked to a common climatic driver. There is no evidence to indicate that human activity had any impact on the local landscape.

Item Type:

Journal Article

2011 Elsevier B.V.

ISSN:

0031-0182

Project Funding Details:

Funded Project Name	Project ID	Funding Body
Human-climate impacts on Polylepis woodlands in the Andes.	NE/F008082/1	NERC (Natural Environment Research Council)
Not Set	8105-06	National Geographic Committee for Research and Exploration
Radiocarbon facility support	1287.0408	NERC (Natural Environment Research Council)
Radiocarbon facility support	1463.0410	NERC (Natural Environment Research Council)