High spatial resolution of late-Holocene human activities in the moist forests of central Africa using soil charcoal and charred botanical remains

Palaeoecological and archaeological studies have demonstrated that human populations have long inhabited the moist forests of central Africa. However, spatial and temporal patterns of human activities have hardly been investigated with satisfactory accuracy. In this study, we propose to characterize past human activities at local scale by using a systematic quantitative and qualitative methodology based on soil charcoal and charred botanical remains. A total of 88 equidistant test-pits were excavated along six transects in two contrasting forest types in southern Cameroon. Charred botanical remains were collected by water-sieving and sorted by type (wood charcoals, oil palm endocarps and unidentified seeds). A total of 50 Accelerator Mass Spectrometry 14C dates were also obtained. Results showed that charred macroremains were found at multiple places in the forest, suggesting scattered human activities, which were distributed into two main periods (Phase A: 2300–1300 BP; Phase B: 580 BP to the present). Charred botanical remains indicated two types of land-use: (1) domestic, with oil palm endocarps most often associated with potsherds (villages) and (2) agricultural, with charcoal as probable remnant of slash-and-burn cultivation (fields). Oil palm endocarp abundance decreased with distance from the identified human settlements. Our methodology allowed documenting, at high resolution, the spatial and temporal patterns of human activities in central African moist forests and could be applied to other tropical contexts.

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New Evidence of Human Activities During the Holocene in the Lowland Forests of the Northern Congo Basin

Radiocarbon ◽

10.2458/56.16485 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 56 (1) ◽

pp. 209-220 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Julie Morin-Rivat ◽

Adeline Fayolle ◽

Jean-François Gillet ◽

Nils Bourland ◽

Sylvie Gourlet-Fleury ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Iron Age ◽

Human Activities ◽

Intermediate Phase ◽

Central Africa ◽

Bimodal Distribution ◽

Congo Basin ◽

Radiocarbon Dates ◽

Late Iron Age ◽

Two Phases ◽

Botanical Remains

In the last decade, the myth of the pristine tropical forest has been seriously challenged. In central Africa, there is a growing body of evidence for past human settlements along the Atlantic forests, but very little information is available about human activities further inland. Therefore, this study aimed at determining the temporal and spatial patterns of human activities in an archaeologically unexplored area of 110,000 km2 located in the northern Congo Basin and currently covered by dense forest. Fieldwork involving archaeology as well as archaeobotany was undertaken in 36 sites located in southeastern Cameroon and in the northern Republic of Congo. Evidence of past human activities through either artifacts or charred botanical remains was observed in all excavated test pits across the study area. The set of 43 radiocarbon dates extending from 15,000 BP to the present time showed a bimodal distribution in the Late Holocene, which was interpreted as two phases of human expansion with an intermediate phase of depopulation. The 2300–1300 BP phase is correlated with the migrations of supposed farming populations from northwestern Cameroon. Between 1300 and 670 BP, less material could be dated. This is in agreement with the population collapse already reported for central Africa. Following this, the 670–20 BP phase corresponds to a new period of human expansion known as the Late Iron Age. These results bring new and extensive evidence of human activities in the northern Congo Basin and support the established chronology for human history in central Africa.

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Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Frugivorous Hornbill Movements in Central Africa and their Implications for Rain Forest Conservation

Biotropica ◽

10.1111/btp.12160 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 46 (6) ◽

pp. 763-770 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Anthony Chasar ◽

Ryan J. Harrigan ◽

Kimberly M. Holbrook ◽

Thomas V. Dietsch ◽

Trevon L. Fuller ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rain Forest ◽

Forest Conservation ◽

Central Africa ◽

Temporal Patterns ◽

Spatial And Temporal Patterns

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What can we learn from untapped wildlife rescue databases? The masked lapwing as a case study

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc18003 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 148 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Graham H. Pyke ◽

Judit K. Szabo

Keyword(s):

Threatened Species ◽

Human Activities ◽

Temporal Patterns ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽

Biologically Relevant ◽

Information Research ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

Research And Education ◽

Management And Conservation

Much untapped potential exists for research based on wildlife rescues and surveys by citizen scientists. Many vertebrate animals are injured or threatened with injury through human activities and warrant ‘rescue’, generally by volunteers. Faunal surveys, involving citizen scientists, yield complementary biologically relevant information. Research using these databases can indicate spatial and temporal patterns in abundance and risk of mishap, potentially informing management and conservation for threatened species. However, little research has utilised such databases, with few implications for conservation, leaving a wealth of available information. We used the masked lapwing (Vanellus miles), an Australian shorebird, to illustrate the research potential of a rescue database combined with bird survey data. This species nests and feeds on the ground, has flightless young dependent on parents for protection, and is commonly observed in urban and agricultural areas. Consequently, it is often recorded during bird surveys and is frequently rescued. Combining rescue information with abundance estimates from bird surveys should confirm or refine knowledge about abundance and reproductive biology, and indicate spatio-temporal patterns in the risks encountered. To evaluate these expectations, we obtained date, location and age for lapwings rescued by NSW Wildlife Information Research and Education Service during 2005–2013, and monthly reporting rates from New Atlas of Australian Birds during 1999–2010. Numbers of rescued lapwing chicks, juveniles and adults per month were consistent with the life cycle of this species, and risks from vehicles, pets and other human activities. Our results illustrate how research utilising rescue and fauna survey databases could inform management and conservation of threatened species.

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Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Human African Trypanosomosis (HAT) Transmission Risk in the Bipindi Focus, in the Forest Zone of Southern Cameroon

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases ◽

10.1089/vbz.2004.4.230 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 230-238 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

P. Grébaut ◽

J.A. Mbida Mbida ◽

C. Antonio Kondjio ◽

F. Njiokou ◽

L. Penchenier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Temporal Patterns ◽

Transmission Risk ◽

Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽

Forest Zone ◽

Southern Cameroon

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Comparisons of assemblages of phytoplankton between open water and seagrass habitats in a shallow coastal lagoon

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf04017 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 55 (5) ◽

pp. 447 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

S. P. Cummins ◽

D. E. Roberts ◽

P. Ajani ◽

A. J. Underwood

Keyword(s):

Relative Abundance ◽

Coastal Lagoon ◽

Human Activities ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Temporal Patterns ◽

Open Water ◽

Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽

Halophila Ovalis ◽

Zostera Capricorni

Patterns of phytoplankton in areas with seagrass (Zostera capricorni, Halophila ovalis, and Ruppia megacarpa) and areas without seagrass were quantified in an estuary near Sydney, NSW, Australia. Replicate samples (separated by metres) were collected on 20 randomly chosen occasions over almost 3 years, from two sites (separated by tens of metres) nested in both habitats, at four locations (separated by kilometres). Areas with seagrass often supported a significantly different assemblage of phytoplankton compared with areas without seagrass. Dissimilarities were due to small differences in the relative abundance of taxa, particularly the diatom Pseudonitzschia cf. pseudodelicatissima, rather than the presence or absence of specific taxa. In both habitats, abundances of phytoplankton were patchy at all of the spatial scales sampled, although most of the variation was among replicate samples. These findings emphasise the need to incorporate a hierarchy of scales in programs designed to understand processes that cause spatial and temporal patterns of phytoplankton or to detect changes in response to human activities.

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