A high-resolution chronology of rapid forest transitions following polynesian arrival in New Zealand.

ABSTRACT: Human-caused forest transitions are documented worldwide, especially during periods when land use by dense agriculturally-based populations intensified. However, the rate at which prehistoric human activities led to permanent deforestation is poorly resolved. In the South Island, New Zealand, the arrival of Polynesians c. 750 years ago resulted in dramatic forest loss and conversion of nearly half of native forests to open vegetation. This transformation, termed the Initial Burning Period, is documented in pollen and charcoal records, but its speed has been poorly constrained. High-resolution chronologies developed with a series of AMS radiocarbon dates from two lake sediment cores suggest the shift from forest to shrubland occurred within decades rather than centuries at drier sites. We e

SUBMITTER: McWethy DB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4221023 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature