The macro-charcoal signature in Bwabwata National park, north-east, Namibia: Calibrating surface macro-charcoal with environmental variables

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dc.contributor.advisorGillson, Lindseyen_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorHumphrey, Glynisen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorSetzer, Christian Karlheinzen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2015-05-28T07:02:12Z
dc.date.available2015-05-28T07:02:12Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractFire is a major driver of vegetation patterns in the savanna biome of southern Africa and is hypothesized to allow for the tree-grass co-existence. However, to better understand the drivers of the savanna vegetation structure, more research is required. Furthermore, fire management can benefit greatly from the knowledge of fire history and vegetation change. Palaeo-ecological studies endeavour to fill this knowledge gap by investigating past ecological changes throught the use of paleao-proxies. Charcoal - burned pieces of vegetation - is a proxy for fire and vegetation history. However, little is known about the relationship between charcoal found in sediment and environmental features in the savanna biome. This study aims to fill the knowledge gap by investigating the links between macro-charcoal ( > 150 ìm) from surface samples and fire history and physical characteristics of the landscape, vegetation composition and settlement density. Sediment surface samples (top 2cm) were taken from six sample sites in Bwabwata National Park (BNP), Namibia and analysed for macro-charcoal pieces using the swirling method. Here we show that there is a strong relationship between charcoal abundance and burned area, as well as charcoal abundance and grassy vegetation density. Thus broad inference can be made about the past vegetation composition and burned area by looking at long-term charcoal data. This information is useful for fire management, as past burn history can act as a reference point for current burn policy. This calibration work will inform long-term palaeo-data from sediment cores.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationSetzer, C. K. (2014). <i>The macro-charcoal signature in Bwabwata National park, north-east, Namibia: Calibrating surface macro-charcoal with environmental variables</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12977en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationSetzer, Christian Karlheinz. <i>"The macro-charcoal signature in Bwabwata National park, north-east, Namibia: Calibrating surface macro-charcoal with environmental variables."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12977en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationSetzer, C. 2014. The macro-charcoal signature in Bwabwata National park, north-east, Namibia: Calibrating surface macro-charcoal with environmental variables. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Setzer, Christian Karlheinz AB - Fire is a major driver of vegetation patterns in the savanna biome of southern Africa and is hypothesized to allow for the tree-grass co-existence. However, to better understand the drivers of the savanna vegetation structure, more research is required. Furthermore, fire management can benefit greatly from the knowledge of fire history and vegetation change. Palaeo-ecological studies endeavour to fill this knowledge gap by investigating past ecological changes throught the use of paleao-proxies. Charcoal - burned pieces of vegetation - is a proxy for fire and vegetation history. However, little is known about the relationship between charcoal found in sediment and environmental features in the savanna biome. This study aims to fill the knowledge gap by investigating the links between macro-charcoal ( > 150 ìm) from surface samples and fire history and physical characteristics of the landscape, vegetation composition and settlement density. Sediment surface samples (top 2cm) were taken from six sample sites in Bwabwata National Park (BNP), Namibia and analysed for macro-charcoal pieces using the swirling method. Here we show that there is a strong relationship between charcoal abundance and burned area, as well as charcoal abundance and grassy vegetation density. Thus broad inference can be made about the past vegetation composition and burned area by looking at long-term charcoal data. This information is useful for fire management, as past burn history can act as a reference point for current burn policy. This calibration work will inform long-term palaeo-data from sediment cores. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - The macro-charcoal signature in Bwabwata National park, north-east, Namibia: Calibrating surface macro-charcoal with environmental variables TI - The macro-charcoal signature in Bwabwata National park, north-east, Namibia: Calibrating surface macro-charcoal with environmental variables UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12977 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/12977
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationSetzer CK. The macro-charcoal signature in Bwabwata National park, north-east, Namibia: Calibrating surface macro-charcoal with environmental variables. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2014 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12977en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherBiological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.titleThe macro-charcoal signature in Bwabwata National park, north-east, Namibia: Calibrating surface macro-charcoal with environmental variablesen_ZA
dc.typeBachelor Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelHonours
dc.type.qualificationnameBSc (Hons)en_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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