Late quaternary vegetation history and palaeoenvironments of the Cederberg Mountains, South Africa : evidence from hyrax (Procavia capensis) middens

• Main Author: Quick, Lynne
• Other Authors: Meadows, Michael E
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: University of Cape Town 2014
• Subjects: Environmental and Geographical Science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4799

Includes abstract. === Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-146). === Rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) middens have been identified as excellent sources ofpalaeoenvironmental information in arid and semi-arid areas, and have been successfully used in various parts of southern Africa. Hyrax middens from the De Rif site in theCederberg Mountains of the south-western Cape have been collected and sampled. Through the application of pollen analysis to the midden material, local plant communities were inferred and a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of prevailing conditions over the period of accumulation was produced. An assessment of the overall pollen assemblages indicates that typical mountain fynbos were present at De Rif throughout the last 28 ka and that generally there were no major changes in vegetation communities throughout this period.