Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 327-336 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Quaternary international |
| Volume | 243 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 26 Oct 2011 |
Abstract
This study presents numerical dating and geochemical results obtained for a soil transect on the northern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, East Africa. Accordingly, the investigated soils in the montane forest zone comprise Late Quaternary palaeosol-sequences, which are characterised by inverted weathering profiles. This can be explained through the aeolian accumulation of unweathered volcanic dust that is provided by katabatic winds from uncovered periglacial hillsides since at least 28 ka cal. BP. Several proxies (C/N, δ13C, δ15N and alkane biomarkers) provide evidence for vegetation changes during the Late Quaternary. Strikingly, an expansion of savannah or alpine C4 grasses as on nearby Mt. Kenya cannot be confirmed. However, C3 grasses expanded remarkably at 2600 m a.s.l. during the last glacial maximum and montane forest communities replaced the ericaceous/grassy communities during the Early Holocene.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Earth-Surface Processes
Cite this
- Standard
- Harvard
- Apa
- Vancouver
- BibTeX
- RIS
In: Quaternary international, Vol. 243, No. 2, 26.10.2011, p. 327-336.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Late Quaternary soil genesis and vegetation history on the northern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, East Africa
AU - Zech, Michael
AU - Leiber, Katharina
AU - Zech, Wolfgang
AU - Poetsch, Thomas
AU - Hemp, Andreas
N1 - Funding Information: We would like to thank L. Palenberg and C. Hörold for support during laboratory work. XRF-analyses were kindly carried out by J. Eidam at the University of Greifswald, Germany. We are grateful to Prof. Dr. B. Huwe for providing laboratory facility and to B. Buggle for useful discussions. We also acknowledge the detailed and valuable reviews provided by two anonymous reviewers, the valuable comments by Guest-Editor PD. Dr. C. Lorz and the proofreading kindly made by the Editor Prof. Dr. N. Catto. We thank the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology for permitting research. The study was funded by the German Research Foundation ( DFG: HE 2919/9-1 ; ZE 154/1-4 ). Copyright: Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2011/10/26
Y1 - 2011/10/26
N2 - This study presents numerical dating and geochemical results obtained for a soil transect on the northern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, East Africa. Accordingly, the investigated soils in the montane forest zone comprise Late Quaternary palaeosol-sequences, which are characterised by inverted weathering profiles. This can be explained through the aeolian accumulation of unweathered volcanic dust that is provided by katabatic winds from uncovered periglacial hillsides since at least 28 ka cal. BP. Several proxies (C/N, δ13C, δ15N and alkane biomarkers) provide evidence for vegetation changes during the Late Quaternary. Strikingly, an expansion of savannah or alpine C4 grasses as on nearby Mt. Kenya cannot be confirmed. However, C3 grasses expanded remarkably at 2600 m a.s.l. during the last glacial maximum and montane forest communities replaced the ericaceous/grassy communities during the Early Holocene.
AB - This study presents numerical dating and geochemical results obtained for a soil transect on the northern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, East Africa. Accordingly, the investigated soils in the montane forest zone comprise Late Quaternary palaeosol-sequences, which are characterised by inverted weathering profiles. This can be explained through the aeolian accumulation of unweathered volcanic dust that is provided by katabatic winds from uncovered periglacial hillsides since at least 28 ka cal. BP. Several proxies (C/N, δ13C, δ15N and alkane biomarkers) provide evidence for vegetation changes during the Late Quaternary. Strikingly, an expansion of savannah or alpine C4 grasses as on nearby Mt. Kenya cannot be confirmed. However, C3 grasses expanded remarkably at 2600 m a.s.l. during the last glacial maximum and montane forest communities replaced the ericaceous/grassy communities during the Early Holocene.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=80052663923&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.quaint.2011.05.020
DO - 10.1016/j.quaint.2011.05.020
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:80052663923
VL - 243
SP - 327
EP - 336
JO - Quaternary international
JF - Quaternary international
SN - 1040-6182
IS - 2
ER -