Paleoenvironmental data from Lake Chilau, southern Mozambique, inferring savanna and lake level dynamics in the last 7700 years

Elin Norström

This data set contains proxy data from a paleoenvironment reconstruction study covering the last 7700 years in southern Mozambique, derived from fossil sediments in Lake Chilau, located within the savanna ecosystem. The proxy records are based on assemblages of fossil phytoliths (siliceous plant remains) and diatoms (siliceous algae frustules).

Citation

Elin Norström (2017) Paleoenvironmental data from Lake Chilau, southern Mozambique, inferring savanna and lake level dynamics in the last 7700 years. Dataset version 1. Bolin Centre Database. https://doi.org/10.17043/norstrom-2017-mozambique-1

References

Norström E, Öberg H, Sitoe SR, Ekblom A, Westerberg L-O, Risberg J. 2017: Vegetation dynamics within the savanna biome in southern Mozambique during the late Holocene. The Holocene, https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683617721327

Data description

Location: Inhambane province, Mozambique. Coordinates: 23°57′52″S, 34°56′55″E. Type of core: lacustrine. Proxy data (phytoliths and diatoms) from Lake Chilau are given on depth and age scale. The dataset is included in one xlsx file with two data sheets. (1) Phytolith data: Phytolith morphotypes identified in each studied level, expressed as percentage of total count; Environmental sensitive morphotypes and grouping of morphotypes (Figure 5, 6 in Norström et al., 2017). Data avaibable from 35 levels. (2) Diatom data: Diatom taxa identified in each studied level, expressed as percentage of total count. Data available from 31 levels.

Comments

These data were retreived for a study that explored temporal dynamics within grassland and Miombo woodland ecosystems and their potential coupling to hydro-climate change during the late-Holocene period (Norström et al., 2017). The data describe phytolith assemblages used for interpretation of vegetation dynamics, and diatom assemblages used for lake-level variability. The Lake Chilau record suggests high abundance of Panicoideae and other mesophytic grasses during the AD 1200s and 1300s, followed by an increase in Chloridoideae and grasses of more xerophytic affinity between ca. AD 1400 and 1550. This vegetation transition takes place during the early phase of the so-called ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA), when regional palaeoclimate records report a shift from warmer and wetter towards drier and cooler conditions in southern Africa. Concurrent to these shifts within the grassland biome, the Chilau record reports an increase in phytoliths associated with arboreal vegetation (ca. AD 1400–1550), probably associated with the woody component of the Miombo savanna ecosystem.