Cooling-induced expansions of Afromontane forests in the Horn of Africa since the Last Glacial Maximum

Understanding the changing plant ecosystems that existed in East Africa over the past millennia is crucial for identifying links between habitats and past human adaptation and dispersal across the region. In the Horn of Africa, this task is hampered by the scarcity of fossil botanical data. Here we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2023-06, Vol.13 (1), p.10323-10323, Article 10323
Main Authors: Casas-Gallego, Manuel, Hahn, Karen, Neumann, Katharina, Demissew, Sebsebe, Schmidt, Marco, Bodin, Stéphanie C., Bruch, Angela A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
704/158
704/172
Adaptation
Africa, Eastern
Congo
Dispersal
Ecosystem
Ethiopia
Forests
Holocene
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Low temperature
Mountain regions
multidisciplinary
Pollen
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
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Summary:Understanding the changing plant ecosystems that existed in East Africa over the past millennia is crucial for identifying links between habitats and past human adaptation and dispersal across the region. In the Horn of Africa, this task is hampered by the scarcity of fossil botanical data. Here we present modelled past vegetation distributions in Ethiopia from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to present at high spatial and temporal resolution. The simulations show that, contrary to long-standing hypotheses, the area covered by Afromontane forests during the Late Glacial was significantly larger than at present. The combined effect of low temperatures and the relative rainfall contribution sourced from the Congo Basin and Indian Ocean, emerges as the mechanism that controlled the migration of Afromontane forests to lower elevations. This process may have enabled the development of continuous forest corridors connecting populations that are currently isolated in mountainous areas over the African continent. Starting with the Holocene, the expansion of forests began to reverse. This decline intensified over the second half of the Holocene leading to a retreat of the forests to higher elevations where they are restricted today. The simulations are consistent with proxy data derived from regional pollen records and provide a key environmental and conceptual framework for human environmental adaptation research.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-37135-8