The impact of climate changes during the Holocene on vegetation in northern French Guiana

The impact of climatic changes that occurred during the last glacial maximum and the Holocene on vegetation changes in the Amazon Basin and the Guiana Shield are still widely debated. The aim of our study was to investigate whether major changes in vegetation (i.e. transitions between rainforests an...

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Main Authors: Freycon, V., Krencker, M., Schwartz, D., Nasi, Robert, Bonal, D.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 2010
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/20349
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author Freycon, V.
Krencker, M.
Schwartz, D.
Nasi, Robert
Bonal, D.
author_browse Bonal, D.
Freycon, V.
Krencker, M.
Nasi, Robert
Schwartz, D.
author_facet Freycon, V.
Krencker, M.
Schwartz, D.
Nasi, Robert
Bonal, D.
author_sort Freycon, V.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The impact of climatic changes that occurred during the last glacial maximum and the Holocene on vegetation changes in the Amazon Basin and the Guiana Shield are still widely debated. The aim of our study was to investigate whether major changes in vegetation (i.e. transitions between rainforests and C4 savannas) occurred in northern French Guiana during the Holocene. We measured variations in the d13C of soil organic matter at eight sites now occupied by forest or savannah. The forest sites were selected to cover two regions (forest refugia and peneplains) which are thought to have experienced different intensities of disturbance during the latest Pleistocene and the Holocene. We found that none of the forest sites underwent major disturbances during the Holocene, i.e. they were not replaced by C4 savannahs or C4 forest savannahs for long periods. Our results thus suggest that tropical rainforests in northern French Guiana were resilient to drier climatic conditions during the Holocene. Nevertheless, geographical and vertical variations in the 13C of SOM were compatible with minor changes in vegetation, variations in soil processes or in soil physical properties.
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spelling CGSpace203492025-01-24T14:11:50Z The impact of climate changes during the Holocene on vegetation in northern French Guiana Freycon, V. Krencker, M. Schwartz, D. Nasi, Robert Bonal, D. vegetation soil organic matter The impact of climatic changes that occurred during the last glacial maximum and the Holocene on vegetation changes in the Amazon Basin and the Guiana Shield are still widely debated. The aim of our study was to investigate whether major changes in vegetation (i.e. transitions between rainforests and C4 savannas) occurred in northern French Guiana during the Holocene. We measured variations in the d13C of soil organic matter at eight sites now occupied by forest or savannah. The forest sites were selected to cover two regions (forest refugia and peneplains) which are thought to have experienced different intensities of disturbance during the latest Pleistocene and the Holocene. We found that none of the forest sites underwent major disturbances during the Holocene, i.e. they were not replaced by C4 savannahs or C4 forest savannahs for long periods. Our results thus suggest that tropical rainforests in northern French Guiana were resilient to drier climatic conditions during the Holocene. Nevertheless, geographical and vertical variations in the 13C of SOM were compatible with minor changes in vegetation, variations in soil processes or in soil physical properties. 2010 2012-06-04T09:13:17Z 2012-06-04T09:13:17Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/20349 en Freycon, V., Krencker, M., Schwartz, D., Nasi, R., Bonal, D. 2010. The impact of climate changes during the Holocene on vegetation in northern French Guiana . Quaternary Research 73 :220-225. ISSN: 0033-5894.
spellingShingle vegetation
soil organic matter
Freycon, V.
Krencker, M.
Schwartz, D.
Nasi, Robert
Bonal, D.
The impact of climate changes during the Holocene on vegetation in northern French Guiana
title The impact of climate changes during the Holocene on vegetation in northern French Guiana
title_full The impact of climate changes during the Holocene on vegetation in northern French Guiana
title_fullStr The impact of climate changes during the Holocene on vegetation in northern French Guiana
title_full_unstemmed The impact of climate changes during the Holocene on vegetation in northern French Guiana
title_short The impact of climate changes during the Holocene on vegetation in northern French Guiana
title_sort impact of climate changes during the holocene on vegetation in northern french guiana
topic vegetation
soil organic matter
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/20349
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