For the first time, plant macrofossil analysis supported by detailed stratigraphic studies was used to reconstruct peatland development in South Africa. Two peat cores (4.69 and 1.5 m) from two coastal peatlands in KwaZulu-Natal were analysed for carpological macrofossils, wood and macrocharcoal. The first one, Matitimani, is an unchannelled valley bottom peatland (site VB), and the second one, KwaMazambane, an interdune depression peatland (site ID) further up in the same catchment. Radiocarbon dating reveals the peatland initiation at site VB at about 6260 cal. yr BP. Rising sea level and humid climatic conditions during that time coincide with the formation of organic gyttja (dominantly aquatic seeds like Nymphaea sp.). In ca. 4950 cal. yr BP, a change to drier condition took place, revealed by the formation of radicell peat from Cyperaceae, and an increase of fire frequency (macrocharcoal). After ca. 1200 cal. yr BP, peat swamp forest emerged, with Ficus trichopoda, Syzygium cordatum and Voacanga thouarsii forming wood peat. Site ID dates back to ca. 920 cal. yr BP. Its initiation is assumingly related to reduced drainage capacities of the catchment subsequently to the peat formation in Matitimani valley. A steady change from gyttja forming communities (Nymphaea sp.–Eleocharis dulcis) to radicell peat-forming Cyperaceae communities took place. The long-term apparent rate of carbon accumulation (LORCA) is higher for site ID (89 gC m−2 yr−1) than for site VB (55 gC m−2 yr−1). Except for the peat swamp forest period, fire occurred frequently at both sites, however less in environments with frequent inundations.
Ad-hoc-AG Boden (2005) Bodenkundliche Kartieranleitung – 5. Hannover: Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe.
2.
Agricultural Research Council-Institute for Soil, Climate and Water (ARC-ISCW) (2011) National AgroMet Climate Databank. Pretoria: ARC-ISCW.
3.
AlmJTalanovASaarnioSet al. (1997) Reconstruction of the carbon balance for microsites in a boreal oligotrophic pine fen, Finland. Oecologia110: 423–431.
4.
BaijnathH (1976) Studies in cyperaceae in Southern Africa: 8. Two new species ofCyperus L. The Journal of South African Botany42(4): 369–375.
5.
BaillieMGL (1991) Suck-in and smear – Two related chronological problems for the 90s. Journal of Theoretical Archaeology2: 12–16.
6.
BakerARouthJBlaauwMet al. (2014) Geochemical records of palaeoenvironmental controls on peat forming processes in the Mfabeni peatland, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa since the Late Pleistocene. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology395: 95–106.
7.
BeggGW (1980) The Kosi System: Aspects of its biology, management and research. In: BrutonMCooperK (eds) Studies on the Ecology of Maputaland. Capetown: Cape and Transvaal Printers, pp. 358–373.
8.
BirksHH (2000) Aquatic macrophyte vegetation development in Kråkenes Lake, western Norway, during the late glacial and early-Holocene. Journal of Paleolimnology23: 7–19.
9.
BlaauwM (2010) Methods and code for ‘classical’ age-modelling of radiocarbon sequences. Quaternary Geochronology5: 512–518.
10.
BlumeHPBrümmerGWHornRet al. (2010) Scheffer/Schachtschabel: Lehrbuch der Bodenkunde. 16th Edition.Heidelberg: Spektrum.
11.
BothaGPoratN (2007) Soil chronosequence development in dunes on the southeast African coastal plain, Maputaland, South Africa. Quaternary International162–163: 111–132.
12.
Bronk RamseyC (2009) Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates. Radiocarbon51(1): 337–360.
13.
ClymoRSTurunenJTolonenK (1998) Carbon accumulation in Peatlands. Oikos81(2): 368–388.
14.
Cook CDK (2004) Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southern Africa. Leiden: Backhuys Publishers.
15.
CooperJAGGreenANWrightCI (2012) Evolution of an incised valley coastal plain estuary under low sediment supply: A ‘give-up’ estuary. Sedimentology59: 899–916.
16.
DIN EN 15934:2012-11 (2012) Schlamm, behandelter Bioabfall, Boden und Abfall – Berechnung des Trockenmassenanteils nach Bestimmung des Trockenrückstands oder des Wassergehalts.
17.
DommainRCouwenbergJJoostenH (2011) Development and carbon sequestration of tropical peat domes in south-east Asia: Links to post-glacial sea-level changes and Holocene climate variability. Quaternary Science Reviews30: 999–1010.
18.
DommainRCouwenbergJGlaserPHet al. (2014) Carbon storage and release in Indonesian peatlands since the last deglaciation. Quaternary Science Reviews97: 1–32.
19.
FaulFGabrielMRoßkopfNet al. (2016) Physical properties of peatland substrates from different hydrogeomorphic wetland types on the Maputaland Coastal Plain, South Africa. South African Journal of Plant and Soil33(4): 265–278.
20.
FeurdeanABennikeO (2008) Plant macrofossils analysis from Steregoiu, NW Romania: Taphonomy, representation, and comparison with pollen analysis. Studia UBB Geologia53: 5–10.
21.
FinchJMHillTH (2008) A late Quaternary pollen sequence from Mfabeni Peatland, South Africa: Reconstructing forest history in Maputaland. Quaternary Research70: 442–450.
22.
GałkaM (2014) Pattern of plant succession from eutrophic lake to ombrotrophic bog in NE Poland over the last 9400 years based on high-resolution macrofossil analysis. Annales Botanici Fennici51: 1–21.
23.
GałkaMTobolskiK (2011) The history of Cladium mariscus (L.) Pohl. in the ‘Kłocie Ostrowieckie’ reserve (Drawieński National Park). Part I. Studia Quaternaria28: 53–59.
24.
GałkaMTobolskiK (2012) Palaeoecological studies on the decline of Cladium mariscus (Cyperaceae) in NE Poland. Annales Botanici Fennici49(5–6): 305–318.
25.
GałkaMTobolskiKLamentowiczŁet al. (2017) Unveiling exceptional Baltic bog ecohydrology, autogenic succession and climate change during the last 2000 years in CE Europe using replicate cores, multi-proxy data and functional traits of testate amoebae. Quaternary Science Reviews156: 90–106.
26.
Gordon-GrayKD (1995) Cyperaceae in Natal. Strelitzia 2. Pretoria: National Botanical Institute.
27.
GroblerR (2009) A phytosociological study of peat swamp forests in the Kosi Bay lakesystem, Maputaland, South Africa. MSc Thesis, University of Pretoria.
28.
GroblerRMoningCSlivaJet al. (2004) Subsistence farming and conservation constrains in coastal peat swamp forests of the Kosi Bay Lake system, Maputaland, South Africa. Géocarrefour79(4): 216–324.
29.
Grosse-BrauckmannG (1972) Über pflanzliche Makrofossilien mitteleuropäischer Torfe. I. Gewebereste krautiger Pflanzen und ihrer Merkmale. Telma2: 19–55.
30.
Grosse-BrauckmannG (1974) Über pflanzliche Makrofossilien mitteleuropäischer Torfe. II. Weitere Reste (Früchte und Samen, Moose u.a.) und ihre Merkmale. Telma4: 51–117.
31.
GrundlingA (2014) Remote sensing and biophysical monitoring of vegetation, terrain attributes and hydrology to map, characterise and classify wetlands of the Maputaland Coastal Plain, Kwazulu Natal South Africa. PhD Thesis, University of Waterloo.
32.
GrundlingPL (2004) The role of sea-level rise in the formation of Peatlands in Maputaland. South Africa. Available at: http://www.oceandocs.org/handle/1834/703 (accessed 2 August 2016).
33.
GrundlingPLBlackmoreA (1998) Peat fire in the Vasi Pan peatland. Council for Geoscience Internal report 1998-0208. Pretoria: Council for Geoscience.
34.
GrundlingPLGroblerR (2005) Peatlands and mires of South Africa. In: SteinerGM (ed.) Moore von Sibirien bis Feuerland (Mires from Siberia to Tierra del Fuego), Stapfia 85. Linz: Zugleich Kataloge der Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseen (Neue Serie 35), pp. 379–396.
35.
GrundlingPLMazusHBaartmanL (1998) Peat Resources of Northern KwaZulu-Natal Wetlands: Maputaland. Pretoria: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
36.
GrundlingPLBaartmanLMazusHet al. (2000) Peat Resources of KwaZulu-Natal Wetlands: Southern Maputaland and the North and South Coast. Council for Geoscience report 2000-0132. Pretoria: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
37.
GrundlingPLGrootjansAPPriceJSet al. (2013) Development and persistence of an African mire: How the oldest South African fen has survived in a marginal climate. Catena110: 176–183.
38.
HallM (1976) Dendroclimatology, rainfall and human adaptation in the later iron age of Natal and Zululand. Annals of the Natal Museum22(3): 693–703.
39.
HoggAGHuaQBlackwellPGet al. (2013) SHCal13 Southern hemisphere calibration, 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon55(2): 1–15.
40.
HolmgrenKKarlénWLauritzenSEet al. (1999) A 3000-year high-resolution stalagmite-based record of palaeoclimate for northeastern South Africa. The Holocene9(3): 295–309.
41.
HughesRHHughesJSBernacsekG (1992) A Directory of African Wetlands. Cambridge: World Conservation Union (IUCN).
42.
JoostenHClarkeD (2002) Wise Use of Mires and Peatlands – Background and Principles Including a Framework for Decision-Making. Saarijärvi: International Mire Conversation Group and International Peat Society.
43.
KatzNJKatzSV (1946) Atlas and Key for Fruits and Seeds in Peat and Gyttja. Moskow: Isdatjelstwo Moskowskowo Obschtschestwa Ispitatjelhei Prirodi (in Russian).
44.
KelbeBERawlinsBKNomquphuWV (1995) Geohydrological Modelling of Lake St. Lucia. Kwa-Dlangezwa: Department of Hydrology, University of Zululand.
45.
KlingenfußCRoßkopfNWalteret al. (2014) Soil organic matter to soil organic carbon ratios of peatland soil substrates. Geoderma235–236: 410–417.
46.
KovàcsZPDu PlessisDBBracherPRet al. (1985) Documentation of the 1984 Domoina Floods. Technical Report TR 122. Pretoria: Department of Water Affairs.
47.
LoiselJGarneauM (2010) Late-Holocene paleoecohydrology and carbon accumulation estimates from two boreal peat bogs in eastern Canada: Potential and limits of multi-proxy archives. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology291: 493–533.
48.
LubbeRA (1997) Vegetation and flora of the Kosi Bay Coastal Forest Reserve in Maputaland, northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. MSc Thesis, Department of Botany, University of Pretoria.
49.
MaudRR (1980) The climate and geology of Maputaland. In:BrutonMCooperK (eds) Studies on the Ecology of Maputaland. Capetown: Cape and Transvaal Printers, pp. 1–7.
50.
MauquoyDVan GeelB (2007) Mire and peat macros. In: EliasSA (ed.) 2007 Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science, vol. 3. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, pp. 2315–2336.
51.
MeadowsME (1988) Late quaternary peat accumulation in South Africa. Catena15: 459–472.
52.
MoningC (2004) Effects of gardening on peat swamp forests in Maputaland, South Africa – A survey with emphasis on the Kosi Bay catchment area. Diploma Thesis, Technische Universität München.
53.
MucinaLRutherfordMC (2006) The Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19. Pretoria: South Africa National Biodiversity Institute.
54.
NeumannFHScottLBousmanCBet al. (2010) A Holocene sequence of vegetation change at Lake Eteza, coastal KwaZulu-Nata, South Africa. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology162: 39–53.
55.
NeumannFHStagerJCScottLet al. (2008) Holocene vegetation and climate records from Lake Sibaya, KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology152: 113–128.
56.
OllisDJSnaddonCDJobNMet al. (2013) Classification System for Wetlands and Other Aquatic Ecosystems in South Africa. User Manual: Inland Systems. SANBI Biodiversity Series 22. Pretoria: South African National Biodiversity Institute.
57.
PageSEWüstRAJWeissDet al. (2004) A record of Late Pleistocene and Holocene carbon accumulation and climate change from an equatorial peat bog (Kalimantan, Indonesia): Implications for past, present and future carbon dynamics. Journal of Quaternary Science19(7): 625–635.
58.
PretoriusML (2012) A vegetation classification and description of five wetland systems and their respective zones on the Maputaland Coastal Plain. MSc Thesis, University of Pretoria.
59.
PretoriusMLBrownLRBredenkampGJet al. (2014) The ecology and species richness of the different plant communities within selected wetlands on the Maputaland Coastal Plain, South Africa. In: GrilloO (ed.) Biodiversity – The Dynamic Balance of the Planet. Rijeka: InTech, pp. 275–296.
60.
RamsayPJ (1995) 9000 years of sea-level change along the Southern African coastline. Quaternary International31: 71–75.
61.
SchoultzA (2000) Plant community classification and environmental gradient correlates along the eastern portion of the Mkuze Swamps. MSc Thesis, University of Natal.
62.
SchulteEEHopkinsBG (1996) Estimation of soil organic matter by weight loss on ignition. In: MagdoffFRTabatabaiMAHanlonEA (eds) Soil organic Matter: Analysis and Interpretation. Madison, WI: Soil Science Society of America Press, pp. 21–31.
63.
ScottL (2002) Microscopic charcoal in sediments: Quaternary fire history of the grassland and savanna regions in South Africa. Journal of Quaternary Science17(1): 77–86.
64.
ScottLLee-ThorpJ (2004) Holocene climatic trends and rhythms in southern Africa. In: BatterbeeRWGasseFStickleyC (eds) Past Climate Variability through Europe and Africa. Norwell, MA: Springer, pp. 69–91.
65.
SieversC (2015) Nuts for dinner? Cladium mariscus in the Middle Stone Age at Sibudu, South Africa. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa70(3): 213–218.
66.
SieversCMuasyaM (2011) Identification of the sedge Cladium mariscus subsp. jamaicense and its possible use in the Middle Stone Age at Sibudu, KwaZulu-Natal. Southern African Humanities23: 77–86.
67.
SingletonATReasonCJ (2007) Variability in the characteristics of cut-off low pressure systems over subtropical southern Africa. International Journal of Climatology27: 295–310.
StagerJCRyvesDBKingCet al. (2013) Late-Holocene precipitation variability in the summer rainfall region of South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews67: 105–120.
TaylorRKelbeBHaldorsenSet al. (2006) Groundwater-dependent ecology of the shoreline of the subtropical Lake St Lucia estuary. Environmental Geology49: 586–600.
72.
TolonenKTurunenJ (1996) Accumulation rates of carbon in mires in Finland and implications for climate change. The Holocene6(2): 171–178.
73.
TurnerSPlaterA (2004) Palynological evidence for the origin and development of Late-Holocene wetland sediments: Mdlanzi Swamp, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. South African Journal of Science100: 220–229.
74.
TurunenJTomppoETolonenKet al. (2002) Estimating carbon accumulation rates of undrained mires in Finland – Application to boreal and subarctic regions. The Holocene12(1): 69–80.
75.
VenterCE (2003) The vegetation ecology of Mfabeni peat swamp, St Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal. Master Thesis, University of Pretoria.
76.
Von PostL (1922) Sveriges geologiska undersöknings torvinventering och några av dess hittills vunna resultat (Geological Survey of Sweden peat inventory and some of its results). Svenska Mosskulturföreningens Tidskrift37: 1–27 (in Swedish).
77.
Von RoederMAB (2015) The impact of Eucalyptus plantations on the ecology of Maputaland with special reference to wetlands. Master Thesis, Technische Universität München.
78.
WintjesJSieversC (2006) Seeing Sibudu seeds: An illustrated text of the more frequent Middle Stone Age stones, nuts and seeds. Southern African Humanities18(1): 223–233.
79.
WrightCICooperJAKilburnRN (1999) Mid-Holocene Palaeoenvironments from Lake Nhlange, Northern Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. Journal of Coastal Research15(4): 991–1001.
80.
WrightCIMillerWRCooperJAG (2000) The late Cenozoic evolution of coastal water bodies in Northern Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa. Marine Geology167: 207–229.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
