The Professional Geographer Paleoenvironmental Changes In
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This article was downloaded by: [Agora Consortium] On: 15 April 2014, At: 02:47 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK The Professional Geographer Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rtpg20 Paleoenvironmental Changes in the Lake Baringo Basin, Kenya, East Africa Since AD 1650: Evidence from the Paleorecord Lawrence M. Kiage a & Kam-biu Liu b a Georgia State University , b Louisiana State University , Published online: 21 Sep 2009. To cite this article: Lawrence M. Kiage & Kam-biu Liu (2009) Paleoenvironmental Changes in the Lake Baringo Basin, Kenya, East Africa Since AD 1650: Evidence from the Paleorecord , The Professional Geographer, 61:4, 438-458 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00330120903143425 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions Downloaded by [Agora Consortium] at 02:47 15 April 2014 Paleoenvironmental Changes in the Lake Baringo Basin, Kenya, East Africa Since AD 1650: Evidence from the Paleorecord* Lawrence M. Kiage Georgia State University Kam-biu Liu Louisiana State University This article presents some of the findings of a multi-indicator investigation of the history of vegetational changes and land degradation in the Lake Baringo basin, Kenya, East Africa, during the Late Holocene. 14C- and 210Pb-dated record of the lithostratigraphy is used to reconstruct the paleoenvironment in the region of the lake. The stratigraphic record from Lake Baringo reveals the presence of two abrupt dry episodes at ca. AD 1650 and AD 1720 in east Africa that led to drying up of the lake. The record also shows evidence of a third period of desiccation at ca. AD 1880, which resulted in lowering of the lake level and is corroborated by oral tradition from the area. This article shows the potential of how the paleoenvironmental record can be combined with the historical record to understand East Africa’s paleoenvironment. Key Words: East Africa, Lake Baringo, land degradation, paleoenvironment, vegetation change. En este artıculo´ se presentan algunos de los hallazgos logrados en una investigacion´ de multi-indicadores de la historia de cambios vegetacionales y degradacion´ de la tierra durante el Holoceno tardıo´ en la cuenca del Lago Baringo de Kenya, Africa´ Oriental. El metodo´ 14C and 210Pb para datar la litoestratigrafıa´ fue utilizado para reconstruir el paleoentorno en la region´ del lago. El registro estratigrafico´ del Lago Baringo revela dos episodios secos abruptos que ocurrieron en Africa´ Oriental alrededor de 1650 d.C. y 1720 d.C., durante los cuales el lago se seco.´ En los registros tambien´ se encuentra evidencia de un tercer perıodo´ de Downloaded by [Agora Consortium] at 02:47 15 April 2014 desecacion´ en ca. 1880 d.C., que ocasiono´ descenso en el nivel del lago, lo cual esta´ corroborado en el area´ por tradicion´ oral. Este artıculo´ muestra el potencial que tienen los registros paleoambientales en combinacion´ con los datos historicos´ para comprender el paleoentorno de Africa´ Oriental. Palabras clave: Africa´ Oriental, Lago Baringo, degradacion´ de la tierra, paleoentorno, cambios de la vegetacion.´ he ability of climatically sensitive lakes fluences, and other environmental signals in T of the East African rift system to archive their sedimentary records makes them excel- regional climate dynamics, anthropogenic in- lent for investigating the paleoenvironment ∗ The authors would like to thank Dr. Jason T. Knowles, James Kiage, and John Omonywa for their invaluable help in the field. Mary Lee Eggart and Clifford Duplechin are thanked for professional assistance with illustrations. This research was supported by generous grants from the National Science Foundation (Grant No. BCS-0503334), the Geological Society of America (Grant No. 7712-04), the Sigma-Xi National Research Society, the R. J. Russell Field Research Award-Louisiana State University, and the R. C. West Field Research Award-Louisiana State University. The Professional Geographer, 61(4) 2009, pages 438–458 C Copyright 2009 by Association of American Geographers. Initial submission, August 2008; revised submissions, February and March 2009; final acceptance, May 2009. Published by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. Paleoenvironmental Changes in the Lake Baringo Basin, Kenya 439 Downloaded by [Agora Consortium] at 02:47 15 April 2014 Figure 1 Geographical position of Lake Baringo in East Africa. The lake is one of the lakes within the Eastern (Gregory) Rift Valley. (Johnson and Svensson 1993; Russell et al. identifying the timing and magnitude of de- 2003). Changes in the stratigraphy and sedi- forestation, land degradation, or both. Lake mentation rates of such lakes can complement Baringo (Figure 1), one of the lakes within other proxy records in the reconstruction of cli- the eastern arm of the East African Rift Val- mate change and anthropogenic influences on ley, is well positioned to archive local and re- the paleoenvironment. Where human impact gional environmental changes. The lake is of on the watershed varies through time, changes great ecological interest because it has recently in sedimentation rates can provide a means of undergone dramatic change in surface area 440 Volume 61, Number 4, November 2009 and volume that threatens the rich biodiversity episodes affecting humans in the East African within its ecosystem (Johansson and Svensson region occur on decadal to centennial scales. 2002; Kurgat 2003; Hickley et al. 2004; Kiage Considering that climatic fluctuations occurred et al. 2007). at all timescales the challenge currently facing Previous studies of East Africa’s past envi- the paleoenvironmental researchers is how ronment and climatic conditions based on the to uncover the century-scale environmental examination of lake sediment cores provide changes and elucidate their causal mechanisms a broad picture of the paleoenvironment at (Verschuren 2004). This article is drawn millennial time scales (Livingstone 1962, 1967; from a study that aimed at investigating the Bakker 1964; Coetzee 1967; Bonnefille and vegetational history and land degradation in Riollet 1988; Taylor 1990; Street-Perrott and the Lake Baringo basin, Kenya, to enhance Perrott 1993; Street-Perrott et al. 1997; Gasse our understanding of the paleoenvironment of 2000; Kiage and Liu 2006). Although the East East Africa using fossil pollen, fungal spores, African region has a long history of paleoenvi- and microscopic charcoal in lake-sediment ronmental research, the record of centennial- cores. Situated in the broad ecotone between or decadal-scale landscape disturbance and savanna and steppe in East Africa, the Lake climate variability needs to be strengthened Baringo basin has a rich biodiversity that (cf. Thompson et al. 2002; Verschuren 2004). is currently threatened by land degradation The few high-temporal-resolution studies due to mounting population pressure and from the region have illuminated submillennial climate fluctuations in East Africa. Part of this oscillations in African paleoclimatic conditions study reviewed the paleoenvironment in East akin to the Holocene Bond Cycle (Bond et al. Africa since the Last Glacial Maxima (LGM; 1997), including the Younger Dryas (Roberts see Kiage and Liu 2006). The focus of this et al. 1993; DeMenocal et al. 2000; Barker et al. article is on paleoenvironmental changes in the 2001), the Medieval Warm Period (MWP), and Lake Baringo basin since AD 1650 based on the Little Ice Age (LIA; Marchant and Taylor the examination of a high-temporal-resolution 1998; Verschuren, Laird, and Cumming 2000; lithostratigraphic record. Lamb, Darbyshire, and Verschuren 2003; Garcin et al. 2007). These high-temporal Study Area resolution studies have challenged the previ- ously held hypothesis of a climatically stable Lake Baringo is medium sized (∼129 km2) and uneventful Late Holocene in the African and shallow (mean depth ∼2.5 m; Aloo 2002; tropics (Livingstone 1975, 1980; Hamilton Hickley et al. 2004; Kiage 2007), located at 970 1982). The older assumptions of climatic m elevation just north of the equator (latitude stability arose largely from poor dating control 0◦30Nand0◦41N, longitude 36◦00Eand and