Human Impact on the Environment in the Ethiopian and Eritrean Highlands—A State of the Art
Earth-Science Reviews 64 (2004) 273–320 www.elsevier.com/locate/earscirev Human impact on the environment in the Ethiopian and Eritrean highlands—a state of the art Jan Nyssena,b,*, Jean Poesena, Jan Moeyersonsc, Jozef Deckersd, Mitiku Haileb, Andreas Lange a Laboratory for Experimental Geomorphology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Redingenstraat 16, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium b Department of Land Resources Management and Environmental Protection, Mekelle University, P.O. Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia c Department of Agriculture and Forestry Economics, Royal Museum for Central Africa, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium d Institute for Land and Water Management, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Vital Decosterstraat 102, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium e Physical and Regional Geography, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Redingenstraat 16, B-3000 Louvain, Belgium Received 4 November 2002; accepted 19 May 2003 Abstract This review analyses the environmental evolution of the Ethiopian highlands in the late Quaternary. The late Pleistocene (20,000–12,000 14C years BP) was cold and dry, with (1) low lake levels in the Rift Valley, (2) large debris fans on the flanks of Lake Abhe´ basin, and (3) the Blue Nile transporting coarse bedload. Then, a period with abundant and less seasonal rains existed between 11,500 and 4800 14C years BP, as suggested by increased arboreal pollen, high river and lake levels, low river turbidities and soil formation. Around 5000–4800 14C years BP, there was a shift to more arid conditions and more soil erosion. Many phenomena that were previously interpreted as climate-driven might, however, well be of anthropic origin. Thick sediment deposits on pediments as well as an increase of secondary forest, scrub and ruderal species in pollen diagrams are witnesses of this human impact.
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