@article{fdi:010060197,
  title = {{T}racking land-cover changes with sedimentary charcoal in the {A}frotropics},
  author = {{A}leman, {J}.{C}. and {B}larquez, {O}. and {B}entaleb, {I}. and {B}ont{\'e}, {P}. and {B}rossier, {B}. and {C}arcaillet, {C}. and {G}ond, {V}. and {G}ourlet-{F}leury, {S}. and {K}polita, {A}. and {L}ef{\`e}vre, {I}. and {O}slisly, {R}ichard and {P}ower, {M}.{J}. and {Y}ongo, {O}. and {B}remond, {L}. and {F}avier, {C}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{F}ires have played an important role in creating and maintaining savannas over the centuries and are also one of the main natural disturbances in forests. {T}he functional role of fires in savannas and forests can be investigated through examining sedimentary charcoal in order to reconstruct long-term fire history. {H}owever, the relationship between charcoal and vegetation structure in tropical grassy ecosystems remains to be elucidated. {H}ere, we compared recent charcoal records from lake sediments in three tropical ecosystems (forest, savanna, and forestsavanna mosaic) with land cover inferred from remote-sensing images. {C}harcoal width-to-length ({W}/{L}) ratio is a good proxy for changes in fuel type. {A}t one of the lakes, a significant {W}/{L} modification from values >0.5 (mainly wood) to <0.5 (grass) was recorded simultaneously with changes in land cover. {I}ndeed, a significant deforestation was recorded around this lake in the remote-sensing imagery between 1984 and 1994. {T}he results also indicate that a riparian forest around a lake could act as a physical filter for charcoal accumulation; we used the mean charcoal size as a proxy to evaluate this process. {C}harcoal {A}ccumulation {R}ates ({CHAR}), a burned biomass proxy, were combined with {W}/{L} ratio and the mean charcoal size to investigate the land-use history of the landscapes surrounding the study sites. {T}his combined approach allowed us to distinguish between episodic slash-and-burn practices in the forest and managed fields or pastures burning frequently.},
  keywords = {{PALEOENVIRONNEMENT} ; {COUVERT} {VEGETAL} ; {SAVANE} ; {FORET} ; {MOSAIQUE} {FORET} {SAVANE} ; {SEDIMENTATION} {LACUSTRE} ; {CHARBON} ; {IMAGE} {SATELLITE} ; {UTILISATION} {DU} {SOL} ; {HOLOCENE} ; {INCENDIE} ; {FEU} ; {ZONE} {TROPICALE} ; {CENTRAFRIQUE} ; {NGUENGUE} {LAC} ; {GBALI} {LAC} ; {DOUKOULOU} {LAC}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{T}he {H}olocene},
  volume = {23},
  numero = {12},
  pages = {1853--1862},
  ISSN = {0959-6836},
  year = {2013},
  DOI = {10.1177/0959683613508159},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010060197},
}