@article{fdi:010072522,
  title = {{E}arly anthropogenic impact on western central {A}frican rainfrorests 2,600 y ago},
  author = {{G}arcin {Y}. and {D}eschamps, {P}ierre and {M}{\'e}not, {G}. and {S}aulieu, {G}eoffroy de and {S}chefuss, {E}. and {S}ebag, {D}avid and {D}upont, {L}.{M}. and {O}slisly, {R}ichard and {B}rademann, {B}. and {M}busnum, {K}.{G}. and {O}nama, {J}.{M}. and {A}ko, {A}.{A}. and {E}pp, {L}.{S}. and {T}jallingii, {R}. and {S}trecker,  {M}.{R}. and {B}rauer, {A}. and {S}achse, {D}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{A} potential human footprint on {W}estern {C}entral {A}frican rainforests before the {C}ommon {E}ra has become the focus of an ongoing controversy. {B}etween 3,000 y ago and 2,000 y ago, regional pollen sequences indicate a replacement of mature rainforests by a forest–savannah mosaic including pioneer trees. {A}lthough some studies suggested an anthropogenic influence on this forest fragmentation, current interpretations based on pollen data attribute the "rainforest crisis" to climate change toward a drier, more seasonal climate. {A} rigorous test of this hypothesis, however, requires climate proxies independent of vegetation changes. {H}ere we resolve this controversy through a continuous 10,500-y record of both vegetation and hydrological changes from {L}ake {B}arombi in {S}outhwest {C}ameroon based on changes in carbon and hydrogen isotope compositions of plant waxes. δ13{C}-inferred vegetation changes confirm a prominent and abrupt appearance of {C}4 plants in the {L}ake {B}arombi catchment, at 2,600 calendar years before {AD} 1950 (cal y {BP}), followed by an equally sudden return to rainforest vegetation at 2,020 cal y {BP}. δ{D} values from the same plant wax compounds, however, show no simultaneous hydrological change. {B}ased on the combination of these data with a comprehensive regional archaeological database we provide evidence that humans triggered the rainforest fragmentation 2,600 y ago. {O}ur findings suggest that technological developments, including agricultural practices and iron metallurgy, possibly related to the large-scale {B}antu expansion, significantly impacted the ecosystems before the {C}ommon {E}ra.},
  keywords = {{PALEOENVIRONNEMENT} ; {PALEOCLIMAT} ; {HOLOCENE} ; {FORET} ; {MOSAIQUE} {FORET} {SAVANE} ; {FACTEUR} {ANTHROPIQUE} ; {HYDROLOGIE} ; {LAC} ; {HISTOIRE} {DU} {PEUPLEMENT} ; {CAMEROUN} {SUD} {OUEST} ; {ZONE} {TROPICALE} ; {BAROMBI} {LAC}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}roceedings of the {N}ational {A}cademy of {S}ciences of the {U}nited {S}tates},
  volume = {115},
  numero = {13},
  pages = {3261--3266},
  ISSN = {0027-8424},
  year = {2018},
  DOI = {10.1073/pnas.1715336115},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010072522},
}