Paleoenvironmental Changes in the Lake Baringo Basin,Kenya, East Africa Since AD 1650: Evidence from thePaleorecord

摘要

This article presents some of the findings of a multi-indicator investigation of the history of vegetationalchanges and land degradation in the Lake Baringo basin, Kenya, East Africa, during the Late Holocene. 14C-and ~(210)Pb-dated record of the lithostratigraphy is used to reconstruct the paleoenvironment in region ofthe 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 athird period of desiccation at ca. AD 1880, which resulted in lowering of the lake level and is corroboratedby oral tradition from the area. This article shows the potential of how the paleoenvironmental record can becombined with the historical record to understand East Africa's paleoenvironment.