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Plant xylem anatomy, dendrochronology and stable carbon isotopes as tools in rainfall reconstruction in Southern Africa
Within South Africa there is a growing need for a high resolution proxy rainfall data set that goes back beyond the historic record. As a contribution to meeting this need four techniques for rainfall reconstruction are evaluated. It is only from a new technique utilising measurements of vessel size...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Biological Sciences
2016
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| _version_ | 1867613536501366784 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | February, Edmund Carl |
| author_browse | February, Edmund Carl |
| author_facet | February, Edmund Carl |
| author_sort | February, Edmund Carl |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Within South Africa there is a growing need for a high resolution proxy rainfall data set that goes back beyond the historic record. As a contribution to meeting this need four techniques for rainfall reconstruction are evaluated. It is only from a new technique utilising measurements of vessel size and frequency in the cross-sectional xylem anatomy of archaeological charcoal that statements may be made on rainfall trends over the last 2000 years. These results indicate a general decrease in rainfall from 2300 BP to the present with a slightly wetter period during the Little Ice Age (1300 to 1800 A.D.). The results also suggest that present conditions are much drier than at any other time within the last 2000 years. The only limitations on this method are the resolution of the radiocarbon dates, a suitable distribution of sites and a calibration curve for the species analysed. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/18325 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:37:42.734Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateRange | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | Department of Biological Sciences |
| publisherStr | Department of Biological Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/18325 Plant xylem anatomy, dendrochronology and stable carbon isotopes as tools in rainfall reconstruction in Southern Africa February, Edmund Carl Botany Within South Africa there is a growing need for a high resolution proxy rainfall data set that goes back beyond the historic record. As a contribution to meeting this need four techniques for rainfall reconstruction are evaluated. It is only from a new technique utilising measurements of vessel size and frequency in the cross-sectional xylem anatomy of archaeological charcoal that statements may be made on rainfall trends over the last 2000 years. These results indicate a general decrease in rainfall from 2300 BP to the present with a slightly wetter period during the Little Ice Age (1300 to 1800 A.D.). The results also suggest that present conditions are much drier than at any other time within the last 2000 years. The only limitations on this method are the resolution of the radiocarbon dates, a suitable distribution of sites and a calibration curve for the species analysed. 2016-03-28T14:43:15Z 2016-03-28T14:43:15Z 1997 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18325 eng application/pdf Department of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Botany February, Edmund Carl Plant xylem anatomy, dendrochronology and stable carbon isotopes as tools in rainfall reconstruction in Southern Africa |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | Plant xylem anatomy, dendrochronology and stable carbon isotopes as tools in rainfall reconstruction in Southern Africa |
| title_full | Plant xylem anatomy, dendrochronology and stable carbon isotopes as tools in rainfall reconstruction in Southern Africa |
| title_fullStr | Plant xylem anatomy, dendrochronology and stable carbon isotopes as tools in rainfall reconstruction in Southern Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plant xylem anatomy, dendrochronology and stable carbon isotopes as tools in rainfall reconstruction in Southern Africa |
| title_short | Plant xylem anatomy, dendrochronology and stable carbon isotopes as tools in rainfall reconstruction in Southern Africa |
| title_sort | plant xylem anatomy dendrochronology and stable carbon isotopes as tools in rainfall reconstruction in southern africa |
| topic | Botany |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/18325 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT februaryedmundcarl plantxylemanatomydendrochronologyandstablecarbonisotopesastoolsinrainfallreconstructioninsouthernafrica |