ORCID Profile
0000-0003-1547-5650
Current Organisations
University of Southampton
,
Raddec International Limited
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2000
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2019
Publisher: Geological Society of America
Date: 2005
DOI: 10.1130/G21259.1
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Date: 2015
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-05-2023
DOI: 10.1111/BTP.13231
Abstract: Here, we investigate Mid‐ to Late‐Holocene vegetation changes in low‐lying coastal areas in Tonga and how changing sea levels and recurrent volcanic eruptions have influenced vegetation dynamics on four islands of the Tongan archipelago (South Pacific). To investigate past vegetation and environmental change at Ngofe Marsh (‘Uta Vava’u), we examined palynomorphs (pollen and spores), charcoal (fire), and sediment characteristics (volcanic activity) from a 6.7‐m‐long sediment core. Radiocarbon dating indicated the sediments were deposited over the last 7700 years. We integrated the Ngofe Marsh data with similar previously published data from Avai’o’vuna Sw on Pangaimotu Island, Lotofoa Sw on Foa Island, and Finemui Sw on Ha’afeva Island. Plant taxa were categorized as littoral, mangrove, rainforest, successional/ disturbance, and wetland groups, and linear models were used to examine relationships between vegetation, relative sea level change, and volcanic eruptions (tephra). We found that relative sea level change has impacted vegetation on three of the four islands investigated. Volcanic eruptions were not identified as a driver of vegetation change. Rainforest decline does not appear to be driven by sea level changes or volcanic eruptions. From all sites analyzed, vegetation at Finemui Sw was most sensitive to changes in relative sea level. While vegetation on low‐lying Pacific islands is sensitive to changing sea levels, island characteristics, such as area and elevation, are also likely to be important factors that mediate specific island responses to drivers of change.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Ian Croudace.