Pollen analysis of a core in Princess Vlei in the Fynbos Biome near Cape Town gives a 4150 year record of vegetation and climate changes followed by disturbance by colonial settlers since c. 300 years ago. Their impact replaced climate as a major factor in changing the vegetation. The chronology is based on eight radiocarbon dates. Pollen types such as Restionaceae, Ericaceae, and Proteaceae reflect changes in fynbos. Pollen indicators at the bottom of the core suggest drier conditions followed by an increase in Morella, Cyperaceae and Carpacoce pollen, which might indicate moist conditions c. 3400–2600 cal. yr BP. Drier conditions prevail c. 2600–1900 cal. yr BP. Apparent light disturbance after c. 2000 cal. yr BP might be attributed to Khoi herders. Deeper water and damp surroundings are indicated c. 1900–1000 cal. yr BP. The top of the core shows an increase of Poaceae while Restionaceae decrease with anthropogenic disturbance, including the introduction of neophytes such as Pinus (c. 300 years ago) and Zea mays. Charcoal percentages point to intense fires after the arrival of the Europeans. Water between 105 and 75 cm indicates the development of a floating mat resulting from changes in the hydrological system possibly connected to disturbances by settlers.
AgwuCOC (1988) Distribution of pollen. In: LutzeGESarntheimM (eds) Bericht über die Meteor-Fahrt 6-5. Dakar-Libreville 15 January–16 February 1988. Kiel: Report Geologisch-Paläontologisches Institut der Universität Kiel22, 25–26.
2.
AzzaNDennyPvan de KoppelJKansiimeF (2006) Floating mats: Their occurrence and influence on shoreline distribution of emergent vegetation. Freshwater Biology51: 1286–1297.
3.
BaxterAJ (1989) Pollen analysis of Table Mountain cave deposit. BSc (Hons) Thesis, University of Cape Town.
4.
BaxterAJDaviesBR (1994) Case studies and reviews, palaeoecological insights for the conservation of aquatic ecosystems in dryland environments: A case study of the Verlorenvlei sysem, South Africa. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems4: 255–271.
5.
BaxterAJMeadowsME (1994) Palynological evidence for the impact of colonial settlement within lowland Fynbos: A high-resolution study from the Verlorenvlei, southwestern Cape Province, South Africa. Historical Biology9: 61–70.
6.
BaxterAJMeadowsME (1999) Evidence for Holocene sea level changes at Verlorenvlei, Western Cape, South Africa. Quaternary International56: 65–79.
7.
BickertonIB (1982) Report No. 15: Zeekoe (CSW 5). Estuaries of the Cape, Part II: Synopses of Available Information on Individual Systems. Stellenbosch: CSIR Research Report 414.
8.
BondWJ (2004) Fire. In: CowlingRMRichardsonDMPierceSM (eds) Vegetation of Southern Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 421–447.
9.
BoucherC (1978) Cape Hangklip Area II. The vegetation. Bothalia12: 455–497.
10.
BousmanB (1998) The chronological evidence for the introduction of domestic stock into southern Africa. African Archaeological Review15(2): 133–150.
CampbellBGubbAMollE (1980) The vegetation of the Edith Stephens Cape Flats Flora Reserve. South African Journal of Botany46: 435–444.
13.
CampbellBMMollEJ (1977) The forest communities of Table Mountain, South Africa. Vegetatio34(2): 105–115.
14.
ChaseBMMeadowsME (2007) Late Quaternary dynamics of southern Africa´s winter rainfall zone. Earth-Science Reviews84: 103–138.
15.
CombrinckJ (1994) The zooplankton of Zeekoevlei and Princess Vlei (Western Cape) – A preliminary assessment. Water South Africa20: 299–306.
16.
ComptonJS (2001) Holocene sea-level fluctuations inferred from the evolution of depositional environments of the southern Langebaan Lagoon salt marsh, South Africa. The Holocene11(4): 395–405.
17.
ComptonJS (2006) The Rocks and Mountains of Cape Town. Cape Town: Double Storey Books.
18.
CookCDK (2004) Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southern Africa. Leyden: Backhuys Publishers.
19.
CowlingRM (1984) A syntaxonomic and synecological study in the Humansdorp region of the fynbos biome. Botalia15: 175–227.
20.
CowlingRMHolmesP (1992) Flora and vegetation. In: CowlingRM (ed.) The Ecology of Fynbos – Nutrients, Fire and Diversity. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 23–61.
21.
CowlingRMPierceSM (1988) Secondary succession in coastal dune fynbos: Variation due to site and disturbance. Vegetatio76: 131–139.
22.
CowlingRMCampbellBMMustartPMcDonaldDJarmanMLMollEJ (1988) Vegetation classification in a floristically complex area: The Agulhas plain. South African Journal of Botany54: 290–300.
23.
CowlingRMMacDonaldIAWSimmonsMT (1996) The Cape Peninsula, South Africa: Physiogeographical, biological and historical background to an extraordinary hot-spot of biodiversity. Biodiversity and Conservation5: 527–550.
24.
CowlingRMRichardonDMMustartPJ (2004) Fynbos. In: CowlingRMRichardsonDMPierceSM (eds) Vegetation of Southern Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 99–167.
25.
DasSKRouthJRoychoudhuryANKlumpJV (2008) Provenance and depositional history of trace metals, major ions and organic matter in Zeekoevlei, South Africa: A lacustrine record of recent urbanization. Applied Geochemistry23: 2496–2511.
26.
DeaconHJ (1976) Where Hunters Gathered. Claremont: South African Archaeological Society.
27.
DeaconHJ (1986) Human settlement in South Africa and archaeological evidence for alien plants and animals. In: MacdonaldIAWKrugerFJFerrarA (ed.) The Ecology and Management of Biological Invasions in Southern Africa. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 3–21.
28.
DeaconHJ (1992) Human settlement. In CowlingRM (ed.) The Ecology of Fynbos. Nutrients, Fire and Diversity. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 260–270.
29.
DeaconHJJuryMREllisF (1992) Selective regime and time. In: CowlingRM (ed.) The Ecology of Fynbos – Nutrients, Fire and Diversity. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 6–61.
30.
DyerA (1975) The Genera of Southern African Flowering Plants, Vol. 1: Dicotyledons. Pretoria: Department of Agricultural Technical Services.
31.
ElleryKElleryWNRogersKHWalkerBH (1990) Formation, colonization and fate of floating sudds in the Maunachira river system of the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Aquatic Botany38: 315–329.
32.
FaegriKIversenJ (1964) Textbook of Pollen Analysis. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.
33.
FaegriKIversenJ (1989) Textbook of Pollen Analysis. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications.
34.
GeyhMASchottererUGrosjeanM (1998) Temporal changes of the 14C hardwater effect in lakes. Radiocarbon40: 921–932.
35.
GrimmEC (1992) Tilia and Tilia-graph: Pollen spreadsheet and graphics programs. Programs and Abstracts, 8th International Palynological Congress, Aix-en-Provence, September 6–12, 56 pp.
36.
HaneltP (1986) Mansfeld’s Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops. Berlin: Akademie Verlag, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York: Springer-Verlag.
37.
HardingWR (1992a) A contribution to the knowledge of South African coastal vleis: The limnology and phytoplankton periodicity of Princess Vlei, Cape Peninsula. Water SA18(2): 121–130.
38.
HardingWR (1992b) Zeekoevlei – Water chemistry and phytoplankton periodicity. Water SA18(4): 237–246.
39.
HardingWR (1993) Faecal coliform densities and water quality in three coastal recreational lakes in the SW Cape, South Africa. Water SA19(3): 235–246.
40.
HardingWR (1997) Phytoplankton primary production in a shallow, well- mixed, hypertrophic South African lake. Hydrobiologia344: 87–102.
41.
HartRC (1995) South African coastal lakes. In: CowanGI (ed.) Wetlands of South Africa. Pretoria: Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, 103–130.
42.
HendersonMFourieDMCWellsMJHendersonL (1987) Declared Weeds and Alien Invader Plants in South Africa. Pretoria: Department of Agriculture and Water Supply.
43.
HoffmanMT (2004) Human impacts on vegetation. In: CowlingRMRichardsonDMPierceSM (eds) Vegetation of Southern Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 507–535.
44.
KansiimeFSaundersMJLoiselleA (2007) Functioning and dynamics of wetland vegetation of Lake Victoria: An overview. Wetlands Ecology and Management15: 443–451.
45.
KrugerFJ (1977) Ecology of Cape fynbos in relation to fire. In: MooneyHAConradCE (eds) Proceedings of the Symposium on Environmental Consequences of Fire and Fuel Management in Mediterranean Ecosystems. USDA Forest Service: General Technical Report WO-3, 230–244.
46.
LevynsMR (1966) A Guide to the Flora of the Cape Peninsula. Cape Town: Juta & Company Limited.
47.
LiddleMJGreig-SmithP (1975) A survey on tracks and paths in a sand dune ecosystem. I. Vegetation. Journal of Applied Ecology12: 909–930.
48.
LowABRebeloAG (1996) Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Pretoria: Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism.
49.
LugerADMollEJ (1993) Fire protection and afromontane forest expansion in Cape fynbos. Biological Conservation64: 51–56.
50.
MacDonaldIAWRichardsonDM (1986) Alien species in terrestrial ecosystems of the fynbos biome. In: MacdonaldIAWKrugerFJFerrarA (eds) The Ecology and Management of Biological Invasions in Southern Africa. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 77–91.
51.
ManningJ (2008) Field Guide to Fynbos. Cape Town: Struik Publishers.
52.
ManningJGoldblattP (2007) West Coast-South African Wild Flower Guide 7. Kirstenbosch: Botanical Society of South Africa.
53.
MartinARH (1968) Pollen analysis of Groenvlei lake seiments, Knysna (South Africa). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology7(2): 107–144.
54.
MasonH (1972) Western Cape Sandveld Flowers. Cape Town: Struik Publishers.
55.
McCarthyTS (1993) The great inland deltas of Africa. Journal of African Earth Science17(3): 275–291.
56.
MeadowsMEBaxterAJ (2001) Holocene vegetation history and palaeoenvironments at Klaarfontein Springs, Western Cape, South Africa. The Holocene11(6): 699–706.
57.
MeadowsMESugdenJM (1991) A vegetation history of the last 14 000 years on the Cederberg, south-western Cape Province. South African Journal of Science87: 34–43.
58.
MeadowsMESugdenJM (1993) The late Quaternary palaeoecology of a floristic kingdom: The southwestern Cape, South Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology101(3–4): 271–281.
59.
MeadowsMEBaxterAJAdamsT (1994) The late Holocene vegetation history of lowland fynbos, Verlorenvlei, southwestern Cape Province, South Africa. Historical Biology9: 47–59.
60.
MeadowsMEBaxterAJParkingtonJ (1996) Late Holocene environments at Verlorenvlei, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Quaternary International33: 81–95.
61.
MeadowsMEChaseBMSelianeM (2010) Holocene palaeoenvironments of the Cederberg and Swartruggens mountains, Western Cape, South Africa: Pollen and stable isotope evidence from hyrax dung middens. Journal of Arid Environment74: 786–793.
62.
MiltonSJBondWJDu PlessiMAGibbsDHilton-TaylorCLinderHP. (1999) A protocol for plant conservation by translocation in threatened lowland fynbos. Conservation Biology13(4): 735–743.
63.
MoranVCHoffmannJHDonnellyDVan WilgenBWZimmermannHG (2000) Biological control of alien, invasive pine trees (Pinus species) in South Africa. In: SpencerNR (ed.) Proceedings of the X International Symposium on Biolgical Control of Weeds. 4–14 July. Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana.
64.
MucinaLGeldenhuysCJ (2006) Afrotemperate, subtropical and azonal forests. In: MucinaLRutherfordMC (eds) The Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19. Pretoria: South African National Biodiversity Institute, 585–615.
65.
MucinaLRutherfordMC (2006) The Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19. Pretoria: South African National Biodiversity Institute
66.
NaimanRJRogersKH (1997) Large animals and system-level characteristics in river corridors. BioScience47(8): 521–529.
67.
NeumannFHSchölzelCLittTHenseASteinM (2007) Holocene vegetation and climate history of the northern Golan heights (Near East). Vegetation History and Archaeobotany16: 329–346.
68.
NeumannFHScottLBousmanCBvan AsL (2010) A Holocene sequence of vegetation change at Lake Eteza, coastal KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology162: 39–53.
69.
NeumannFHStagerCScottLVenterHJWeyhenmeyerC (2008) Holocene vegetation and climate records from Lake Sibaya, KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). Review of Paleobotany and Palynology152: 113–128.
70.
NorströmEScottLPartridgeTCRisbergJHolmgrenK (2009) Reconstruction of environmental and climate changes at Braamhoek wetland, eastern escarpment South Africa, during the last 16,000 years with emphasis on the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology271: 240–258.
71.
PembertonRW (2000) Waterblommetije (Aponogeton distachyos, Aponogetonaceae), a recently domesticated aquatic food crop in the Cape, South Africa with unusual origins. Economic Botany54(2): 144–149.
72.
PoyntonRJ (1977) Tree Planting in Southern Africa: The Pines 1. Pretoria: Department of Forestry.
73.
RebeloAGBoucherCHelmeNMucinaLRutherfordMC (2006) Fynbos biome. In: MucinaLRutherfordMC (eds) The Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19. Pretoria: South African National Biodiversity Institute, 53–219.
74.
RichardsonDM (1998) Ecology and Biogeography of Pinus. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
75.
RichardsonDMBondWJ (1991) Determinants of plant distribution: Evidence from pine invasions. The American Naturalist137(5): 639–668.
76.
RichardsonDMvan WilgenBW (2004) Invasive alien plants in South Africa: How well do we understand the ecological impacts?South African Journal of Science100: 45–52.
77.
RichardsonDMMacDonaldIAWHolmesPMCowlingRM (1992) Plant and animal invasions. In: CowlingRM (ed.) The Ecology of Fynbos – Nutrients, Fire and Diversity. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 271–308.
78.
RobbrechtE (1985) Further observations on the pollen morphology of the South African genus Carapacoce (Rubiaceae-Anthospermeae). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology45: 361–371.
79.
RobertsDLBothaGAMaudRRPetherJ (2006) Coastal cenozoic deposits. In: JohnsonMRAnhaeusserCRThomasRJ. (eds) The Geology of South Africa. Pretoria: Council for Geoscience, 605–628.
80.
RougetMRichardsonDMCowlingRMLombardAT (2003) Current patterns of habitat transformation and future threats to biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems of the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. Biological Conservation112: 63–85.
81.
RudolphKFirbasF (1927) Die Moore des Riesengebirges. Beihefte Botanisches Centralblatt18: 69–144.
82.
SaaymanICAdamsS (2002) The use of garden boreholes in Cape Town, South Africa: Lessons learnt from Perth, Western Australia. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth27: 961–967.
83.
SadrK (1998) The first herders at the Cape of Good Hope. African Archaeological Review15(2): 101–132.
84.
SadrK (2008) Invisible herders? The archaeology of Khoekhoe pastoralists. Southern African Humanities20: 179–203.
85.
SchalkeHJWG (1973) The Upper Quaternary of the Cape Flats Area. Scripta Geologica15: 1–57.
86.
ScholtzA (1986) Palynological and palaeoecological studies in the Southern Cape. Unpublished Masters thesis, University of Stellenbosch.
87.
ScottDFLe MaitreDCvan WilgenBW (1991) Report on the Problems Relating to the Fire Site on Devil’s Peak and Proposals Toward their Solution. Report C-72, Pretoria: CSIR Division of Forest Science and Technology.
88.
ScottL (1985) Palynological indications of the Quaternary vegetation history of Marion Island (sub-Antarctic). Journal of Biogeography12: 413–431.
89.
ScottL (1994) Palynology of Late Pleistocene Hyrax Middens, Southwestern Cape Province, South Africa: A preliminary report. Historical Biology9: 71–81.
90.
ScottLWoodborneS (2007a) Pollen analysis and dating of late Quaternary faecal deposits (hyraeum) in the Cederberg, Western Cape, South Africa. Review of Paleobotany and Palynology144(3–4): 123–134.
91.
ScottLWoodborneS (2007b) Vegetation history inferred from pollen in Late Quaternary faecal deposits (hyraceum) in the Cape winter-rain region and its bearing on past climates in South Africa. Quaternary Science Reviews26: 941–953.
92.
ShaughnessyG (1986) A case study of some woody plant introductions to the Cape Town area. In: MacdonaldIAWKrugerFJFerrarA (eds) The Ecology and Management of Biological Invasions in Southern Africa. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 37–44.
93.
SimTR (1907) The Forest and Forest Flora of the Cape Colony. Aberdeen: Taylor & Henderson.
94.
StillerMKaufmanACarmiIMintzG (2001) Calibration of lacustrine sediment ages using the relationship between 14C levels in lake waters and in the atmosphere: The case of lake Kinneret. Radiocarbon43: 821–830.
95.
StirtonCH (1978) Plant Invaders. Cape Town: Department of Nature and Environmental Consevation of the Cape Provincial Administration.
96.
StrydomHAFuggleRFRabieMA (2009) Environmental Management in South Africa. Claremont: Juta and Company Ltd.
ThodayD (1925) The geographical distribution and ecology of Passerina. Annals of Botany39: 175–208.
99.
Trinder-SmithTH (2003) The Levyns Guide to the Plant Genera of the Southwestern Cape. Red Roof Design cc for Bolus Herbarium, University of Cape Town.
100.
Trinder-SmithTH (2006) Wild Flowers of the Table Mountain National Park. Cape Town: Botanical Society of South Africa.
101.
TysonPDPreston-WhyteRA (2004) The Weather and Climate of southern Africa. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
102.
Van WilgenBW (1987) Fire regimes in the fynbos biome. In: CowlingRMle MaitreDCMcKenzieBPrys-JonesRPvan WilgensBW (eds) Disturbance and the Dynamics of Fynbos Biome Communities. South African National Scientific Programmes report 135, Pretoria: Foundation for Research development, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, 6–14.
103.
Van WilgenBW (1995) Management of the natural ecosystems of the Cape Peninsula: Current status and future prospects. Biodiversity and Conservation5: 671–684.
104.
Van Wyk (1982) Influence of Prescribed Burning on Nutrient Budgets of Mountain Fynbos Catchments in the S. W. Cape, Rep. of South Africa. General Technical Report PSW-58. Berkeley: Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture 390.
105.
Van ZinderenBakkerEM (1976) the evolution of late Quaternary palaeoclimates of southern Africa. Palaeoecology of Africa9: 160–202.
106.
VossenP (2007) Olive oil: History, production, and characteristics of the world’s classic oils. HortScience42(5): 1093–1100.
107.
WalkerM (1991) Quaternary Dating Methods. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons.
108.
WellsMJPoyntonRJBalsinhasAAMusilKJJoffeHvan HoepenE. (1986) The history of introduction of invasive alien plants to southern Africa. In: MacdonaldIAWKrugerFJFerrarA (eds) The Ecology and Management of Biological Invasions in Southern Africa. Cape Town: Oxford University Press, 21–37.
109.
WilsonLR (1964) Recycling, stratigraphic leakage, and faulty techniques in palynology. Grana5: 425–436.
110.
ZahnGANeethlingEJ (1929) Notes on the exotic trees in the Cape peninsula. South African Journal of Science26: 211–234.
