The impact of man on the vegetation of the Mt Hagen region, New Guinea

Abstract

Vegetation changes now being reported in pollen analytical studies from many tropical and subtropical areas are considered predominantly in terms of climate change, little attention being paid to the history o:f human influence$-On the vegetation there, despite the evidences provided by archaeology and ecological studies. The European situation has been used as a theoretical basis for correlation of climatic changes on a world wide scale, while the available evidence, especially from British diagrams, of human influences more often than not overriding those of climate, has hardly been considered. The present study was undertaken to fill a gap in this knowledge and to try to show that the palynological method could provide objective evidence of human influence on vegetation in a tropical region, readily distinguishable from climatic influences. The investigation involved stratigraphic and palynological studies of lake and swamp sites in a highland region o:f New Guinea together with a local survey of present day vegetation and modern pollen rain. Combined with radiocarbon dating and archaeological correlations the study allows some conclusions to be drawn about early human influences in the area, as well as their relation to possible vegetation changes induced by climate or other factors.