A Late Pleistocene and Holocene pollen and charcoal record from peat swamp forest, Lake Sentarum Wildlife Reserve, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

A preliminary palynological record is presented from a peat swamp forest in the Upper Kapuas River Basin in West Kalimantan. Although the record is discontinuous, it provides a picture of changing vegetation, riverine and swamp environments, and climate through parts of at least the last 30,000 years. During the Late Pleistocene, the composition of both riverine and swamp forests was different to that of the Holocene. Temperatures were cooler, especially during the Last Glacial Maximum, as indicated by the presence of components of submontane and montane vegetation. The presence of charcoal demonstrates that the tropical lowland forests experienced fire through the whole of the recorded period. However, charcoal values generally rise through the period suggesting increased human impact through time. Highest burning levels and forest indicators of disturbance indicate most intensive human impact within the last 1400 years. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science BN. All rights reserved.