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 9th IAMAS
Scientific
Assembly
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Fire history reconstructed from microscopic charcoal analysis of sediments from Lake Biwa and adjacent areas, central Japan
Jun Inoue, Hikaru Takahara, Shusaku Yoshikawa
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Charcoal fragments are generated by natural fires and anthropogenic fires. Because charcoal fragments are preserved in sediments and soils, charcoal analysis of accumulated sediments and soils can be used to reconstruct the fire history. Many studies on charcoal analysis have been carried out on Holocene sediments, however in Japan, fire history has not been proven sufficiently. We reconstructed fire history around Lake Biwa in central Japan from the late Pleistocene to present based on microscopic charcoal concentrations and influxes of sediments from Lake Biwa and adjacent areas. The results show that the period of low fire frequency around Lake Biwa is from 136 ka to 13 ka cal yr BP in the late Pleistocene. The period of higher fire frequency is from 12 ka to 3 ka cal yr BP and decreases since 2 ka. Furthermore, the periods of highest fire frequency is from 11 ka to 8 ka yr BP. This study presumes that high fire frequency from 12 ka to 3 ka cal yr BP might be caused mainly by anthropogenic fires. Because, despite change of climate inferred from previous studies, charcoal concentration prior to 12 ka yr BP is continuous low and many early human remains dated back to approximately 10 ka yr BP have been discovered around Lake Biwa.
Keywords: FIRE HISTORY, MICROSCOPIC CHARCOAL, LAKE BIWA, CENTRAL JAPAN, LATE PLEISTOCENE-HOLOCENE
Jun Inoue, Osaka City University, Graduate School of Science, Dept. of Biology and Geosciences, Osaka 558-8585, Japan, juni@sci.osaka-cu.ac.jp
Hikaru Takahara, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto 606-8522, Japan
Shusaku Yoshikawa, Osaka City University, Osaka 558-8585, Japan
Session: Climate, Humans and the Environment in Asia
Sub-Theme: Western Pacific Margin
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