Climate-driven ecosystem succession in the Sahara: the past 6000 years
Abstract
Desiccation of the Sahara since the middle Holocene has eradicated all but a few natural archives recording its transition from a "green Sahara" to the present hyperarid desert. Our continuous 6000-year paleoenvironmental reconstruction from northern Chad shows progressive drying of the regional terrestrial ecosystem in response to weakening insolation forcing of the African monsoon and abrupt hydrological change in the local aquatic ecosystem controlled by site-specific thresholds. Strong reductions in tropical trees and then Sahelian grassland cover allowed large-scale dust mobilization from 4300 calendar years before the present (cal yr B.P.). Today's desert ecosystem and regional wind regime were established around 2700 cal yr B.P. This gradual rather than abrupt termination of the African Humid Period in the eastern Sahara suggests a relatively weak biogeophysical feedback on climate.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The mirroring of HGF and some Western African crop domestication is ascribed to cultural responses to the transition from a green Sahara to desert and subsequent climate changes.
“which are ascribed to cultural responses to the transition from a “green Sahara” to the desert and subsequent climate changes (Kropelin et al. 2008).”
From Genomic Analyses Unveil Helmeted Guinea Fowl (<i>Numida meleagris</i>) Domestication in West Africa (2021) · cites this paper as Kropelin et al. 2008
Cites
Catastrophic shifts in ecosystems
Scheffer, M., Carpenter, S., Foley, J. A., Folke, C., & Walker, B. (2001) · Nature · doi:10.1038/35098000 · Cited by 7,510 · see citing works
Insolation values for the climate of the last 10 million years
Berger, A., & Loutre, M. (1991) · Quaternary Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/0277-3791(91)90033-q · Cited by 4,513 · see citing works
Global Iron Connections Between Desert Dust, Ocean Biogeochemistry, and Climate
Jickells, T. D., An, Z., Andersen, K. K., Baker, A. R., Bergametti, G., Brooks, N., Cao, J. J., Boyd, P. W., Duce, R. A., Hunter, K. A., et al. (2005) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1105959 · Cited by 2,884 · see citing works
The Holocene Asian Monsoon: Links to Solar Changes and North Atlantic Climate
Wang, Y., Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., He, Y., Kong, X., An, Z., Wu, J., Kelly, M. J., Dykoski, C. A., & Li, X. D. (2005) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1106296 · Cited by 2,609 · see citing works
Southward Migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone Through the Holocene
Haug, G., Hughen, K., Sigman, D., Peterson, L., & Röhl, U. (2001) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1059725 · Cited by 2,384 · see citing works
A satellite view of aerosols in the climate system
Kaufman, Y. J., Tanré, D., & Boucher, O. (2002) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature01091 · Cited by 2,216 · see citing works
Climatic changes of the last 18,000 years: observations and model simulations
Members, C. (1988) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.241.4869.1043 · Cited by 1,969 · see citing works
Determinants of woody cover in African savannas.
Sankaran, M., Hanan, N. P., Scholes, R. J., Ratnam, J., Augustine, D. J., Cade, B. S., Gignoux, J., Higgins, S. I., Le Roux, X., Ludwig, F., et al. (2005) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature04070 · Cited by 1,963 · see citing works
Abrupt onset and termination of the African Humid Period:
deMenocal, P. B., Ortiz, J. D., Guilderson, T., Adkins, J. F., Sarnthein, M., Baker, L., & Yarusinsky, M. (2000) · Quaternary Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/s0277-3791(99)00081-5 · Cited by 1,712 · see citing works
Holocene Forcing of the Indian Monsoon Recorded in a Stalagmite from Southern Oman
Dominik Fleitmann, A., Burns, S. J., Manfred Mudelsee, A., Neff, U., Kramers, J., Mangini, A., & Albert Matter, B. (2003) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1083130 · Cited by 1,695 · see citing works
Alley, R. B., Marotzke, J., Nordhaus, W. D., Overpeck, J. T., Peteet, D. M., Pielke, R. A., Pierrehumbert, R. T., Rhines, P. B., Stocker, T. F., Talley, L. D., et al. (2003) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1081056 · Cited by 1,357 · see citing works
White, F. (1983) · Natural Resources Research · Cited by 1,275 · see citing works
Saharan dust storms: nature and consequences
Goudie, A., & Middleton, N. (2001) · Earth-Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/s0012-8252(01)00067-8 · Cited by 1,115 · see citing works
Spatial vegetation patterns and imminent desertification in Mediterranean arid ecosystems
Kéfi, S., Rietkerk, M., Alados, C. L., Pueyo, Y., Papanastasis, V. P., El-Aich, A., & de Ruiter, P. C. (2007) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature06111 · Cited by 1,065 · see citing works
African droughts and dust transport to the caribbean: climate change implications
Prospero, J. M., & Lamb, P. J. (2003) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1089915 · Cited by 996 · see citing works
Climate-Controlled Holocene Occupation in the Sahara: Motor of Africa's Evolution
Kuper, R., & Kröpelin, S. (2006) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1130989 · Cited by 921 · see citing works
North African dust emissions and transport
Engelstaedter, S., Tegen, I., & Washington, R. (2006) · Earth-Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2006.06.004 · Cited by 720 · see citing works
Washington, R., Todd, M. C., Middleton, N., et al. (2003) · Annals of the Association of American Geographers · doi:10.1111/1467-8306.9302003 · Cited by 716 · see citing works
The Role of Gravity Wave Induced Drag and Diffusion in the Momentum Budget of the Mesosphere
Holton, J. R. (1982) · Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences · doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1982)039 · Cited by 643 · see citing works
Simulation of an abrupt change in Saharan vegetation in the Mid‐Holocene
Claussen, M. A., Kubatzki, C., Brovkin, V. A., et al. (1999) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/1999gl900494 · Cited by 619 · see citing works
Past Climate Variability through Europe and Africa
Battarbee, R. W., Stickley, C. E., & Gasse, F. (2004) · Developments in paleoenvironmental research · doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-2121-3 · Cited by 528 · see citing works
Response of the African Monsoon to Orbital Forcing and Ocean Feedbacks in the Middle Holocene
Kutzbach, J. E., & Liu, Z. (1997) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.278.5337.440 · Cited by 467 · see citing works
African dust and the demise of Caribbean Coral Reefs
Shinn, E. A., Smith, G. W., Prospero, J. M., et al. (2000) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2000gl011599 · Cited by 437 · see citing works
Joussaume, S., Taylor, K. E., Braconnot, P., et al. (1999) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/1999gl900126 · Cited by 430 · see citing works
Braconnot, P., Otto‐Bliesner, B. L., Harrison, S. P., Joussaume, S., Peterschmitt, J.-Y., Abe‐Ouchi, A., Crucifix, M. C., Driesschaert, E., Fichefet, T., Hewitt, C. D., et al. (2007) · Climate of the past · doi:10.5194/cp-3-279-2007 · Cited by 380 · see citing works
The Influence of Vegetation-Atmosphere-Ocean Interaction on Climate During the Mid-Holocene
Ganopolski, A., Kubatzki, C., Claussen, M. A., Brovkin, V. A., & Petoukhov, V. K. (1998) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.280.5371.1916 · Cited by 368 · see citing works
Koren, I., Kaufman, Y. J., Washington, R., et al. (2006) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/1/1/014005 · Cited by 361 · see citing works
Catastrophic vegetation shifts and soil degradation in terrestrial grazing systems
van de Koppel, J., Rietkerk, M., & Weissing, F. J. (1997) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/s0169-5347(97)01133-6 · Cited by 349 · see citing works
Nonlinearities, Feedbacks and Critical Thresholds within the Earth's Climate System
Rial, J. A., Pielke, R. A., Beniston, M., Claussen, M. A., Canadell, J. G., Cox, P. M., Held, H., de Noblet‐Ducoudré, N., Prinn, R. G., Reynolds, J. F., et al. (2004) · Climatic Change · doi:10.1023/b:clim.0000037493.89489.3f · Cited by 346 · see citing works
The Greening of the Sahara during the Mid-Holocene: Results of an Interactive Atmosphere-Biome Model
Claussen, M. A., & Gayler, V. (1997) · Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters · doi:10.2307/2997337 · Cited by 343 · see citing works
On the stability of the atmosphere‐vegetation system in the Sahara/Sahel region
Brovkin, V. A., Claussen, M. A., Petoukhov, V. K., et al. (1998) · Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres · doi:10.1029/1998jd200006 · Cited by 269 · see citing works
Foley, J. A., Coe, M. T., Scheffer, M., & Wang, G. (2003) · Ecosystems · doi:10.1007/s10021-002-0227-0 · Cited by 251 · see citing works
Adkins, J. F., deMenocal, P. B., & Eshel, G. (2006) · Paleoceanography · doi:10.1029/2005pa001200 · Cited by 214 · see citing works
Links between topography, wind, deflation, lakes and dust: The case of the Bodélé Depression, Chad
Washington, R., Todd, M. C., Lizcano, G., et al. (2006) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2006gl025827 · Cited by 211 · see citing works
Liu, Z., Wang, Y., Gallimore, R. G., et al. (2007) · Quaternary Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.03.002 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Renssen, H., Brovkin, V. A., Fichefet, T., et al. (2006) · Quaternary International · doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2005.01.001 · Cited by 164 · see citing works
Late Quaternary Climate and Vegetation of the Sudanian Zone of Northeast Nigeria
Salzmann, U., Hoelzmann, P., & Morczinek, I. (2002) · Quaternary Research · doi:10.1006/qres.2002.2356 · Cited by 139 · see citing works
Dekker, S. C., Rietkerk, M., & Bierkens, M. F. P. (2007) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2007.01327.x · Cited by 130 · see citing works
Maley, J. (2000) · Global and Planetary Change · doi:10.1016/s0921-8181(00)00039-4 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Ecological Versus Climatic Thresholds
Maslin, M. (2004) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1107481 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Waller, M. P., Street‐Perrott, F. A., & Wang, H. (2007) · Journal of Biogeography · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01721.x · Cited by 45 · see citing works
QCD String as Vortex String in Seiberg-Dual TheoryPreprint
Eto, M., Hashimoto, K., & Terashima, S. (2012) · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Klein Goldewijk, K., Beusen, A., van Drecht, G., & de Vos, M. (2011) · Global Ecology and Biogeography · doi:10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00587.x · Cited by 1,270 · see citing works
Anthropogenic land use estimates for the Holocene – HYDE 3.2
Klein Goldewijk, K., Beusen, A., Doelman, J., & Stehfest, E. (2017) · Earth System Science Data · doi:10.5194/essd-9-927-2017 · Cited by 1,204 · see citing works
Klein Goldewijk, K., Beusen, A., & Janssen, P. (2010) · The Holocene · doi:10.1177/0959683609356587 · Cited by 633 · see citing works
Global biomass burning: a synthesis and review of Holocene paleofire records and their controls
Marlon, J. R., Bartlein, P. J., Daniau, A.-L., Harrison, S. P., Maezumi, S. Y., Power, M. J., Tinner, W., & Vanniére, B. (2013) · Quaternary Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.11.029 · Cited by 438 · see citing works
Dynamics of Green Sahara Periods and Their Role in Hominin Evolution
Larrasoaña, J. C., Roberts, A. P., & Rohling, E. J. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0076514 · Cited by 334 · see citing works
Morellón, M., Valero-Garcés, B., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T., González-Sampériz, P., Romero, Ó., Delgado-Huertas, A., Mata, P., Moreno, A., Rico, M., & Corella, J. P. (2009) · Quaternary Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.05.014 · Cited by 216 · see citing works
The rise and fall of African rice cultivation revealed by analysis of 246 new genomes
Cubry, P., Tranchant-Dubreuil, C., Thuillet, A.-C., Monat, C., Ndjiondjop, M.-N., Labadie, K., Cruaud, C., Engelen, S., Scarcelli, N., Rhoné, B., et al. (2018) · Current Biology · doi:10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.066 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Wall, J., Wittemyer, G., Klinkenberg, B., LeMay, V., & Douglas-Hamilton, I. (2013) · Biological Conservation · doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2012.07.019 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
The complex geography of domestication of the African rice Oryza glaberrima
Choi, J. Y., Zaidem, M., Gutaker, R., Dorph, K., Singh, R. K., & Purugganan, M. D. (2019) · PLoS Genetics · doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1007414 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Moran, B. J., Boutt, D. F., & Munk, L. A. (2019) · Water Resources Research · doi:10.1029/2019wr026386 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Genomic Analyses Unveil Helmeted Guinea Fowl (<i>Numida meleagris</i>) Domestication in West Africa
Shen, Q.-K., Peng, M.-S., Adeola, A. C., Kui, L., Duan, S., Miao, Y.-W., Eltayeb, N. M., Lichoti, J. K., Otecko, N. O., Strillacci, M. G., et al. (2021) · Genome Biology and Evolution · doi:10.1093/gbe/evab090 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kröpelin, S., Verschuren, D., Lézine, A.-M., Eggermont, H., Cocquyt, C., Francus, P., Cazet, J.-P., Fagot, M., Rumes, B., Russell, J. M., Darius, F., Conley, D. J., Schuster, M., von Suchodoletz, H., & Engstrom, D. R.
- Affiliations
- Africa Research Unit, Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Jennerstraße 8, D-50823 Köln, Germany.
- Meise Botanic Garden (BE)
- Science Museum of Minnesota (US)
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2008-05-09
- Volume
- 320
- Issue
- 5877
- Pages
- 765-768
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W2014574812
- Cited by
- 679
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 25 · 2024: 24 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 51 · 2018: 63 · 2017: 36 · 2016: 36 · 2015: 46 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 63 · 2012: 43
- FWCI
- 24.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HAL (submittedVersion)
- Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion)
- EspaceINRS (National Institute for Scientific Research (Canada)) (submittedVersion)
- Publication Database GFZ (GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences) (submittedVersion)
- Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Ecosystem dynamics and resilience
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Earth-Surface Processes › Aeolian processes and effects
- Keywords
- African Humid Period, Holocene climate, paleoenvironmental reconstruction, northern Chad, tropical trees, dust mobilization, African monsoon, insolation forcing, hydrological change, biogeophysical feedbacks, desertification, wind regime
- MeSH terms
- Africa, Desert Climate, Biological Evolution, Fresh Water, Plants, Time, Weather, Ecosystem, Geologic Sediments, History, Ancient
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
