Abstract
Charcoal recovered from pits in mixed forest and forest dominated by Gilbertiodendron dewevrei in the Ituri watershed of NE Zaire provide a 4000 year record of vegetation change. 36 tree, shrub and liana species were identified from 1817 charcoal samples; 28 samples were radiocarbon-dated. Guineo-Congolian rain forest was present throughout the period. Cynometra alexandri is common in both the contemporary forest and the charcoal. Two notable changes in forest composition are the absence of G. dewevrei in the charcoal, and the disappearance from the contemporary flora of Lebruniodendron leptanthum, the most frequently identified species in the charcoal. Charcoal distribution and dates indicate that fires were widespread but probably mostly small. Increase in fire frequency in the last two millennia may reflect climate fluctuations and human activity.
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