Abstract
Five Holocene to late Pleistocene peatlands (mires), those at Majiji, Manzengweya, Nhlangu, Mgobezeleni and Mfabeni on the Zululand Coastal Plain, South Africa, have been investigated as part of a comprehensive programme to delineate its peat resources. These peatlands, part of the Natal Mire Complex, have been radiocarbon dated to determine their stratigraphic position within the Holocene to late Neogene Maputaland Group. The proximity of exotic tree species in nearby commercial plantations provides a unique opportunity to determine recent accumulation rates i.e. within the last 3 decades. Pinus and Casuarina spp. pollen provide a proxy indicator whose introduction to the study area is well constrained. In all five cases the generation rates are similar and are in the region of 1–2 cm y −1. These rates are an order of magnitude less than previous estimates and indicate that the extraction of peat from these wetlands would be unsustainable.
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