Man's Impact on the Rainforests of West Malesia: The Palynological Record

Abstract

Palynological evidence for man's impact on the rainforests of West Malesia (Sumatra, West Java, Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia, the Philippines) is reviewed. The problems of interpretation in anthropogenic terms, identification of cultivars and difficulties occasioned by incomplete publications of results, sparsity of absolute dating and low sampling resolution are stressed. Man's impact may have begun as early as 17 800 B.P. in highland north Sumatra but the firmest evidence post-dates 6200 B.P. Clearance may have begun before c. 7500 B.P. in central Sumatra and certainly seems to pre-date c. 4000 B.P. Both areas show strong evidence for major clearance around 2500 B.P. which may relate to the introduction of irrigated rice cultivation. The west Javan forest also exhibits a long record of disturbance, perhaps initially due to vulcanicity, but clearance phases beginning before 4800 B.P. are evident. Data from very low lying land (below c. 100 m altitude) are sparse but forest clearance pre-dates 600 B.P. at Tasek Bera, Peninsular Malaysia. There is a need for multi-disciplinary studies of basin environment history in West Malesia to refine the results of pollen analysis.