Sebkhas as ecological archives and the vegetation and landscape history of southeastern Tunisia during the last two millennia

Erhard Schulz, Abdelhakim Abichou, Tarek Hachicha, Simon Pomel, Ulrich Salzmann, Kamel Zouari

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Sebkhas are temporary lacustrine systems depending on the number and extension of floodings. They may create laminated sediments which can be exploited as ecological archives. Contrary to those of meromictic lakes they are seasonal but not annual. After each flooding a detritus layer and a plasmo-condensed layer of bacteria and algae are formed in the water body or film and during the subsequent dessication a third subaeric layer of evaporites is build up. These laminae show a quasi-textile fabric and they can trap and conserve any dust and fine grained material. A high resolution pollendiagram covering the last two millennia as well as geochemical analysis from a southeastern Tunisian sebkha demonstrate the potentials of these ecological archives.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)223-229
JournalJournal of African Earth Sciences
Volume34
Issue number3-4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2002

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