Late Quaternary palaeoenvironments of the winter-rainfall zone of southern Africa: Palynological and sedimentological evidence from the Agulhas Plain

South Africaʹs winter-rainfall zone is a climatically sensitive region, lying at the interface of the earthʹs temperate and sub-tropical climatic systems. Its seasonally arid climate has generally prevented the preservation of long and organic-rich sedimentary deposits, producing a spatially limited and temporally biased Quaternary record. This paper seeks to address this issue further and develop a fuller understanding of the wider climatic changes in this region during the Late Quaternary. Modern climatic data does not support the definitions of the “winter-rainfall zone” presented in previous syntheses and this factor, amongst others, may explain difficulties in resolving the palaeoenvironmental record in this region. We present palaeoenvironmental evidence from the Agulhas Plain, an area marginal to the modern winter-rainfall zone. Cored sedimentological and palynological records from two pans are integrated with previously reported records of aeolian activity, providing evidence for phases of enhanced aridity and humidity during the Late Quaternary. The record is fragmentary, which may reflect the cycling of sediment between the pans and their accompanying lunette dunes. Lacustrine sedimentary sequences dating to c. 33 ka – > 47 ka provide evidence for enhanced humidity consistent with evidence in the winter and year-round rainfall zones. Increased humidity is also recorded from c. 2 ka, following drier conditions than the present c. 2.7–2.5 ka. Palynological evidence supports the sedimentological interpretations of pan water status and offers rare insights into the nature of the regionʹs unique Fynbos vegetation during the Late Pleistocene.