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Using lake sediments to assess the long-term impacts of anthropogenic activity in tropical river deltas

Using lake sediments to assess the long-term impacts of anthropogenic activity in tropical river deltas
Using lake sediments to assess the long-term impacts of anthropogenic activity in tropical river deltas

Tropical river deltas, and the social-ecological systems they sustain, are changing rapidly due to anthropogenic activity and climatic change. Baseline data to inform sustainable management options for resilient deltas is urgently needed and palaeolimnology (reconstructing past conditions from lake or wetland deposits) can provide crucial long-term perspectives needed to identify drivers and rates of change. We review how palaeolimnology can be a valuable tool for resource managers using three current issues facing tropical delta regions: hydrology and sediment supply, salinisation and nutrient pollution. The unique ability of palaeolimnological methods to untangle multiple stressors is also discussed. We demonstrate how palaeolimnology has been used to understand each of these issues, in other aquatic environments, to be incorporated into policy. Palaeolimnology is a key tool to understanding how anthropogenic influences interact with other environmental stressors, providing policymakers and resource managers with a ‘big picture’ view and possible holistic solutions that can be implemented.

multiple stressors, palaeolimnology, resource management, river deltas, tropics
2053-0196
442-462
Walton, Richard E.
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Moorhouse, Heather L.
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Roberts, Lucy R.
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Salgado, Jorge
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Ladd, Cai J.T.
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Do, Nga Thu
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Panizzo, Virginia N.
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Van, Pham Dang Tri
ebb0598a-57de-43fe-bd79-e2f0a4a0282f
Downes, Nigel K.
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Trinh, Duc Anh
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McGowan, Suzanne
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Taylor, Sarah
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Henderson, Andrew C.G.
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Walton, Richard E.
8466688e-9f32-446a-a410-914b7dd8c33f
Moorhouse, Heather L.
e330df3f-d208-4ec8-88f7-a6796fb3a7fa
Roberts, Lucy R.
37f3c48d-647e-4afc-9bcf-1fb43adf1968
Salgado, Jorge
7bcbf2b2-2296-4e4e-bb7c-b9ec6cf55a04
Ladd, Cai J.T.
bc38a599-c41f-47d2-9b78-4e6d1a6b7397
Do, Nga Thu
27467d3f-686f-4359-85f6-1a24dec85505
Panizzo, Virginia N.
c0d1f452-308a-4c27-9b4e-bc8bdb30f2f0
Van, Pham Dang Tri
ebb0598a-57de-43fe-bd79-e2f0a4a0282f
Downes, Nigel K.
925c35c6-a9d5-491f-bfd9-901666968cf5
Trinh, Duc Anh
9a6d3c19-8d75-4692-9c87-1fc6c6885fb4
McGowan, Suzanne
b06e2e74-95bb-44d6-8184-273c8dec9883
Taylor, Sarah
9f20f18a-4824-4df2-8c19-d0aa9b133ee0
Henderson, Andrew C.G.
42e3a95a-847f-4403-a82c-05cbc4da1148

Walton, Richard E., Moorhouse, Heather L., Roberts, Lucy R., Salgado, Jorge, Ladd, Cai J.T., Do, Nga Thu, Panizzo, Virginia N., Van, Pham Dang Tri, Downes, Nigel K., Trinh, Duc Anh, McGowan, Suzanne, Taylor, Sarah and Henderson, Andrew C.G. (2023) Using lake sediments to assess the long-term impacts of anthropogenic activity in tropical river deltas. Anthropocene Review, 11 (2), 442-462. (doi:10.1177/20530196231204334).

Record type: Review

Abstract

Tropical river deltas, and the social-ecological systems they sustain, are changing rapidly due to anthropogenic activity and climatic change. Baseline data to inform sustainable management options for resilient deltas is urgently needed and palaeolimnology (reconstructing past conditions from lake or wetland deposits) can provide crucial long-term perspectives needed to identify drivers and rates of change. We review how palaeolimnology can be a valuable tool for resource managers using three current issues facing tropical delta regions: hydrology and sediment supply, salinisation and nutrient pollution. The unique ability of palaeolimnological methods to untangle multiple stressors is also discussed. We demonstrate how palaeolimnology has been used to understand each of these issues, in other aquatic environments, to be incorporated into policy. Palaeolimnology is a key tool to understanding how anthropogenic influences interact with other environmental stressors, providing policymakers and resource managers with a ‘big picture’ view and possible holistic solutions that can be implemented.

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e-pub ahead of print date: 9 October 2023
Additional Information: Funding Information: The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The authors have produced this article with funding received from the UKRI GCRF Living Deltas Research Hub ( www.livingdeltas.org ) under Grant Reference NE/S008926/1.
Keywords: multiple stressors, palaeolimnology, resource management, river deltas, tropics

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 486645
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/486645
ISSN: 2053-0196
PURE UUID: 5b2b0f78-c966-40d2-86e0-63f457dd2349
ORCID for Richard E. Walton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2258-1374

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Date deposited: 30 Jan 2024 17:53
Last modified: 25 Sep 2024 02:07

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Contributors

Author: Richard E. Walton ORCID iD
Author: Heather L. Moorhouse
Author: Lucy R. Roberts
Author: Jorge Salgado
Author: Cai J.T. Ladd
Author: Nga Thu Do
Author: Virginia N. Panizzo
Author: Pham Dang Tri Van
Author: Nigel K. Downes
Author: Duc Anh Trinh
Author: Suzanne McGowan
Author: Sarah Taylor
Author: Andrew C.G. Henderson

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