Pollen and charcoal reveal human-driven collapse of swamp cypress forests 2,100 years ago

Pollen and charcoal reveal human-driven collapse of swamp cypress forests 2,100 years ago

Chinese scientists have discovered that fragile swamp forests in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region suddenly collapsed approximately 2,100 years ago (2.1 ka)—with human activity as the cause.

An ancient battle has driven a wetland species almost to extinction - WorldNL Magazine

Then everything changed when the Fire Nation—sorry, the Han Empire—attacked. Han rose to power in the wake of Qin’s collapse, after a short war with a rival dynasty called Chu, and spent the next century smugly referring to Nanyue as a vassal state and occasionally demanding tribute. At times, the rulers of Nanyue played along, but it all came to a head around 111 BCE, in the wake of an attempted coup and a series of assassinations. The Han Empe…

Fire tactics by an ancient Han army invasion devastated a now-buried forest

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)—Fire activity by the Han army around 221 to 111 BCE sparked the devastation of an ancient Chinese swamp cypress forest, according to new research*. Today, traces of this ancient forest lurk beneath the water in the Pearl River Delta. The research also indicates that human agricultural activity... Read more »