“Past dynamics and distribution of South Africa’s biodiverse systems”
Project Team Members
Dr Kenwinn Wiener (Stellenbosch University)
NRF African Origins Platform Project:
2022 – 2024 (Phase I) & 2025 – 2027 (Phase II)
ABSTRACT: The southern margin of South Africa hosts an extraordinary array of global biodiversity hotspots and an associated archaeological record that provides some of the earliest evidence of our species’ evolution to behavioural modernity. Combined, these aspects of South African natural and cultural heritage have made the region a focal point of both national and international research initiatives in recent decades. Logically, scientific initiatives have been centred on 1) modern ecology and 2) archaeology, reflecting the most obvious aspects of regional interest. However, despite the important discoveries and advancements that have been made, vital knowledge gaps remain. Most notable is the lack of information regarding the climatic and environmental drivers that have contributed to the evolution of regional biodiversity, and how these changes and this diversity influenced the evolution of our ancestors. This project will develop knowledge of past climate and environmental change along Africa’s southern margin and enable a fusion of disciplines for a more comprehensive understanding of both biodiversity and human-environment interactions in this fascinating region. To this end, this project will encompass the globally unique biodiversity hotspots of the Cape Floristic Region and Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Region, collecting palaeo-archives across key environmental gradients. These archives, including both sediment cores from lakes and wetlands and rock hyrax middens, will be analysed within a multi-proxy, multi-disciplinary framework, using pollen, fungal spores, micro- and macrocharcoal and geochemistry to elucidate changes in vegetation, herbivory, fire, hydrology and climate. This work is designed to actively develop regional capacity, using the new Palaeolab at Nelson Mandela University and engaging students and early career scientists from the area to contribute to this development of fundamental knowledge regarding their environment and history.
NRF Grant No: 136507
Outputs at a glance
Phase I 2022–2024, Phase II 2025–2027. NRF Grant 136507. Updated August 2026.
| Peer-reviewed publications arising | 5 |
| Doctoral candidates, primary supervision | 2 |
| Doctoral candidates, co-supervision | 2 |
| Masters degrees awarded | 3 |
| Masters candidates in progress | 1 |
| Honours projects completed | 5 |
| Honours candidates in progress | 1 |
| Postdoctoral researchers supported | 2 |
| Conference presentations | 15 |
| International training workshops delivered | 1 |
| Project team | 10 researchers across 8 institutions in 5 countries |
| Field campaigns, 2022–2026 | Klein Karoo and Swartberg Mountains, Baviaanskloof, Cederberg, Hex River Valley and surrounds, west coast, southern Cape coast |
| Data deposited | African Pollen Database / Neotoma Palaeoecology Database |
In total this grant has supported four doctoral candidates, four Masters students and six Honours students, alongside two postdoctoral researchers.
Capacity building
A core objective of this grant is to develop palaeoscience capacity in South Africa. The Palaeolab at Nelson Mandela University was established with African Origins Platform seed funding and now provides processing, microscopy and reference facilities that did not previously exist in the region. Specialised palynological training, which is not otherwise available in South Africa, was delivered to the postgraduate cohort through an intensive workshop at the Universidad de León in 2022. Two students trained through this route have since completed Masters degrees and registered for doctorates on the project.
The project also produced a fully searchable digital pollen reference collection for the Cape Floristic Region.
Host institution
This grant transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand in mid-2026, following my move to the Evolutionary Studies Institute. Phase II is continuing at full pace, with the project team, student cohort and field programme unchanged, and with the Institute’s palynology facilities now supporting the work alongside the Palaeolab at Nelson Mandela University.
Research sites
Project Highlights
2026
Throughout 2026, my AOP project continued to expand palaeoenvironmental research across the Cape Fold Belt, with new hyrax midden fieldwork supporting Luke Nel’s PhD, ongoing palynological work on the Swartberg midden sequences, and continued contributions to the Varsche Rivier archaeological research through PhD student Marishka Govender’s phytolith analyses. This work progressed alongside my move to the Evolutionary Studies Institute at Wits, establishing a new institutional base from which to further develop these research themes and collaborations.
2025
2025 was the start of Phase II of this project, it was a year of intense data generation as well as some fieldwork. See the below video for a summary of the Cederberg fieldwork we conducted in September.
Two of our students were awarded their MScs and registered for their PhDs. We are lucky to have Marishka Govender and Luke Nel conducting doctoral research directly linked to this project.
2024
2024 saw the work related to this project being showcased by the PI, Co-PI, collaborators and Masters students at the SASQUA Congress in the Cango Valley in May.
We also conducted several fieldwork trips in the Cape Fold Belt mountains.
2023
In 2023 we showcased the ongoing work for this project through various platforms, specifically successful was the Nelson Mandela University Science Faculty Palaeoscience Symposium in March and the INQUA XXI Rome in Italy in July (see list of presentations below).
Several fieldwork campaigns were successfully executed including follow-up work within the Swartberg region of the southern Cape and in the Baviaanskloof
2022
Southern Cape interior fieldwork We participated in a very successful hyrax midden recce fieldtrip to the Klein Karoo. Mandela Uni students learnt what middens look like in situ and how to spot them from a distance.
Palynological Training Workshop: To meet one of the overarching goals of the project – to build capacity and enhance the transfer of specialised skills – a comprehensive training workshop for the Palaeolab’s postgraduate student group led by Dr Saúl Manzano at his institution the University of León, in Spain took place from 11 – 15 July 2022.
The workshop integrated both lecture and practical components with several palaeoecology-themed guest seminars, together with intensive palynology training sessions centred on the identification of Cape pollen types.
The workshop not only massively accelerated the uptake of fundamental palynological training (not available in South Africa) but also represented an excellent opportunity for Mandela Uni students to participate in an international scientific initiative and to develop and strengthen their research careers.
Student projects
A. Ntsondwa, S. Manzano, M.S. Humphries, G.A. Grobler and L.J. Quick: Reconstructing the fire history and palaeoenvironment at Thyspunt, southern Cape coast, South Africa. Nelson Mandela University. MSc awarded 2024.
PhD candidate [New York University, department of Anthropology, primary supervisor: Prof Justin Pargeter]: Occupation intensity and fire regimes in the southern Cape: An analysis of natural and archaeological charcoal from Boomplaas Cave and the Swartberg Mountains, South Africa.
E. Hilmer, A.C.M. Julier, B.A. Grobler, N. du Plessis and L.J. Quick: Establishing connections between contemporary vegetation distributions, modern pollen representation and the fossil pollen record in the Cape Floristic Region. Nelson Mandela University, ongoing MSc project (2023 – 2026).
M. Govender, S. Manzano, B.M. Chase and L.J. Quick: Using an 8000-year-old fungal spore record from Whale Rock wetland to assess changes in herbivory along the southern Cape coast of South Africa during the Holocene. Nelson Mandela University, Botany Honours Project 1 2022.
M. Govender, S. Manzano, B.M. Chase, N. du Plessis, M.S. Humphries and L.J. Quick: Exploring vegetation change along the southern Cape coast: pollen evidence from Whale Rock, Plettenberg Bay. Botany Honours Project 2 2022.
MSc candidate (2023 – 2024) (L.J. Quick primary supervisor, co-supervisor: I Esteban, University of Valencia)
Reconstructing past environments: a new phytolith record covering the Holocene from the Baviaanskloof, southern Cape interior, South Africa. Awarded 2025.
PhD candidate (2025 – ) (L.J. Quick primary supervisor, co-supervisors: I Esteban, University of Valencia, A Mackay, University of Wollongong, T Steele, University of California Davis) Environmental drivers of human innovation in arid southern Africa during the late Pleistocene.
G.A. Langa, S. Manzano, B.M. Chase and L.J. Quick: Assessing herbivory impacts in the Baviaanskloof during the Holocene using coprophilous fungal spores from hyrax middens. Nelson Mandela University, Botany Honours Project 2022.
G. A. Langa, S. Manzano, B.M. Chase, N. du Plessis and L.J. Quick: Exploring vegetation change and fire dynamics in the Eastern Cape interior: charcoal evidence from the Baviaanskloof. Nelson Mandela University, Botany Honours Project 2 2022.
L.S. Nel, L.J. Quick and S. Manzano: A study of the palynological differences between two dominant Asteraceae species within the southern Cape: Osteospermum moniliferum and Metalasia muricata. Nelson Mandela University, Botany Honours Project 1 2022.
L.S. Nel, L.J. Quick, N. du Plessis and S. Manzano: Extracting more ecologically-significant information from the southern Cape fossil pollen record: A re-assessment of the Asteraceae pollen types. Nelson Mandela University, Botany Honours Project 2 2022.
MSc candidate (2023 – 2024) (L.J. Quick primary supervisor, co-supervisor: Dr Saul Manzano, University of Leon)
Extracting more ecologically-significant information from the southern Cape fossil pollen records: A reassessment of the Asteraceae pollen types. Awarded 2025.
PhD candidate [2025 -] (L.J. Quick primary supervisor, co-supervisors: Dr Saul Manzano, University of Leon and Dr Brian Chase, CNRS / University of Montpellier). Fire and climate shaping vegetation across the Cape Floristic Region: an insight into the Holocene
V, Dyubele (co-supervisor, primary supervisor: Prof Marc Humphries, University of Witwatersrand)
Geochemical Investigation into Holocene Palaeoenvironmental Change along the Southern Cape Coast, South Africa. MSc (2021 – 2022). Awarded 2023.
R. Mey (co-supervisor, primary supervisor: Marc Humphries, University of Witwatersrand)
Honours project: A 30,000 year paleoclimate reconstruction from the southern Cape coast, South Africa using
geochemical proxies (2021).
Masters project: Reconstructing Late Quaternary environmental change on the southern Cape coast of South Africa: A 30,000-year geochemical record from Pearly Beach (2022 – 2023). Awarded November 2023.
Presentations
L.J. Quick, S. Manzano, M.S. Humphries, B.A. Grobler, M. Chevalier, M.E. Meadows, P.T. Gama and B.M. Chase: Palaeoenvironments of the Cape Floristic Region: New research & current developments. INQUA XXI Rome, Italy, July 2023.
E. Hilmer, A. Julier, B.A. Grobler, N. du Plessis and L.J. Quick. Establishing connections between contemporary vegetation distributions, modern pollen representation and the fossil pollen record in the Cape Floristic Region. INQUA XXI Rome, Italy, July 2023.
S. Manzano, M.T. Hoffman, L. Gillson, B.M. Chase and L.J. Quick. Holocene palaeoecological reconstructions of landscape dynamics at the year-round/winter rainfall boundary in the Cape Floristic Region (Southwestern South Africa). INQUA XXI Rome, Italy, July 2023.
A. Ntsondwa, M.S. Humphries, S. Manzano and L.J. Quick. Reconstructing the fire history and palaeoenvironment at Thyspunt, southern Cape coast, South Africa. INQUA XXI Rome, Italy, July 2023.
S. Davids and L.J Quick. Validating the dung fungi spectra of herbivores: A Coprophilous Fungal Spore calibration study from the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA) 24th Biennial Congress, Cango Valley, South Africa, 19-24 May 2024
R. Mey, M. S. Humphries and L.J. Quick. Unravelling late Quaternary climate variability along the southern Cape coast: Insights from a 30,000-year geochemical record at Pearly Beach. Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA) 24th Biennial Congress, Cango Valley, South Africa, 19-24 May 2024
S. Manzano, L.J. Quick, B.M. Chase, M.T. Hoffman, L. Gillson. Patterns and processes of vegetation change in highly biodiverse arid and Mediterranean ecosystems of the Cape Floristic Region (South Africa). Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA) 24th Biennial Congress, Cango Valley, South Africa, 19-24 May 2024
S.G. Mosher, M.J. Power, L.J. Quick, T. Haberzettl, T. Kasper, K.L. Kirsten, D.R. Braun, J.T. Faith. Fire-climate-pastoralist links in the Cape Floristic Region: High-resolution sedimentary charcoal records from Verlorenvlei and Eilandvlei, South Africa. Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA) 24th Biennial Congress, Cango Valley, South Africa, 19-24 May 2024
A. Ntsondwa, S. Manzano, M.S Humphries and L.J Quick. Reconstructing the fire history and palaeoenvironment at Thyspunt, southern Cape coast, Eastern Cape. Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA) 24th Biennial Congress, Cango Valley, South Africa, 19-24 May 2024
M. Govender, I. Esteban, B.A. Grobler and L.J. Quick. Reconstructing past environments: a new phytolith record covering the Holocene from the Baviaanskloof, southern Cape interior, South Africa. Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA) 24th Biennial Congress, Cango Valley, South Africa, 19-24 May 2024
E. Hilmer, A.C.M. Julier, B.A. Grobler and L.J. Quick. Establishing connections between contemporary vegetation distributions and modern pollen representation in the Nelson Mandela University Reserve. Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA) 24th Biennial Congress, Cango Valley, South Africa, 19-24 May 2024
Publications
Quick, L.J., Chase, B.M., Carr, A.S., Chevalier, M., Grobler, B.A. and Meadows, M.E. (2022). A 25,000 year record of climate and vegetation change from the southwestern Cape coast, South Africa. Quaternary Research: 1-18
Manzano, S, Quick, L.J, Chase, B.M., Hoffman, M.T and Gillson, L. (2023). Long-term vegetation response to rainfall seasonality and fire in the heathlands and shrublands of the Cape Floristic Region (SW South Africa). Journal of global planetary changes 220: 104014
Quick, L.J., Chase, B.M., Chevalier, M., Grobler, B.A., Manzano., S (2024). Fire drives major Holocene vegetation shifts between subtropical and Mediterranean-type ecosystems: a case study from a biodiversity hotspot in South Africa. Ecography
Humphries, M.S., Mey, R., Reimer, P.J. and Quick, L.J. (2025). Intensification of the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds during the last deglaciation (18.5 – 14.0 kcal yr BP): Evidence from Pearly Beach on the southern Cape coast of South Africa. Journal of Quaternary Science.
Wiener, K.D., Grenfell, S.E., Quick, L.J. and Manzano, S. (2026). Variability in geomorphic response to millennial-scale hydroclimatic shifts and fire-induced disturbance: a multi-proxy analysis of a peatland archive from South Africa’s Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot, Geomorphology, 2026, 110487.
Lynne J. Quick 