Fungi are highly sensitive to environmental and climatic changes. Palaeoecological reconstructions utilising tropical African fungal spores, however, are rare and patchy. Here, we show that fossil fungal spores preserved in core KAP‐01 from the Cherangani Hills in Kenya tracks critical environmental changes in the African tropics since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), largely synchronous with observations in the pollen record from the same site. Consistent with the pollen record, the presence of fungal taxa in the record, albeit meagre, during the LGM point to an intermittent wetter Cherangani that allowed for the presence of the observed taxa and the prevalence of cool, dry conditions during the last deglaciation. The elevated fungal spore activity during the Late Holocene is evidence for warm, moist environmental conditions and broadly consistent with the pollen record. These different fungal spore taxa, which can be employed to track distinct environmental conditions and processes, provide a dimension that can be overlooked if the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment were to rely solely on pollen. Thus the fungal spore record enables us to affirm the interpretation of the prevalence of warm, moist conditions evident from such as the Holocene pollen record.
I would like to appreciate the funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the project and the support and guidance of my advisor Dr. Lawrence Kiage who has always believed that I can do better as long as I put my nose to the grindstone and work at it. Thanks to my thesis committee Dr. Deocampo and Dr. Meyer for the help accorded through the whole process and preparation of this document. Thank you Dr. Gebregiorgis for the immense support and a keen eye for detail throughout the preparation and combing of this document. A big thank you to the Geosciences department for the graduate research and teaching assistant positions they offered me; which enabled me to finance my masters' education to a successful completion. Great appreciation too to my colleagues and course mates especially Francis Muchemi who has been a friend, elder brother and mentor whom we started the journey for our studies abroad in The United States together and has always supported me in all my academic and life engagements. A big thank you to Vicky Chelang'at whom we worked in the lab together through the tedious palynological work. Not to forget Mr. Muchiri, great thanks for driving us through the challenging Cherangani Hills terrain during the coring field excursions. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS
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