Planting trees is proposed as an important climate mitigation tool, but can be detrimental to biodiversity and livelihoods if not carefully planned and managed, with landscape history and livelihoods in mind. In Madagascar, deforestation is of concern, and a threat to forest-adapted biota. However, much of Madagascar’s landscape harbours ancient mosaic and open ecosystems that are home to unique suites of flora and fauna and provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Though guidelines for ecologically and socially responsible reforestation are emerging, the potential role of landscape history and palaeoecology has been generally underemphasised. Here, using Madagascar as a case study, we argue that forest restoration projects need a sound understanding of landscape history that includes a greater integration of palaeoecological data. This would help establish the former composition and extent of forests and also investigate the antiquity of open and mosaic ecosystems. When economic interests are strong, information from palaeoecology and environmental history can help reduce biases when identifying appropriate locations and suites of species for forestation. Furthermore, a reflective approach to landscape history can contribute to restoration projects that integrate cultural and livelihood considerations. A transdisciplinary approach that considers local needs and cultural context can facilitate the design and implementation of restoration projects that share benefits equitably. Underpinning this ambition is a more comprehensive consideration of ecosystem service benefits in a changing climate that includes accurate carbon storage calculations, as well as other ecosystem services including water provision, soil formation and erosion prevention, grazing resources, medicine and cultural components.

The relationships between woody vegetation cover and fire, climate, herbivory, and human activities in African savanna ecosystems are complex. Fire has been managed by humans for thousands of years, but post 1800, fire suppression was implemented in many areas. The impact of these policies are largely unknown, due to a lack of long-term records extending from before, during and after their implementation. Here, we present two ∼ 1000-year pollen, dung fungal spore and charcoal records from a savanna ecosystem in Bwabwata National Park, in north-east Namibia, an area that had a fire suppression policy in place from 1888 to 2005. Proxies from both cores (Jackalberry and Mukolo) show similar trends. Both records show higher tree abundance during a wetter period early in the record. No evidence of fire suppression or enhanced tree recruitment is seen in the charcoal and pollen data from the period post 1888. The results imply that the policy of fire suppression was ineffective, and did not lead to noticeable decreases in fire and associated enhancement of tree recruitment. The results are consistent with the knowledge that fire is an integral component of this ecosystem, and that fire occurrence in savanna ecosystems is more closely linked to climate than management. Therefore, fire management should adapt to rainfall variability as well as integrating customs of early dry season burning that benefit both biodiversity and livelihoods. Our results show how long-term datasets can be used to assess the impacts of fire suppression and inform present-day management decisions.

Global projections surrounding ecosystem vulnerability and biodiversity loss have heightened in recent decades due to climate change and land use. Mediterranean Type Ecosystems (MTEs) are projected to be highly vulnerable to global change due to changes in plant available moisture, changing fire regimes, and introduced species. Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, an MTE in Western Cape South Africa has undergone environmental monitoring since the early 20th century, but is bereft of insights on millennial-scale vegetation change, climate, fire, and herbivory, which have significantly shaped the landscape. Long-term data spanning the period before anthropogenic climate change and intensive land use are needed to assess these impacts and inform management and restoration. A 104 cm wetland core, from a Fynbos-Forest Ecotone was analyzed to reconstruct the vegetation, herbivory, and fire history. Over the past 5000 years, forest taxa did not show a significant increase, providing support for the idea that fynbos is resilient to forest encroachment. This may be attributed to fire-vegetation feed-backs, which exclude fire-sensitive forest taxa from fynbos areas. The high rainfall at this site may further buffer fynbos resilience. Results show that prior to 345 BP, grasses and dry-adapted species had dominated the fynbos vegetation, with minimal fires and less grazing. The high rainfall at this site may buffer fynbos resilience. Post-colonial anthropogenic influence since the 17th century is noticeable because of the introduction of alien species and increased herbivory. Such processes may have affected the landscape at community level, resulting in a corresponding change in the fire regime. Extreme fire events are evident in the core from 220 BP. A decline in Poaceae pollen is concurrent with an increase in Restionaceae and Ericaceae pollen types. Long-term monitoring of landscapes at millennial scale offers an in-depth understanding and interpretation of contemporary changes for setting sounder restoration and management objectives. Despite biome scale vegetation resilience, strong anthropogenic influence and change in fire regimes in recent centuries is an aberration in terms of the longer history at the site and can be attributed to increased fuel load due to fire suppression. Preserving the ecosystem while revising the burn policy is suggested.

In the face of a changing environment linked to increased drought and depletion of natural resources, paleoecological data from the last 2000 years show how communities in southwestern Madagascar adopted both incremental and transformational adaptations that allowed them to cope with environmental variability.