Evidence for continued disturbance of upland rain forest in Sumatra for the last 7000 years of an 11,000 year record

A pollen diagram is presented from a swamp at 1100 m altitude in the Sumatran Rift Valley, Indonesia. The diagram covers the last 11,000 years and shows evidence of continuous cover by tropical rain forest. There are indications of continuous disturbance, probably by people, during the last 7000 years. This has caused little change in diversity, which does not support the Intermediate disturbance hypothesis of Connell [Science, 199 (1978) 1302].