Climate changes, sea-level variations, volcanism and human activity have influenced theenvironment of the southwest Pacific Islands during the Holocene. The high-resolutionpalynological analysis presented here concerns two specific levels (main lithologicalchanges) of a well-dated Holocene core, Tfer06, collected from Emaotfer Swamp, EfateIsland (Vanuatu). Our aim is to understand the role of climatic variability and humanactivities in shaping vegetation during these changes. Between 3790–3600 cal yr BP, thedevelopment of vegetation marked by disturbance is a marker of an increase in sustainedEl Ni˜no events, also observed in many Asian-West Pacific areas. Between 1500–900 cal yrBP, the increase in introduced taxa and in microcharcoal particles is interpreted as humanimpact. In a forthcoming paper, the ongoing high-resolution palynological analysis of thewhole core will be compared and integrated into regional palaeoecological data.
