Stella Mosher, assistant professor of Earth science at Utah Valley University (UVU), has received the Oliver Davies Medal from the Southern African Society for Quaternary Research (SASQUA). The award recognizes a highly regarded publication by a recent graduate in the field of Quaternary research, which examines Earth’s recent geologic past, including changes in climate, landscapes, ecosystems, and human activity. Mosher received the honor for a 2025 paper published in Quaternary Science Reviews.
Titled “Evaluating climatic and anthropogenic drivers of fire activity over four millennia at Eilandvlei, southern Cape coast, South Africa,” the study examines a 4,200-year record of fire activity preserved at Eilandvlei, a lake on South Africa’s southern Cape coast in the Cape Floristic Region.
Mosher and her collaborators reconstructed changes in fire activity over time alongside shifts in moisture availability, vegetation, and human influence. The record spans major changes in the region, including the onset of pastoralism, which introduced non-native grazers and may have altered vegetation and fire regimes, as well as the arrival of European colonizers and the beginning of fire-suppression policies.
Using a model to evaluate the relative influence of those factors, the researchers found that moisture availability was the primary driver of fire activity across the 4,200-year record — outweighing the effects of human activity.
The study’s findings add important context to the study of fire in the Cape Floristic Region, a globally significant biodiversity area. By examining fire across millennia, the research helps scientists distinguish between long-term climatic influences and more recent human impacts on ecosystems.
“The findings from this paper help us understand the relative impacts of climate change, vegetation assemblage, and human land use changes on fire activity across the late Holocene in the southern Cape,” Mosher said. “Importantly, they also highlight the interplay between moisture availability, fuel loads, and humans in driving the variability we see in fire activity over millennial timescales.”
SASQUA presented the Oliver Davies Medal at its biennial meeting, held Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 in the Central Lowveld region of Limpopo, South Africa. Although Mosher was unable to attend the meeting in person, she said she was honored to receive the recognition.
Mosher’s award-winning article was co-authored with colleagues from institutions including the University of Utah, the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Cape Town, and other research partners.
The publication is available in Quaternary Science Reviews: “Evaluating climatic and anthropogenic drivers of fire activity over four millennia at Eilandvlei, southern Cape coast, South Africa.”
