Palaeoecological evidence for Holocene environmental change from the Virunga volcanoes in the Albertine Rift, central Africa

► We present two new well-dated Holocene sedimentary records from the Albertine Rift. ► Mid-Holocene vegetation and fire regime changes were driven by climate variations. ► Human-induced environmental change has occurred only within the last millennium. ► Significant forest clearance and modification was linked to Late Iron Age onset.