Late Holocene vegetation and environments of the Mersey Valley, Tasmania

Patrick T. Moss*, Ian Thomas, Michael Macphail

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    A record of vegetation and environmental change over the past 3000 years was obtained through pollen and charcoal analysis of sediments from a grassy plain in the Mersey Valley, Tasmania. The results tentatively suggest that Aborigines had an impact on the environment of the Mersey Valley, although the scale of the impact is difficult to quantify owing to complexities associated with the fire history and sedimentary processes. In addition, a strong regional climate signal (drier late Holocene environments) was observed, suggesting that both anthropogenic and climatic factors are required to explain pre-European environments. The study also showed the dramatic impact European settlers had on the Australian environment, with massive land clearance, introduction of exotic plant types and increased sedimentation rates.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)74-82
    Number of pages9
    JournalAustralian Journal of Botany
    Volume55
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2007

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