Late last glacial vegetation, climates and fire activity in southwest Tasmania.

Abstract

Pollen data from Ooze Lake show that the vegetation in southern SW Tasmania before ca 16kyr BP was dominated by rainforest tree species (particularly Huon Pine) but was probably scrub-heath, not forest. A herbaceous regional vegetation developed later, due to drier climates and, probably, Aboriginal fires. This persisted for ca 1.5kyr after the Franklin Valley caves were abandoned at ca 15kyr BP. -from Authors