Holocene heathland development in temperate oceanic Southern Hemisphere: Key drivers in a global context

Adeleye, Matthew Adesanya; Haberle, Simon; Harris, Stephen; Hopf, Felicitas; Connor, Simon; Stevenson, Janelle

doi:10.1111/jbi.14057

Cited by 9 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Woodland elements gradually increased again on the FGI in the later part of the Holocene, which is thought to be related to a decline in sea level-related disturbance at this time ( [52,53], Figure 2). Increasing vegetation density may have led to the increase in BB (Figure 4).…”

Section: Holocene Drivers Of Biomass Burned (Bb) In Southeast Australia: Sww-driven Effective Precipitation and Ensomentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Conversely, Eucalyptus woodland generally expanded in eastern Tasmania throughout the Holocene but was reduced and replaced by coastal heathland and scrub in coastal sites due to the mid-Holocene sea-level transgression (e.g., [50,51]). Similarly, sea-level rise drove the replacement of Eucalyptus woodland by coastal heathland and scrub on the FGI around the same time [52,53].…”

Section: Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Laguna Pallcacocha lake sedimentation record was used as a proxy for ENSO events [70], reconstructed precipitation:evaporation from southwestern Victoria as a proxy for SWWdriven effective precipitation [71] and the number of radiocarbon dates from archaeological evidence of past human occupation as a proxy for anthropogenic land use [23]. [52,53,72]. The horizontal axis in each record represents age (calendar years before present, i.e., 1950 AD).…”

Section: Identifying Drivers Of Fire Regimes Across Southeast Australian Regions Using Generalized Linear Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the decline in effective precipitation at this time may have reduced biomass accumulation in woodlands on the mainland and FGI, with some decline in BB after~5000 cal y BP. Although the decline in BB on the mainland was relatively minor, BB declined markedly on the FGI after~5000 cal y BP, and this may be as a result of a major decline in woodland vegetation on the FGI at this time ( [52,53,72], Figures 2 and 4). Sea level-related disturbance (e.g., salt spray, wind damage) is thought to have driven the expansion of sclerophyll shrubby vegetation at the expense of woodland on the FGI during the mid-Holocene, due to higher sea levels and the flooding of the continental shelf forming present-day Bass Strait ([53], Figure 2).…”

Section: Holocene Drivers Of Biomass Burned (Bb) In Southeast Australia: Sww-driven Effective Precipitation and Ensomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The high RRFE on the FGI between~12,000 and 9000 cal y BP despite the generally low biomass burned during this period likely reflects recurrent Indigenous fire usage on the FGI (Figure 4, Table 2). Indigenous people likely used frequent fires to maintain open and accessible woodland conditions in order to promote resource availability during this period [52,53,86]. The open/mosaic landscapes maintained by Indigenous peoples also corresponded with less biomass burned on the FGI between~12,000 and 9000 cal y BP, possibly due to a minimal fuel load and connectivity, decreasing the likelihood of major widespread fire on the landscape.…”

Section: Holocene Drivers Of Recurrence Rate Of Fire Episodes (Rrfe) In Southeast Australia: Anthropogenic Land Usementioning

confidence: 99%

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Indigenous Fire-Managed Landscapes in Southeast Australia during the Holocene—New Insights from the Furneaux Group Islands, Bass Strait

Adeleye

Haberle

Connor

et al. 2021

Fire

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Indigenous land use and climate have shaped fire regimes in southeast Australia during the Holocene, although their relative influence remains unclear. The archaeologically attested mid-Holocene decline in land-use intensity on the Furneaux Group islands (FGI) relative to mainland Tasmanian and SE Australia presents a natural experiment to identify the roles of climate and anthropogenic land use. We reconstruct two key facets of regional fire regimes, biomass (vegetation) burned (BB) and recurrence rate of fire episodes (RRFE), by using total charcoal influx and charcoal peaks in palaeoecological records, respectively. Our results suggest climate-driven biomass accumulation and dryness-controlled BB across southeast Australia during the Holocene. Insights from the FGI suggest people elevated the recurrence rate of fire episodes through frequent cultural burning during the early Holocene and reduction in recurrent Indigenous cultural burning during the mid–late Holocene led to increases in BB. These results provide long-term evidence of the effectiveness of Indigenous cultural burning in reducing biomass burned and may be effective in stabilizing fire regimes in flammable landscapes in the future.

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Section: Holocene Drivers Of Biomass Burned (Bb) In Southeast Australia: Sww-driven Effective Precipitation and Ensomentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Vegetationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Identifying Drivers Of Fire Regimes Across Southeast Australian Regions Using Generalized Linear Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Holocene Drivers Of Biomass Burned (Bb) In Southeast Australia: Sww-driven Effective Precipitation and Ensomentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Holocene Drivers Of Recurrence Rate Of Fire Episodes (Rrfe) In Southeast Australia: Anthropogenic Land Usementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Indigenous Fire-Managed Landscapes in Southeast Australia during the Holocene—New Insights from the Furneaux Group Islands, Bass Strait

Adeleye

Haberle

Connor

et al. 2021

Fire

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Australian subtropical vegetation and wetland response to fire, climate and nutrient availability during the Holocene

Cadd,

Mariani,

Tibby

et al. 2024

J Quaternary Science

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The iconic sand dune systems of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), in southeastern Queensland, Australia, host numerous lakes and swamps containing organic‐rich sediment deposits that record changes in climate, fire and surrounding vegetation. Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions from individual locations can provide insights into changes in the environment, but determining the regional extent of these changes is seldom possible from a single site. Multi‐site compilations help elucidate the geographical nature of environmental changes and determine if they are driven by local or regional forces. Here, a synthesis of palynological records from six Minjerribah wetlands using a muti‐tiered Monte Carlo empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis allows island‐wide patterns of vegetation change to be identified. Coherent changes in vegetation were recorded, with first‐order changes (EOF1) indicating a long‐term shift in vegetation composition from closed forests towards woodland and heath vegetation. A compilation of macroscopic and microscopic charcoal from the same sites shares coherent patterns of change with a rainfall record from the island, suggesting that regional fire occurrence between 7000 and 2000 cal a bp was driven primarily by long‐term variations in rainfall and its influence on biomass. Comparison with fire activity, rainfall, sedimentary carbon, nitrogen and dust records from Minjerribah suggests that regional vegetation changes occur primarily in response to long‐term changes in nutrients and increasing rainfall variability. This analysis highlights the multi‐millennial connection between vegetation composition, climate, nutrients and fire occurrence across the Holocene in subtropical environments.

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Insights into the indigenous-managed landscape in southeast Australia during the Holocene

Adeleye

Haberle

Hopf

et al. 2023

Veget Hist Archaeobot

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Understanding the long-term interactions between people and the ecosystem in which they live is vital for informing present-day ecosystem management plans. The use of pollen data for palaeoecological reconstructions is often limited by the low taxonomic resolution of pollen, which often reduces the detail of reconstructions of human influence on past vegetation. This is true for Australia where Myrtaceae, particularly Eucalyptus species, dominate the landscape, but their pollen is difficult to differentiate. We present a pollen record with high taxonomic resolution of Myrtaceae pollen from the Bass Strait area of southeast Australia, focusing on the period of major human occupation there during the Late Glacial transition. These results were compared to records of hydrology, fire, sediment deposition, herbivore abundance and human occupation. We found that Indigenous burning practices promoted open, subgenus Monocalyptus Eucalyptus woodland at the expense of dense subgenus Symphomyrtus Eucalyptus forest. Previous studies have shown the need for management of the vegetation of southeast Australia guided by Indigenous people, to promote ecosystem resilience and reduce the risk of wildfires. Our results reveal that in addition to reducing wildfires, cultural burning by Indigenous people has the potential to promote the diversity of ecosystems and habitats.

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Holocene heathland development in temperate oceanic Southern Hemisphere: Key drivers in a global context

Cited by 9 publications

References 59 publications

Indigenous Fire-Managed Landscapes in Southeast Australia during the Holocene—New Insights from the Furneaux Group Islands, Bass Strait

Indigenous Fire-Managed Landscapes in Southeast Australia during the Holocene—New Insights from the Furneaux Group Islands, Bass Strait

Australian subtropical vegetation and wetland response to fire, climate and nutrient availability during the Holocene

Insights into the indigenous-managed landscape in southeast Australia during the Holocene

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