A Holocene Pollen record from Lowland Tropical Australia

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Abstract
A pollen record from a dunefield lake on Groote Eylandt, Northern Australia is presented. This is the first substantially complete Holocene terrestrial record from the seasonally humid lowland tropics of Northern Australia. The lake originated as a seasonal swamp prior to 10 000 BP. A progressive rise in water tables occurred until a permanent lake was established at about 9000 BP. From 9000 to 7500 BP the lake shows evidence of disruption in the surrounding dunefield. Prior to 7500 BP an open grassland covered the dunefield. After 7500 BP the area was rapidly colonized by Eucalyptus open forest and acacias. These types remain dominant to the present. The data suggest that conditions continuously ameliorated from the base of the record to the mid-Holocene and there is evidence of an effective precipitation maximum at about 4000 BP. Effective precipitation declined after 3800 BP but a recovery took place about 1000 BP.