Holocene palaeoenvironments of salt lakes in the darling anabranch region, south-western New South Wales, Australia

Abstract

Aim: Fossil pollen preserved within small salt lake basins in the Australian interior is used to reconstruct mid- to late Holocene vegetation. The study aims to identify the origin of problems such as woodland decline and salinization within present ecosystems. Location: Warrananga and Tooperoopna salt lakes, south-western New South Wales, Australia. Methods: Pollen, carbonized particle and sedimentological analyses of cores taken from salt lakes. Results: Prior to c. 4500 years ago, the region supported a dense cover of Casuarinaceae woodlands. It is possible that the subhumid zone species Allocasuarina luehmannii comprised some of the Casuarinaceae element. In the late Holocene, A. luehman..