Holocene variability in semi-arid vegetation: New evidence from Leporillus middens from the Flinders Ranges, South Australia

Abstract

Twenty-seven Leporillus spp. (stick-nest rat) middens provide palaeoecological evidence with good spatial coverage across the northern and central Flinders Ranges, South Australia, for three Holocene time slices: 7-5 ka, 4-2 ka and <1 ka. Plant macrofossils and faecal pellets from middens were AMS radiocarbon dated, and pollen and plant macrofossils were used to reconstruct vegetation histories. Woodland and shrubland communities with herbaceous understoreys were dominant around 7-5 ka in the northern ranges, and shrublands with an understorey of herbaceous taxa and chenopods were dominant in the central ranges. Warmer, wetter and more homogeneous conditions than present are indicated during..