How old is the Tasmanian cultural landscape? A test of landscape openness using quantitative land-cover reconstructions

Abstract

Aim To test competing hypotheses about the timing and extent of Holocene landscape opening using pollen‐based quantitative land‐cover estimates. Location Dove Lake, Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, Australia. Methods Fossil pollen data were incorporated into pollen dispersal models and corrected for differences in pollen productivity among key plant taxa. Mechanistic models (REVEALS—Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites) employing different models for pollen dispersal (Gaussian plume and Lagrangian stochastic models) were evaluated and applied in the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. Results Validation of the REVEALS model with vegetation cover data su..