Vegetation history and water fluctuations at Lake Leake, south-eastern South Australia. 1. 10,000 B.P. to present

Abstract

The stratigraphy and detailed pollen analysis of the top 4 m of sediment in Lake Leake were used to describe the vegetation history and past changes in the water level in the lake basin. Some of the changes described have climatic significance. Six radiocarbon dates are used to place a chronology on these events and the results are used to compare previous work carried out in western Victoria. It is suggested that in south-eastern South Australia, immediately prior to 10,000 B.P., conditions were drier than at present and that after this time conditions became wetter, the wettest period of the last 10,000 years occurring between 6900 and 5000 B.P. After this time conditions became drier, marginally wetter again between 2000 and 1300 B.P., then relatively dry until the present day. Keys to aid in the identification of pollen of the Casuarinaceae, Myriophyllum and the Myrtaceae for species growing in the Lower South-East of South Australia are given.