Late holocene human impact on two coastal environments in New South Wales, Australia: a comparison of Aboriginal and European impacts

Dodson, J. R.; McRae, V. M.; Molloy, Karen; Roberts, F.; Smith, J. David

doi:10.1007/bf00202186

Cited by 18 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…A significant drop in charcoal concentrations, followed by rapid peat accumulation, an increase in shrub taxa (Ericaceae, Leptospermum/Beakea) and a drop in grass pollen are the initial impacts of European arrival. Post-European changes in sedimentary charcoal content differ markedly across Australia, with both increases and decreases in charcoal reflecting the wide range of environments and different land uses practiced by Europeans (Dodson et al, 1993;Dodson and Mooney, 2002;Bickford et al, 2008). The post-European reduction in charcoal in the Mill Bay record reflects a cessation of Aboriginal burning at the site and probable suppression of fires close to Strahan.…”

Section: European Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dodson and Mooney, 2002, and references therein). Impacts associated with European colonisation of Australia include the exploitation of selected tree species for fuel and construction (D'Costa et al, 1989;Kershaw et al, 1994;Gale and Pisanu, 2001), land clearance (Dodson et al, 1993;Bickford et al, 2008), changes in sedimentation rates (Dodson et al, 1993) and the introduction of exotic species. The present study site is proximal to a settlement founded early in the European colonisation of Tasmania and permits a unique opportunity to asses a final question: (vi) what was the impact of European arrival on the environment of this part of Australia?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Holocene record of sea level, vegetation, people and fire from western Tasmania, Australia

Fletcher

Thomas

2010

The Holocene

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The analysis of a 10 000 calendar year (cal. ka) pollen record on the west coast of Tasmania has revealed a suite of changes that can be related to sea level, fire and people. Fire-promoted moorland has occupied the site for the entire period and challenges the long-held assumption that rainforest dominated the landscape of western Tasmania through the early to mid Holocene. Changes in wetland taxa and the occurrence of benthic marine diatoms indicate a Holocene sea-level high-stand between 6.3 and 5.8 cal. ka. A significant and sustained rise in charcoal concentration occurs after 6 cal. ka, reflecting the combined effects of anthropogenic burning and hydrological changes that were probably modulated by regional climatic forcing. Finally, European colonisation resulted in a significant decrease in charcoal, rapid peat accumulation and a suite of vegetation changes.

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Section: European Impactmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Holocene record of sea level, vegetation, people and fire from western Tasmania, Australia

Fletcher

Thomas

2010

The Holocene

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“…It is productive to review more briefly some further pollen profiles from adjacent regions. Bondi Lake is in a national park near the New South Wales south coast, 10 km to the south of the Bega River (Dodson et al 1993). Pine and disturbance plants first show up systematically during the last 120 years, but the indigenous forests did not decline, at least not locally.…”

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confidence: 99%

Livestock, Land Cover, and Environmental History: The Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, 1820–1920

Butzer

Helgren

2005

Annals of the Association of American Geographers

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For southeastern Australia, arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 raises similar issues in environmental history as the 1492 landing of Columbus in the Americas. But Anglo‐Australian settlement is younger and better documented, both in terms of scientific proxy data and historical sources, which include data on stocking rates that generally were light. Environmental concerns were voiced early, and a lively debate continues both among professionals and the lay public, with Australian geographers playing a major academic and applied role. This article addresses environmental degradation often attributed to early pastoralism (and implicit clearance) in the Tablelands of New South Wales. Methods include: (1) comparison of well‐reported travel itineraries of 1817–1833 with modern land cover and stream channels; (2) critical reviews of high‐resolution pollen profiles and the issues of Aboriginal vs. Anglo‐Australian fire ecology; and (3) identification of soil erosion and gullying both before and after Anglo‐Australian intrusion. The results indicate that (a) land cover of the Tablelands is little changed since prior to Contact, although some species are less common, while invasive genera of legumes have modified the ground cover; (b) the charcoal trace in pollen profiles prior to Contact supports an ecological impact of regular Aboriginal burning and rare, catastrophic fires; and (c) most stream channels were already entrenched (“gullied”) well before 1840, with repeated cut‐and‐fill cycles during the late Holocene, but before Contact. Land impairment has not been a major problem on the Tablelands, although the last two centuries have experienced cumulative and complex environmental change. This unexpected empirical picture suggests that, until high‐technology intervention, increasing periodicity/magnitude of extreme drought/precipitation events had been the overriding trend in interior New South Wales, perhaps reinforced by burning. There is no support for an apocalyptic model of colonial environmental history.

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“…China has a high population density, and hence the potential for the occurrence of human-induced environmental change. Detailed studies of past natural environments combined with present observations can provide a valuable framework for separation of human-induced changes from natural climatic cycles (Dodson and Intoh, 1999;Dodson et al, 1993). The climate-sensitive northern boundary of the Loess Plateau in China provides us with a valuable resource for this type of exercise.…”

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confidence: 99%

Environmental variability within the Chinese desert-loess transition zone over the last 20000 years

et al. 2002

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The desert/loess transition zone in northern China is sensitive to climate variability, which is controlled mainly by the relative strengths of the East Asian summer and winter monsoons. Sandy loess layers found in the Loess Plateau and palaeosol sequences found in the sandy desert demonstrate latitudinal shifts of the southern desert margin over the last 20 000 years. Stratigraphic investigations together with radiocarbon and some thermoluminescence dating, show that during the last glacial maximum the desert margin was at its most southerly position (38°N). During the early Holocene, it moved northward about three degrees in latitude (41°N). At present, the desert margin is again close to its most southerly position (38°219 N), yet the northern boundary position of modern summer monsoon activity is placed at 41°459 N, which is close to the estimated Holocene Optimum desert margin (41°N). This situation cannot be explained from natural climate models. Hence, an external driving mechanism needs to be considered, and the most obvious one is that caused by human activity on the natural environment over the last 3000 years. Historical evidence tends to reinforce this consideration.

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Late holocene human impact on two coastal environments in New South Wales, Australia: a comparison of Aboriginal and European impacts

Cited by 18 publications

References 11 publications

A Holocene record of sea level, vegetation, people and fire from western Tasmania, Australia

A Holocene record of sea level, vegetation, people and fire from western Tasmania, Australia

Livestock, Land Cover, and Environmental History: The Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, 1820–1920

Environmental variability within the Chinese desert-loess transition zone over the last 20000 years

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