Editorial

Abstract

Quaternary climatic change in part results from Milankovitch forcing, and is accordingly a boundary condition commonly applied in global climate modelling. Orbital parameters result in different receipts of insolation across a year, and result in hemispheric differences in climate, for example, in the seasonal expression of climate. This effect may be dampened by the effects of the ocean, topographic and other forcing factors. In this study a comparison is made of the late Quaternary records from mid-latitude southeastern Australia and northeastern Asia along the Pole-Equator-Pole (PEP-II) transect of the Australasian hemisphere. A review of the major climate features and vegetation of the regions is given. The study areas have a good geographic coverage of palaeoecological sites and from these it is possible to estimate the timing of the major vegetation shifts over the last 25,000 years; including through the period of Last Glacial Maximum, recovery from this to events around the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, and the timing of peak warming in the Holocene. There appears to be no difference in the timing of vegetation response in the two regions at Last Glacial Maximum or around the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary. However, the peak of Holocene warming appears to significantly precede its expression in southeastern Australia. Data from all periods show significantly different variations in responding to climate change along the PEP-II transect. These findings have to be considered in relation to the range and quality of the existing records, and in the great differences in taxonomy and community structure between the two regions.