Quaternary pollen analysis in the arid zone of Australia: Dalhousie Springs, Central Australia

Abstract

Sediment sequences from sites in Central Australia, one of the more arid parts of the world, have only recently been investigated for their Quaternary fossil pollen content and results from such research have not previously been published. This paper reports preliminary results from one of the sites being currently investigated, Dalhousie Springs, a major group of Great Artesian Basin mound springs in northern South Australia, where organic swamp deposits are associated with artesian spring outflows. These sediments are extremely unusual in this arid environment and offer both a unique opportunity to examine aspects of the late Quaternary vegetational history in the arid zone of Australia and a novel approach to arid region Quaternary environment studies. Results from this site primarily reflect the local swamp history of the last 2000 years or so; inferred vegetation changes largely represent changes in water flow from the spring feeding this swamp and the consequential growth of the swamp. These results demonstrate the potential for using spring-related sediments in the application of pollen analysis in the study of arid land palaeoenvironments.