Abstract
Using identified wood charcoal to determine vegetation change and its effects on humans in pre-historic and historical times is not a new technique here in Australia (Hall 1984; Smith et al. 1995), or elsewhere (Prior and Price Williams 1985; Neumann 1989; February 1994; February et al. 1995; Figueira 1995). However, Australia's high endemic vegetation regimes suggest that great variation exists among plant types with the potential to affect charcoal preservation and its use as a palaeoenvironmental indicator. Because of temperate south-west Australia's encirclement by desert and ocean, it has become isolated from the rest of Australia causing the region's flora and fauna to develop species endemism ranging between 68% and 85% which is exceptionally high by world standards (Beard 1981). The question of charcoal's suitability as a method of reconstructing palaeo-vegetation from this region of Australia was examined as part of an Honours thesis, the results of which are presented here.
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