An example of Holocene vegetation stability from Camerons Lagoon,a near treeline site on the Central Plateau,Tasmania

Abstract A discontinuous record of vegetation over the past 7500 years was obtained through pollen analysis of pond sediments from an extensive treeless plain on the relatively dry Central Plateau of Tasmania. The results demonstrate continuity of treeless conditions, which probably persisted from the Pleistocene throughout the Holocene, up to the present day. Some changes to the structure of the grassland were observed, especially over the past 200 years. Analysis of carbonized particles showed that fires had been infrequent over the period examined. It seems that this area, close to the altitudinal tree limit, has remained a natural grassland, and the hypothesis of Jackson (1973), that unreliable summer conditions may be a major factor in maintaining open conditions, is supported. Parts of the Central Plateau may thus preserve plant communities with some of the floristic elements and structure of widespread Bassian grasslands of the Late Pleistocene.