A late-Holocene record of coastal wetland development and fire regimes in tropical northern Australia

Abstract

This study presents three records of environmental change during the late-Holocene from wetlands across Bentinck Island in the South Wellesley Islands, northern Australia. Radiometric dating provided ages for sediment cores with the longest chronology spanning the last 1250 cal. yr BP. Palynological results show the diverse mangrove community transitioned to woodland- and wetland-dominated vegetation over the last 850 years on the southeast coast. The key driver of this landscape change was likely late-Holocene sea level regression and coastal progradation in the Gulf of Carpentaria. This study found freshwater wetlands expanded across Bentick Island over the last 500 years, with sedges and rushes peaking in the last 350 years. Macroscopic and microscopic charcoal records, coupled with archaeological evidence, highlights the spatial and temporal variation in fire regimes across the island, reflecting the traditional fire management practices of the Kaiadilt people during the late-Holocene. This study finds a significant increase in charcoal accumulation in the 1900s when Kaiadilt fire practices were disrupted and the South Wellesley Islands were abandoned. The pollen record reflects little change in the vegetation despite the shifting fire regime, highlighting the importance of multi-proxy approaches to reconstructing past environments in tropical northern Australia where vegetation is adapted to fire.