Australasia

Summary diagrams of ten pollen and charcoal records extending through the whole or a large part of the late Pleistocene interval and covering a substantial proportion of vegetation and environmental variation within Australasia, apart from the arid interior of Australia, are presented and discussed. They demonstrate marked regional variation superimposed on a basic pattern of reduced rainfall as well as temperatures during glacial periods. The records from Australia also generally show a trend toward more open canopied vegetation and an increase in charcoal that may relate to burning activities of people and/or to progressively drier or more variable climatic conditions.