Late-quarternary vegetation history of Tasmania from pollen records

Vegetation forms the major living characteristic of a landscape that solicits inquiry into the history of its changes during the late Quaternary and the major factors that have influenced the changes. Early studies considered ecological factors would cause vegetation to develop until a stable climatic climax formation was attained (Clements 1936). The concept of an area developing a potential natural vegetation in the absence of humans was similar (Tüxen 1956). Both ideas held that the vegetation of an area would develop to a stable condition that would change little. However, the vegetation of a region never remains in stasis, but develops dynamically through time, influenced by changing dominant factors (Chiarucci et al. 2010).