A Late Quaternary palaeoecological record from the Banda Sea, Indonesia: patterns of vegetation, climate and biomass burning in Indonesia and northern Australia

Palynological, charcoal, elemental carbon and elemental carbon stable isoto pe analyses on Banda Sea core SHI-9014 provide a detailed regional vegetati on, fire and climate history for the Banda Sea area (eastern Indonesia and northern Australia) through the last 170-180,000 years. Reliable chronostra tigraphic control is provided by a detailed oxygen isotope record and, in t he younger part of the sequence, by radiocarbon dates. The results indicate that during the last two glacial periods (particularly stages 6, 4, and 2) drier climates prevailed in both eastern Indonesia and northern Australia and lower montane forests dominated by Fagaceae expanded, indicating cooler climatic condition in eastern Indonesia. High charcoal and elemental carbo n values suggest increased burning during these periods. Expansion of tropi cal lowland rainforests, humid mid and upper montane forests, fern and wood land cover occurred in the interglacial periods (stage 5 and the Holocene), indicating warm and humid conditions. The Banda Sea record indicates that before 37,000 yr B.P. Dipterocarpaceae formed an important part of the trop ical lowland vegetation of eastern Indonesia. Its subsequent demise coincid es with an increase in disturbance pollen indicators, the replacement of Eu calyptus woodlands and open forests by open grassland vegetation and higher burning levels. It is likely that these changes relate to an increase in h uman impact on the landscape. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights res erved.