Late Holocene climate anomaly concurrent with fire activity and ecosystem shifts in the eastern Australian Highlands.

Thomas, ZA; Mooney, S; Cadd, H; Baker, A; Turney, C; Schneider, L; Hogg, A; Haberle, S; Green, K; Weyrich, LS; Pérez, V; Moore, NE; Zawadzki, A; Kelloway, SJ; Khan, SJ

Late Holocene climate anomaly concurrent with fire activity and ecosystem shifts in the eastern Australian Highlands.

Thomas, ZA Mooney, S Cadd, H Baker, A Turney, C

Schneider, L Hogg, A Haberle, S Green, K Weyrich, LS Pérez, V Moore, NE Zawadzki, A Kelloway, SJ Khan, SJ

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Publisher:: Elsevier BV
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Sci Total Environ, 2022, 802, pp. 149542
Issue Date:: 2022-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Thomas, ZA
dc.contributor.author	Mooney, S
dc.contributor.author	Cadd, H
dc.contributor.author	Baker, A
dc.contributor.author	Turney, C https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6733-0993
dc.contributor.author	Schneider, L
dc.contributor.author	Hogg, A
dc.contributor.author	Haberle, S
dc.contributor.author	Green, K
dc.contributor.author	Weyrich, LS
dc.contributor.author	Pérez, V
dc.contributor.author	Moore, NE
dc.contributor.author	Zawadzki, A
dc.contributor.author	Kelloway, SJ
dc.contributor.author	Khan, SJ
dc.date.accessioned	2022-11-14T21:17:15Z
dc.date.available	2021-08-05
dc.date.available	2022-11-14T21:17:15Z
dc.date.issued	2022-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	Sci Total Environ, 2022, 802, pp. 149542
dc.identifier.issn	0048-9697
dc.identifier.issn	1879-1026
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/163466
dc.description.abstract	The alpine area of the Australian mainland is highly sensitive to climate and environmental change, and potentially vulnerable to ecosystem tipping points. Over the next two decades the Australian alpine region is predicted to experience temperature increases of at least 1 °C, coupled with a substantial decrease in snow cover. Extending the short instrumental record in these regions is imperative to put future change into context, and potentially provide analogues of warming. We reconstructed past temperatures, using a lipid biomarker palaeothermometer technique and mercury flux changes for the past 3500 years from the sediments of Club Lake, a high-altitude alpine tarn in the Snowy Mountains, southeastern Australia. Using a multi-proxy framework, including pollen and charcoal analyses, high-resolution geochemistry, and ancient microbial community composition, supported by high-resolution 210Pb and AMS 14C dating, we investigated local and regional ecological and environmental changes occurring in response to changes in temperature. We find the region experienced a general warming trend over the last 3500 years, with a pronounced climate anomaly occurring between 1000 and 1600 cal yrs. BP. Shifts in vegetation took place during this warm period, characterised by a decline in alpine species and an increase in open woodland taxa which co-occurred with an increase in regional fire activity. Given the narrow altitudinal band of Australian alpine vegetation, any future warming has the potential to result in the extinction of alpine species, including several endemic to the area, as treelines are driven to higher elevations. These findings suggest ongoing conservation efforts will be needed to protect the vulnerable alpine environments from the combined threats of climate changes, fire and invasive species.
dc.format	Print-Electronic
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	Elsevier BV
dc.relation.ispartof	Sci Total Environ
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149542
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject.classification	Environmental Sciences
dc.subject.mesh	Australia
dc.subject.mesh	Climate Change
dc.subject.mesh	Ecosystem
dc.subject.mesh	Fires
dc.subject.mesh	Forests
dc.subject.mesh	Fires
dc.subject.mesh	Ecosystem
dc.subject.mesh	Australia
dc.subject.mesh	Climate Change
dc.subject.mesh	Forests
dc.title	Late Holocene climate anomaly concurrent with fire activity and ecosystem shifts in the eastern Australian Highlands.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	802
utslib.location.activity	Netherlands
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/DVC (Research)
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2022-11-14T21:17:13Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	802

Abstract:

The alpine area of the Australian mainland is highly sensitive to climate and environmental change, and potentially vulnerable to ecosystem tipping points. Over the next two decades the Australian alpine region is predicted to experience temperature increases of at least 1 °C, coupled with a substantial decrease in snow cover. Extending the short instrumental record in these regions is imperative to put future change into context, and potentially provide analogues of warming. We reconstructed past temperatures, using a lipid biomarker palaeothermometer technique and mercury flux changes for the past 3500 years from the sediments of Club Lake, a high-altitude alpine tarn in the Snowy Mountains, southeastern Australia. Using a multi-proxy framework, including pollen and charcoal analyses, high-resolution geochemistry, and ancient microbial community composition, supported by high-resolution 210Pb and AMS 14C dating, we investigated local and regional ecological and environmental changes occurring in response to changes in temperature. We find the region experienced a general warming trend over the last 3500 years, with a pronounced climate anomaly occurring between 1000 and 1600 cal yrs. BP. Shifts in vegetation took place during this warm period, characterised by a decline in alpine species and an increase in open woodland taxa which co-occurred with an increase in regional fire activity. Given the narrow altitudinal band of Australian alpine vegetation, any future warming has the potential to result in the extinction of alpine species, including several endemic to the area, as treelines are driven to higher elevations. These findings suggest ongoing conservation efforts will be needed to protect the vulnerable alpine environments from the combined threats of climate changes, fire and invasive species.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/163466