Coastal rainforest connections disclosed through a Late Quaternary vegetation, climate, and ¢re history investigation from the Mountain Hemlock Zone on southern Vancouver Island, British Colombia, Canada K.J. Brown a;b;c ;  , R.J. Hebda b;c;d a Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA b School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, Canada V8P 5C2 c Royal British Columbia Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 9W2 d Department of Biology, University of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, Canada V8P 5C2 Received 16 February 2001; received in revised form 3 July 2002; accepted 23 August 2002 Abstract The post-glacial vegetation and fire history of high-elevation regions on southern Vancouver Island is described using palynological and charcoal records from Porphyry and Walker lakes. A zone consisting mainly of Artemisia, Poaceae, and ferns occurs in the basal clay at Porphyry Lake and may represent a non-arboreal ecosystem in a late- Wisconsinglacialrefugium.Atbothsites,afire-free Pinus contorta zoneoccursbeforeca14160calendaryearsbefore present (cal BP). Climate at this time is interpreted as being cool to cold and dry. Mixed conifer forests of Picea, Abies, Tsuga mertensiana and Pinus contorta replaced the Pinus contorta woodlands after ca 14160 cal BP. Fires are recorded for the first time. Climate is interpreted as cool and moist. Forests of Abies, Picea, Tsuga heterophylla, Pseudotsuga menziesii, and Alnus developed and expanded during the early-Holocene from ca 11400^9910 to 7700^ 7300 cal BP as climate warmed and dried. Charcoal increased during this interval, indicating only slightly more fire activityandreflectingcontinuedmoistconditionsathighelevations.Inthemid-Holocenefromca7700^7300to5200^ 4900 cal BP, Tsuga heterophylla pollen values increased as forests became dominated by Tsuga heterophylla, Picea, and Abies with Alnus in response to increased moisture. The increase in charcoal influx at this time may reflect an increaseinslopewashanderosionresultingfromawetterclimateratherthananincreaseinfireincidence.Startingat ca 5200^4900 cal BP, a further increase in Tsuga heterophylla combined with an increase in Tsuga mertensiana and Cupressaceae pollen suggest that the late-Holocene was characterised by increasing moisture and decreasing temperatures. Late-Holocene forests consisted predominately of Tsuga heterophylla, Tsuga mertensiana, Cupressaceae, and Pinus contorta. A slight reduction in charcoal influx at ca 4600 cal BP implies fewer fires. A recent increase in charcoalatWalkerLakeat1700calBPmayreflectanthropogenicburning.Thetimingofeventsandresponseoftaxa on southern Vancouver Island are comparable to other coastal sites in northwestern North America, suggesting that past ecosystems were widespread and contemporaneous. Palaeoecosystem changes detected in one region of the Pacific Northwest likely reflect a widepsread response to climate throughout the V2500 km long zone, a zone that 0034-6667/02/$ ^ see front matter ß 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII:S0034-6667(02)00195-1 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1-919-660-7403; Fax: +1-919-660-7425. E-mail address: rhebda@royalbcmuseum.bc.ca (K.J. Brown). Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 123 (2003) 247^269 R Available online at www.sciencedirect.com www.elsevier.com/locate/revpalbo