Vegetation dynamics during the last 7500 years on the extreme southern Brazilian coastal plain

For the first time in the extreme southern Brazilian coastal plain, we analyzed palynomorphs in a continuous sequence, using an outcrop profile of relict muds in Hermenegildo Beach (33 degrees 42'12 '' S, 53 degrees 18'57 '' W), Santa Vitoria do Palmar, Rio Grande do Sul state. Five radiocarbon dates were obtained. The results revealed the plant succession in an ancient water reservoir near the coastal line. 7500-4000 BP: Marine organisms and freshwater taxa, with herbaceous marsh at the margins. Marine taxa were markedly present from 6000 to 5000 BP, the time of the maximum transgression. Regionally, the vegetation was dominated by grasslands and forest groupings. 4000-2000 BP: Regressive marine phase, with an increased record of freshwater organisms due to increased rainfall. A large increase in herbaceous marsh components resulted in a gradual filling-in of the water reservoir and the development of regional vegetation. 2000-1760 BP: With the end of the marine regression, progressive desalinization promoted the local herbaceous marsh development. Regionally, grassland and forest also developed, indicative of climate amelioration. Local plant succession ceased during this phase of herbaceous marsh ca. 1760 BP, when beach sands covered the sedimentary sequence. This study reveals the phases of a hydrosere in a coastal water reservoir, influenced by marine oscillations, with gradual desalinization and filling-in that culminated in an herbaceous marsh deposit. These results provide a basis for understanding many other similar relict muds spread throughout the coastal plain in the extreme south of Brazil.