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Parr, J.F.; G. Kerr; J. Arthur and K.H. Taffs Centre for Geoarchaeology and Palaeoenvironmental Research, School of Environmental Science and Management, Southern Cross University. PO Box 157 Lismore NSW 2480, Australia. jparr@scu.edu.au Recent widespread drought in Australia has caused many peatland systems to become vulnerable to fire. In this paper we examine the process of fire and its impact on an acidic peatland in northeastern NSW. In particular, we were interested in possible implications for microfossil interpretation, changes in soil chemistry and increased atmospheric CO2. Our results indicate that darkening was observed in some of the microfossils examined in this study, however, there was no detectable morphological damage resulting from the peat fire. Nevertheless, there was substantial post fire subsidence of the peat layers, suggesting that this process needs careful consideration when reconstructing palaeoenvironments predominantly comprised of peatlands and that there was a significant loss of organic carbon.
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