There is very little information about vegetation and climatic changes during the Pleistocene epoch
in Thailand. This epoch has long been known as the “Ice Age,” a time sensitive to climatic and sea level changes1. It is believed that for much of the Pleistocene,
Thailand was drier and cooler than at the present day and the sea level during the glacial phases was
considerably lower than at present, causing the Gulf of Thailand to be exposed to the atmosphere1. There are some pollen studies from areas in southeast Asia
confirming expansion of dry land, especially during the last Pleistocene glacial maximum (18,000 BP)2,3, but most of the studies are restricted to the Holocene or to the time of the Pleistocene / Holocene boundary4–9. Evidence prior to that time is needed to arrive at a long-term picture of vegetational change in Thailand.
This study focuses on the vegetation in the coastal
area of southern Thailand, because this vegetation
type plays an important role in demonstrating the
prehistoric fluctuation of sea level. The main objective
is to highlight a pollen assemblage as evidence of plant communities, environments, and sea level prior to the glacial maximum of the Late Pleistocene