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Abstract AimPollen assemblages are commonly used to reconstruct past climates yet have not yet been used to reconstruct past human activities, including deforestation. We aim to assess (i) how pollen assemblages vary across biogeographic and environmental gradients, (ii) the source area of pollen assemblages from lake sediment samples and (iii) which pollen taxa can best be used to quantify deforested landscapes. LocationAmazonia. TaxonPlantae. MethodsPollen assemblages (N = 65) from mud‐water interface samples (representing modern conditions) of lake sediment cores were compared with modern gradients of temperature, precipitation and elevation. Pollen assemblages were also compared with local‐scale estimates of forest cover at 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 40 km buffers around each lake. ResultsOver 250 pollen types were identified in the samples, and pollen assemblages were able to accurately differentiate biogeographic regions across the basin, corresponding with gradients in temperature and precipitation. Poaceae percentages were the best predictor of deforestation, and had a significant negative relationship with forest cover estimates. These relationships were strongest for the 1 km buffer area, weakening as buffer sizes increased. Main conclusionsThe diverse Amazonian pollen assemblages strongly reflect environmental gradients, and percentages of Poaceae best reflect local‐scale variability in forest cover. Our results of modern pollen‐landscape relationships can be used to provide a foundation for quantitative reconstructions of climate and deforestation in Amazonia.
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This content will become publicly available on December 20, 2025
A global modern pollen and spore dataset
Here we present a new global compilation of modern pollen and spore data for use in testing and evaluating palaeoclimate reconstruction methods. The resulting dataset contains 21,503 pollen assemblages from all continents excluding Antarctica. All pollen assemblages have geographical coordinates listed, and the majority have an elevation measurement. Taxonomic nomenclature has been standardised.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2015813
- PAR ID:
- 10561583
- Publisher / Repository:
- Taylor and Francis
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Palynology
- ISSN:
- 0191-6122
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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