NAMPHORA: a fossil and modern pollen database from Northern Africa and adjacent Mediterranean and Arabian regions.
Solano I, Bro-Jørgensen J, Lazagabaster IA, Thomas CD, Manzano S
Climate Adaptation
The same climate patterns that turned a lush, rainy Sahara into today's desert are now shifting again — and this database gives scientists their clearest picture yet of which plants survived, which disappeared, and where, helping predict what Mediterranean and North African landscapes (including the olive groves and wheat fields your food comes from) may look like as the climate continues to change.
Tiny pollen grains trapped in ancient mud and sediment act like time capsules, recording which plants grew in a region thousands of years ago. Scientists have now gathered and cleaned up the largest-ever collection of these ancient pollen snapshots for Northern Africa and surrounding areas, fixing inconsistencies that made older records hard to compare. This unified library will help researchers understand how the Sahara transformed from a green, wet landscape to a desert — and what that means for the region's future.
Key Findings
The database compiles 836 pollen records and 853 harmonized pollen types across all of Africa north of 7.52°N, making it the most complete resource for this region.
Northern Africa's vegetation experienced dramatic shifts approximately 5,500 years ago when the African Humid Period (the 'Green Sahara') ended.
All data includes 13 standardized plant functional traits and is freely accessible via R programming language through Zenodo, enabling reproducible research.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers have launched NAMPHORA, a comprehensive open database of 836 fossil and modern pollen records from Northern Africa, the Mediterranean, and Arabian regions, standardized across 853 pollen types and 13 plant traits. It fills critical gaps in understanding how vegetation and climate shifted across the Holocene, especially after the 'Green Sahara' ended roughly 5,500 years ago.
Abstract Preview
Northern Africa's climate and vegetation underwent significant changes throughout the Holocene, particularly in connection with the termination of the African Humid Period ca. 5500 years ago. Fossi...
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