NAMPHORA: a fossil and modern pollen database from Northern Africa and adjacent Mediterranean and Arabian regions

Abstract

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. Fossil pollen records are key to reconstructing past environments, yet current databases for this region are limited by the omission of significant unpublished data, taxonomic inconsistencies, and the lack of standardised plant trait information. To address these issues, we introduce the Northern African, Arabian, and Mediterranean Pollen Holocene Records Archive (NAMPHORA)— a comprehensive, machine-readable and taxonomically-harmonised database compiling fossil and modern pollen records alongside plant functional traits, and ecological and phytogeographical information. This database includes all of Africa to the north of 7.52° N and constitutes the most complete and comprehensive resource (836 pollen records; 853 harmonised pollen types, and 13 key standardised plant traits) to improve palaeoecological reconstructions, enhance biogeographical analyses, and refine climate models for northern Africa during the Holocene. It enables direct data retrieval via programming languages such as R, and all datasets and code are openly available via Zenodo.