A LONG POLLEN RECORD FROM LOWLAND AMAZONIA - FOREST AND COOLING IN GLACIAL TIMES

A continuous pollen history of more than 40,000 years was obtained fro m a lake in the lowland Amazon rain forest. Pollen spectra demonstrate that tropical rain forest occupied the region continuously and that s avannas or grasslands were not present during the last glacial maximum . The data suggest that the western Amazon forest was not fragmented i nto refugia in glacial times and that the lowlands were not a source o f dust. Glacial age forests were comparable to modern forests but also included species now restricted to higher elevations by temperature, suggesting a cooling of the order of 5 degrees to 6 degrees C.