Cold and humid Atlantic Rainforest during the last glacial maximum, northern Espírito Santo state, southeastern Brazil

Abstract The Atlantic Rainforest, covering the area from northern Espirito Santo to Southern Bahia states, has been considered as a stable forest during Pleistocene Glacial times. Aside from modelling and phylogenetic studies, this hypothesis has never been tested with empirical, fossil pollen, paleo-vegetation data. By using palynology, radiocarbon dating, and carbon and nitrogen elemental and isotopic analyses of organic matter, we reconstructed the vegetation dynamics and inferred climatic changes since the Late Pleistocene in the centre of this global biodiversity hotspot. Our results show that the forest biome was resilient to Last Glacial Maximum - LGM conditions, but that the floristic composition differed from that of today. Since the late glacial, the floristic composition of the dense forest changed from cold- to warm-adapted taxa. Structural, as well as floristic, changes occurred during drier conditions of the early and middle Holocene, with an opening of the forest, providing insights into the type of vegetation impacts that might be expected under predicted future drought.