A multi-proxy paleo-data synthesis of 110 sites is presented, exploring the impact of mid- to late Holocene precipitation changes upon vegetation across Southern Hemisphere tropical South America. We show that the most significant vegetation changes occurred in southwest Amazonia and southeast Brazil, regions reliant on precipitation derived from the South American summer monsoon (SASM). A drier mid-Holocene in these regions, linked to a weaker SASM, favored more open vegetation (savannah/grasslands) than present, while increased late-Holocene precipitation drove expansion of humid forests (e.g., evergreen tropical forest in southwest Amazonia, Araucaria forests in southeast Brazil). The tropical forests of central, western and eastern Amazonia remained largely intact throughout this 6000-year period. Northeastern Brazil’s climate is “antiphased” with the rest of tropical South America, but a lack of paleo-data limits our understanding of how vegetation responded to a wetter (drier) mid-(late) Holocene. From this paleo-data perspective, we conclude that ecotonal forests already close to their climatic thresholds are most vulnerable to predicted future drought, but the forest biome in the core of Amazonia is likely to be more resilient. Of greater concern are widespread deforestation and uncontrolled anthropogenic burning, which will decrease ecosystem resilience, making them more vulnerable than they might be without current anthropogenic pressures.

We present new palynological information from the anoxic Cariaco Basin, off Venezuela, that provides insight into the response of northernmost South American vegetation to rapid climate changes between 68 and 28 ka, specifically during North Atlantic Heinrich events (HEs) and Dansgaard/Oeschger cycles. We defined three different vegetation modes: (1) an interstadial mode characterized by the highest pollen concentration and the maximum extension of semi-deciduous and evergreen forests; (2) a stadial mode characterized by increases of salt marshes, herbs, and montane forests; and (3) a Heinrich event mode characterized by the lowest pollen concentrations, abrupt increases of salt marshes, and decreased forest abundance. Similarly, indices of C4/C3 plants show increases during stadials with clear peaks during the onset of HEs, though grasslands did not become dominant during these periods. We alternatively propose that these expansions of C4 plants are associated with the expansion of coastal salt marshes. Our vegetation record suggests the prevalence of humid conditions during interstadials, dry and cold conditions during stadials, and dry and cold conditions together with changes in sea level during HEs. This new palynological evidence supports previous interpretations that main environmental changes in northernmost South America were driven by latitudinal displacements of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and sea-level changes.