Pollen record from sediment core M125-95-3 off the São Francisco River Mouth, Eastern Tropical South America

The São Francisco Basin (SFB) is the largest watershed in eastern tropical South America, encompassing extensive areas of savannas, xeric vegetation, and tropical forests. Here, we present a low-resolution pollen record spanning from 11,900 to 71,600 yr BP from marine sediment core M125-95-3 (Latitude: 10.945; Longitude: -36.2057), retrieved offshore of the São Francisco River mouth. The record indicates a persistent predominance of savanna vegetation, accompanied by shifts in the relative abundance of arboreal and herbaceous taxa, with open savannas expanding during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2. This expansion of open savannas coincided with the most intense fire regime, suggesting enhanced climatic seasonality during this interval. During Termination I, arboreal pollen gradually increased and cold-affinity taxa expanded during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1).