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Plant Macrofossil

Plant macrofossils are preserved remains that are large enough to be visible without a microscope. They include leaf, needle, cone, and stem debris, and can be used to identify plants that previously grew in the area. Plant macrofossil data provide a valuable complement to pollen and faunal data that can be used to reconstruct the terrestrial environment.

Pine cone and needles image

Accessing Data at the World Data Service for Paleoclimatology

Listings and search results from this page include data archived by the World Data Service for Paleoclimatology and by the Neotoma Paleoecology Database.

Search Plant Macrofossil data

Search through plant macrofossil studies by Investigator, Title, Location Name, Parameters, and Latitude/Longitude Bounds.

Launch Plant Macrofossil Search

Search All Paleoclimatology Data

Access a free text search of our entire archive.

Launch Paleo Data Search

Interactive Map

Select study locations by region, proximity to a point, or text-based attributes.

Launch Interactive Maps

Google Earth Map

Locate and download plant macrofossil studies using a Google Earth map interface. Google Earth must be installed to use this search tool.

Download KMZ File

NCEI Paleo Web Service

Use the NCEI Paleo Web Service to access plant macrofossil study metadata records.

API Documentation

Contributing Data

To contribute to the plant macrofossil archive, review our instructions for contributing data. Prospective data providers can email paleo@noaa.gov to submit data and study description information.

Other Resources

Additional data and information sources on plant macrofossils and climate science.

Neotoma Paleoecology Database
Database of paleoenvironmental information including data from the North American Plant Macrofossil Database.
North American Packrat Midden Database
Packrat midden data from the southwestern United States and Mexico.
Missouri Botanical Garden Database
A searchable database of plant taxonomic information.
International Plant Names Index (IPNI)
A database of the names and associated basic bibliographical details of all seed plants.