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.
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.
Search All Paleoclimatology Data
Access a free text search of our entire archive.
Interactive Map
Select study locations by region, proximity to a point, or text-based attributes.
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.
NCEI Paleo Web Service
Use the NCEI Paleo Web Service to access plant macrofossil study metadata records.
Browse Plant Macrofossil Datasets
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.
