To study the influence of pCO2 on the Pleistocene development of the SE African vegetation, we used the pollen record of a marine core (MD96-2048) retrieved from Delago Bay south of the Limpopo River mouth in combination with stable isotope and geochemical proxies. Applying endmember analysis four pollen assemblages could be distinguished representing different biomes: heathland, mountain forest, shrubland and woodland. It turned out that the vegetation of the Limpopo River catchment and the coastal region of southern Mozambique is not only influenced by hydroclimate but by temperatures and atmospheric pCO2, as well. Our results suggest that the extension of either open ericaceous vegetation including C4 sedges or mountain forest depended on glacial pCO2 levels and that the main development of woodlands in the area took place after the Mid-Brunhes Event when interglacial pCO2 levels rose over 270 ppmv.

Supplement to: Dupont, Lydie M; Caley, Thibaut; Castañeda, Isla S (2019): Effects of atmospheric CO2 variability of the past 800 kyr on the biomes of southeast Africa. Climate of the Past, 15(3), 1083-1097