Vegetation development in an Amazonian peatland

► We present the first pollen record from a Peruvian Amazonian palm swamp. ► Development of the modern vegetation took 2200 years in several stages. ► Succession involved abrupt transitions between short-lived communities and reversals. ► The main allogenic control was flooding regime on the very dynamic Amazon floodplain. ► Wetlands are unusually dynamic and variable relative to other Amazonian ecosystems.