Precipitation driven decadal scale decline and recovery of wetlands of Lake Pannon during the Tortonian

► High-resolution analyses were performed on a Late Miocene lake-sediment core. ► Pollen and dinoflagellates suggest lake-land-interlinkage on a decadal scale. ► Small variations in mean annual rainfall caused swift environmental changes. ► Miocene climate variability is detected on a scale comparable to Holocene records.