I have seen with pleasure the very positive reviews of the manuscript by our three guest reviewers (Dr. Vera Markgraf, Dr. Virginia Iglesias and Dr. Gustavo Sotile) and the interactive commentary by Dr. S. Bertrand. In addition, I found that the answers to the reviewers' comments are correct, properly addressing the points raised by the reviewers. All these considerations lead me to invite to the authors to prepare the final version of the manuscript taking into account the comments of the reviewers and those I have made (see below) as handling editor.

First of all, I want to congratulate the authors for this collaborative work on pollen records in South America focused on the last 2000 years. Undoubtedly, this manuscript represents an important contribution and a major advance in the use of pollen records in high-resolution paleoclimatic studies in South America. This work provides an excellent inventory of existing records, potential and limitations, and in particular establishes the directions to follow in future studies.

My major concern deals with the imbalance between the high levels of detail provides in the Climatic settings section and the infrequent use of this information in the discussion of climatic signal present in the pollen records. The detailed information about the influence of the eight modes of climate variability on the South American climate, including four composite figures (Figs. 2-5), contrasts with the poor use of these patterns in the climatic interpretation of the palynological records during the last 2000 years. In the section of Climatic Settings, the authors provide details on the interactions between modes of climate variability for most regions in South America, whereas in discussing the pollen records only the principal modes of variability that affect different particular regions are listed. My advice to the authors is to simplify and reduce the extent of Climatic Settings section to be more consistent with the information discussed in the analysis of pollen records. Much of the information in the section Climatic Settings could be included as supplementary information.

In addition, since ENSO is the most important mode of global interannual variability, and that is the case for South America, much of the Climatic Settings section is devoted to ENSO variability and spatial patterns. However, it is not mentioned in the text how changes in ENSO and other modes of high-frequency variability could be inferred from pollen records showing 200-300 years resolution.

I fully understand the difficulty of coordinating this enormous revision with the participation of 15 authors, but there are many repetitions in the text that could be eliminated in the final version of the manuscript. In a file attached to this document, you will find the PDF version of the original article with comments that I hope will help in preparing the final version of the manuscript.

Once again, congratulations for this important contribution to the Special Issue in Climate of the Past (CP): Climate change and human impact in Central and South America over the last 2000 years. We hope to receive the final version of your manuscript shortly.

Ricardo Villalba

Dr. Suzette Flantua
University of Amsterdam

Dear Suzette and co-authors,

Thanks for submitting to Climate of the Past the revised version of the manuscript Climate variability and human impact in South America during the last 2000 years: synthesis and perspectives from pollen records. I am pleased to accept for publication in the Special Issue of Climate of the Past the new version of this state-of-the-art comparative analysis of pollen records across the South American continent.

After reading the revised version, I recognize the major adjustments made by the authors in preparing the new version following the comments and suggestions from the reviewers and myself. The revised version show significant improvements in comparison with the original manuscript. It looks consistent, with sections better integrated in a well-organized document. Particularly, I recognize the major effort made by the authors to provide a climate interpretation from the perspective of the pollen records.

Please, find attached a copy of the revised version with minor typos to be taken in consideration during the preparation of the final version.
Thanks you and the co-authors for this important contribution to our Special Issue to Climate of the Past (CP): Climate change and human impact in Central and South America over the last 2000 years.

All the best,
Ricardo Villalba