FAILPOLLEN: A global repository for negative results in palaeopalynology

Non-productive pollen analyses are a routine outcome of palaeopalynological research. Most, however, never become part of the formal scientific record. As a result, valuable information on archive suitability, pollen preservation, and the practical limitations of the pollen proxy is frequently lost, leaving an incomplete representation of the empirical experience accumulated by the discipline. Here we present FAILPOLLEN, a community initiative designed to document, preserve, and disseminate non-productive and non-interpretable pollen records. The repository provides a standardized workflow for data submission, editorial curation, and public access, together with the contextual metadata required to understand why pollen analyses failed. This work aims to encourage the palaeopalynological community to contribute non-productive datasets, thereby expanding the collective evidence base available for future research. FAILPOLLEN is designed as an open, FAIR-compliant resource: all records are freely accessible and released under a CC-BY 4.0 license to maximize reuse and interoperability with existing pollen databases.