European Palaeobotany and Palynology Conference 2026

Acritarchs are an important component of Palaeozoic (micro-)fossil assemblages. Although they are commonly regarded as phytoplankton, their biological affinities are by definition unknown, and consequently their exact role in ancient ecosystems is uncertain as well. Some acritarchs from the Cambrian onwards show similarities with certain cysts of dinoflagellates, which today are one of the...

The phylogenetic placement of unicellular microfossils is commonly impeded by limited diagnostic morphology. This leads to ever-expanding informal “wastebasket” taxa—such as acritarchs (Eukaryota; >10k species with predominantly Paleozoic occurrences)—with restricted evolutionary value. Vibrational spectroscopy-based chemotaxonomy offers a promising yet underexplored alternative for acritarch...

Exposure to excess UV-B radiation can harm organisms through DNA damage and oxidative stress, and has likely been a key ecological and evolutionary driver throughout Earth’s history. Here, we show UV-B at Earth’s surface was significantly increased during the Laschamps Event, the last major geomagnetic excursion ca. 41ka BP. During the Laschamps, we find significant and prolonged (lasting...

Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events can deplete stratospheric ozone and elevate surface UV-B radiation. The 774/775 CE event was the most extreme SEP of the past 11,000 years, yet evidence of its biological impact remains lacking. Here we present an unprecedented annually resolved reconstruction of variations in surface UV-B variability as detected via the analysis of UV-B absorbing...

Ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation and its variation on the ground acts as regulator and stressor for terrestrial ecosystems. This study investigates variability in past surface UV-B radiation in northwest England during the Common Era by analysing ultraviolet-absorbing compounds (UACs) in sub-fossil Sphagnum spores extracted from a Late Holocene peat bog. We present a bidecadally-resolved...

Single-grain pollen analysis holds significant promise for advancing chemical palynology, enabling the potential future classification of morphologically similar taxa based on taxon-specific sporopollenin chemistry. Fourier-Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and microspectroscopy (µFT-IR) are widely used to differentiate morphologically similar grains but face limitations from Mie...

This presentation explores how temperature variation influences Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra of sporopollenin, and the implications for palaeoecological and taxonomic research. Previous studies on fresh pollen have shown that climatic conditions during pollen’s formation leave a measurable imprint on FTIR spectra, with heat stress producing distinct chemical changes. However, the...

Reconstructing past mountain elevations is challenging and critical for understanding how biodiversity responds to landscape and habitat changes. We demonstrate the potential to reconstruct past elevation profiles by measuring the abundance of ultraviolet-B (UV-B; 280–315 nm)- absorbing chemical compounds produced in the outer walls of plant pollen grains. Our analysis, based on a large...

Accurate pollen identification is fundamental to palaeoecological reconstruction, yet traditional morphology-based approaches often struggle to distinguish closely related taxa. In recent years, spectroscopic techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy have provided new insights into pollen wall chemistry and improved taxonomic resolution. Fluorescence Lifetime...