Picture of a scientist taking cores of sediments from beneath lakes and bogs

Many useful applications have resulted from the study of pollen and spores. The earth sciences have gained precious information pertaining to paleoecology, biostratigraphy and geochronology. Archeology has benefited of a new tool to analyze past communities and forensic science a different method of studying crime scenes. Pollen is very abundant in sediments. A cubic centimeter of lake mud, for example, can contain about 100,000 to 200,000 pollen grains¹. This relative abundance, combined with a great resistance to decay, makes pollen a perfect candidate for different statistical analysis pertaining to the geosciences and interpretation of paleoenvironments, as well as other non-geological applications.

1 Campbell et al, 1999