E.C. Pielou, 1991

Macrofossils, microfossils and maps of the present day geographic ranges are used to trace the ecological past of vegetation. Unfortunately, when looking for evidence of terrestrial vegetation, soft plants or plant parts usually decay leaving no fossil remains. Some twigs, wood fragments and seeds may be preserved in the record but due to the lack of preservation, they are not a very good representation of the past. As a result, one of the most important parts of studying past terrestrial vegetation involves microfossils, in particular, pollen grains.

The present knowledge of past vegetation is almost entirely based on the study of fossil pollen, refereed to as palynology. This is coupled with the study of fossil spores of nonflowering plants.

POLLEN ANALYSIS

PALYNOLOGISTS