Complimentary access (50 day limit) via: Christ, R., Finch, J. M., Hill, T. R., Kraak, J. J. J., McMichael, C. N. H., & Gosling, W. D. (2026). Modern grass phytolith assemblages from the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains, southern Africa. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 105743. This work is a collaborative effort between the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKNZ).

On Wednesday 24 September 2026 the graduation ceremony for the BSc Future Planet Studies at the University of Amsterdam saw two students who had completed palaeoecology projects. Lieve Lijmer worked with Crystal McMichael on a project entitled “Reconstructing the fire history from an ecotourisum lodge with conservation land in northwestern Amazonia”, while Guus Dunglemann work with William Gosling on…

A new study finds evidence for the southernmost wildfires currently known, which may have facilitated a transition from temperate rainforest to peatland in Antarctica.

McMichael, C. N. H., Watson, J. A., & Bush, M. B. (2025). Long‐term fire and vegetation change at Cocha Cashu Biological Station, Peru. Biotropica, 57(3), e70010.

Gomes, B. T., McMichael, C. N. H., Witteveen, N., Martel, K., Kool, C., R. Canales-Aguilera, S., Peterson, L. C., C. León-Yánez, S., & Bush, M. B. (2025). Late Holocene multiphasic use and occupation around a western Amazonian Lake. Quaternary Science Reviews, 359, 109387.

M.A. Sowunmi at her graduation ceremony. Photo from: Orijemie (2025) Palynos, 48(2), 4-8 The Palynological Association of Nigeria hosted a webinar on Wednesday 24 September 2026 to posthumously celebrate the 87th birthday of pioneering palynologist and environmental archaeologists Prof. Margaret Adebisi Sowunmi (University of Ibadan, Nigeria). The event included a keynote lecture from myself (William Gosling, University of Amsterdam), a special guest lecture from…

Open access: Bush, M. B., Sales, R. K., Neill, D., Valencia, B. G., León-Yánez, S., Stanley, A., Sinkler, W., Bennett, I., Gomes, B. T., Land, K., & McMichael, C. N. H. (2025). Ecological legacies and recent footprints of the Amazon’s Lost City. Nature Communications, 16(1), 7408.

Open access: McMichael, C. N. H., Guerra, D., Witteveen, N. H., Heijink, B. M., Zwarts, A., Zuquim, G., Balslev, H., Ruokolainen, K., & Tuomisto, H. (2026). Soil phytolith assemblages reflect palm community composition in western Amazonia. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 344, 105443.

Tectonic processes play a key role in the global mercury (Hg) cycle on geological timescales, by mobilising Hg from deep Earth reservoirs to the surface. These natural fluxes also introduce a dynamic...

The PAGES (Past Global Changes) organization, which helps coordinate and promotes the scientific community related to understanding our planets past, is looking to hire a Data Science Officer. This position will include being involved with: supporting the PAGES working groups, community data management, and editorial work across PAGES. Deadline 2 November 2026. For full information check out the PAGES website: Past Global Changes Job advertisement and application information

The latest edition of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) BSc course Palaeoecology took place in September. This course is centred around an "environmental forensics" project, during which students use palaeoecological tools to identify the location that their "mystery slides" came from. To achieve this the students gain experience of: Microscope work, learning how to identify the characteristics of the vegetation recorded in their slides in the pollen and phytoliths.

McMichael, C. N. H., Bush, M. B., Ter Steege, H., Piperno, D. R., Gosling, W. D., Nascimento, M. N., Lombardo, U., De Souza Coelho, L., Leão Do Amaral, I., De Almeida Matos, F. D., De Andrade Lima Filho, D., Castilho, C. V., Wittmann, F., Guevara-Andino, J. E., Magnusson, W. E., Salomão, R. P., Phillips, O. L., Cardenas Revilla, J.