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Looking forward through the past: identification of 50 priority research questions in palaeoecology

Looking forward through the past: identification of 50 priority research questions in palaeoecology
Looking forward through the past: identification of 50 priority research questions in palaeoecology
Summary
1. Priority question exercises are becoming an increasingly common tool to frame future agendas in conservation and ecological science. They are an effective way to identify research foci that advance the field and that also have high policy and conservation relevance.
2. To date there has been no coherent synthesis of key questions and priority research areas for palaeoecology, which combines biological, geochemical and molecular techniques in order to reconstruct past ecological and environmental systems on timescales from decades to millions of years.
3. We adapted a well-established methodology to identify 50 priority research questions in palaeoecology. Using a set of criteria designed to identify realistic and achievable research goals, we selected questions from a pool submitted by the international palaeoecology research community and relevant policy practitioners.
4. The integration of online participation, both before and during the workshop, increased international engagement in question selection.
5. The questions selected are structured around six themes: human–environment interactions in the Anthropocene; biodiversity, conservation, and novel ecosystems; biodiversity over long timescales; ecosystem processes and biogeochemical cycling; comparing, combining and synthesizing information from multiple records; and new developments in palaeoecology.
6. Future opportunities in palaeoecology are related to improved incorporation of uncertainty into reconstructions, an enhanced understanding of ecological and evolutionary dynamics and processes, and the continued application of long-term data for better-informed landscape management.
7. Synthesis Palaeoecology is a vibrant and thriving discipline and these 50 priority questions highlight its potential for addressing both pure (e.g. ecological and evolutionary, methodological) and applied (e.g. environmental and conservation) issues related to ecological science and global change.
256-267
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Sohar, Kadri
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Seddon, Alistair W.R.
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Mackay, Anson W.
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Baker, Ambroise G.
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Birks, H. John B.
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Breman, Elinor
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Buck, Caitlin E.
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Ellis, Erle C.
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Froyd, Cynthia A.
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Gill, Jacquelyn L.
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Juggins, Stephen
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Roland, Thomas P.
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van Asperen, Eline N.
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Belanger, Christina L.
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Birks, Hilary H.
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Ezard, Thomas H. G.
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Gell, Peter
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Seddon, Alistair W.R., Mackay, Anson W., Baker, Ambroise G., Birks, H. John B., Breman, Elinor, Buck, Caitlin E., Ellis, Erle C., Froyd, Cynthia A., Gill, Jacquelyn L., Gillson, Lindsey, Johnson, Edward A., Jones, Vivienne J., Juggins, Stephen, Macias-Fauria, Marc, Mills, Keely, Morris, Jesse L., Nogués-Bravo, David, Punyasena, Surangi W., Roland, Thomas P., Tanentzap, Andrew J., Willis, Kathy J., Aberhan, Martin, van Asperen, Eline N., Austin, William E.N., Battarbee, Rick W., Bhagwat, Shonil, Belanger, Christina L., Bennett, Keith D., Birks, Hilary H., Bronk Ramsey, Christopher, Brooks, Stephen J., de Bruyn, Mark, Butler, Paul G., Chambers, Frank M., Clarke, Stewart J., Davies, Althea L., Dearing, John A., Ezard, Thomas H. G., Feurdean, Angelica, Flower, Roger J., Gell, Peter, Hausmann, Sonja, Hogan, Erika J., Hopkins, Melanie J., Jeffers, Elizabeth S., Korhola, Atte A., Marchant, Robert, Kiefer, Thorsten, Lamentowicz, Mariusz, Larocque-Tobler, Isabelle, López-Merino, Lourdes, Liow, Lee H., McGowan, Suzanne, Miller, Joshua H., Montoya, Encarni, Morton, Oliver, Nogue, Sandra, Onoufriou, Chloe, Boush, Lisa P., Rodriguez-Sanchez, Francisco, Rose, Neil L., Sayer, Carl D., Shaw, Helen E., Payne, Richard, Simpson, Gavin, Sohar, Kadri, Whitehouse, Nicki J., Williams, John W. and Witkowski, Andrzej (2014) Looking forward through the past: identification of 50 priority research questions in palaeoecology. Journal of Ecology, 102 (1), 256-267. (doi:10.1111/1365-2745.12195).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Summary
1. Priority question exercises are becoming an increasingly common tool to frame future agendas in conservation and ecological science. They are an effective way to identify research foci that advance the field and that also have high policy and conservation relevance.
2. To date there has been no coherent synthesis of key questions and priority research areas for palaeoecology, which combines biological, geochemical and molecular techniques in order to reconstruct past ecological and environmental systems on timescales from decades to millions of years.
3. We adapted a well-established methodology to identify 50 priority research questions in palaeoecology. Using a set of criteria designed to identify realistic and achievable research goals, we selected questions from a pool submitted by the international palaeoecology research community and relevant policy practitioners.
4. The integration of online participation, both before and during the workshop, increased international engagement in question selection.
5. The questions selected are structured around six themes: human–environment interactions in the Anthropocene; biodiversity, conservation, and novel ecosystems; biodiversity over long timescales; ecosystem processes and biogeochemical cycling; comparing, combining and synthesizing information from multiple records; and new developments in palaeoecology.
6. Future opportunities in palaeoecology are related to improved incorporation of uncertainty into reconstructions, an enhanced understanding of ecological and evolutionary dynamics and processes, and the continued application of long-term data for better-informed landscape management.
7. Synthesis Palaeoecology is a vibrant and thriving discipline and these 50 priority questions highlight its potential for addressing both pure (e.g. ecological and evolutionary, methodological) and applied (e.g. environmental and conservation) issues related to ecological science and global change.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 16 December 2013
Published date: January 2014
Organisations: Palaeoenvironment Laboratory (PLUS)

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 360639
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/360639
PURE UUID: bc92df38-885e-46cb-a832-eb4e373546d5
ORCID for John A. Dearing: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-1466-9640
ORCID for Thomas H. G. Ezard: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8305-6605
ORCID for Sandra Nogue: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-0093-4252

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 18 Dec 2013 15:01
Last modified: 22 Jun 2024 01:49

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Contributors

Author: Alistair W.R. Seddon
Author: Anson W. Mackay
Author: Ambroise G. Baker
Author: H. John B. Birks
Author: Elinor Breman
Author: Caitlin E. Buck
Author: Erle C. Ellis
Author: Cynthia A. Froyd
Author: Jacquelyn L. Gill
Author: Lindsey Gillson
Author: Edward A. Johnson
Author: Vivienne J. Jones
Author: Stephen Juggins
Author: Marc Macias-Fauria
Author: Keely Mills
Author: Jesse L. Morris
Author: David Nogués-Bravo
Author: Surangi W. Punyasena
Author: Thomas P. Roland
Author: Andrew J. Tanentzap
Author: Kathy J. Willis
Author: Martin Aberhan
Author: Eline N. van Asperen
Author: William E.N. Austin
Author: Rick W. Battarbee
Author: Shonil Bhagwat
Author: Christina L. Belanger
Author: Keith D. Bennett
Author: Hilary H. Birks
Author: Christopher Bronk Ramsey
Author: Stephen J. Brooks
Author: Mark de Bruyn
Author: Paul G. Butler
Author: Frank M. Chambers
Author: Stewart J. Clarke
Author: Althea L. Davies
Author: John A. Dearing ORCID iD
Author: Thomas H. G. Ezard ORCID iD
Author: Angelica Feurdean
Author: Roger J. Flower
Author: Peter Gell
Author: Sonja Hausmann
Author: Erika J. Hogan
Author: Melanie J. Hopkins
Author: Elizabeth S. Jeffers
Author: Atte A. Korhola
Author: Robert Marchant
Author: Thorsten Kiefer
Author: Mariusz Lamentowicz
Author: Isabelle Larocque-Tobler
Author: Lourdes López-Merino
Author: Lee H. Liow
Author: Suzanne McGowan
Author: Joshua H. Miller
Author: Encarni Montoya
Author: Oliver Morton
Author: Sandra Nogue ORCID iD
Author: Chloe Onoufriou
Author: Lisa P. Boush
Author: Francisco Rodriguez-Sanchez
Author: Neil L. Rose
Author: Carl D. Sayer
Author: Helen E. Shaw
Author: Richard Payne
Author: Gavin Simpson
Author: Kadri Sohar
Author: Nicki J. Whitehouse
Author: John W. Williams
Author: Andrzej Witkowski

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