How to use pollen data to make informed decisions about environmental management and conservation strategies ?
Pollen data can give information about the local vegetation and guide public health policies about seasonal allergies. Pollen data is not likely to guide conservation (biodiversity) since almost all of the pollen observed in atmospheric samples would be from common species that are not relevant in biodiversity conservation.
Even with the use of eDNA techniques that can identify species that could be important in conservation could be the result of incomplete taxonomical databases, and therefore not accurate in identifying species of interest.
It is possible however to identify species that should not be present in the local flora (invasive species) through the pollen record, and thus support conservation efforts by locating and trying to contain these plant populations.
- Badges
- Science method