Palaeobotany
Main research themes:
- Systematics, biology and ecology of late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic plants based on compressions and anatomically preserved material
- The evolution of terrestrial ecosystems, especially in relation to large-scale geological developments
- Cuticular analysis
- Palynology and mesofossil analysis
- Reconstruction of fossil plants, vegetations and habitats
- Palaeogeographical patterns in the evolution of land plants
Running and recently finished research projects
- Latitudinal Patterns in Plant Evolution
- The ecology of the Early Devonian Rhynie chert
- The ontogeny of selected Rhynie chert plants
- Compression floras of the Lower Carboniferous of Europe
- Late Carboniferous, Permian and Early Triassic floras of China
- The Permian flora of the Dead Sea region, Jordan
- The Permian Floras of the Southern Alps
- Late Carboniferous and Permian floras of Texas and New Mexico
- Cuticular analysis of the Cathaysia flora, China
- Palaeobotany in the Transantarctic Mountains
- The evolution of the Osmundaceae
- Vegetation development in southern Africa since the Oligocene
- Quaternary vegetation and climate history of Israel
- Palynology of the brown coal deposits of the Lower Rhine Embayment
Facilities and equipment
- A HF laboratory for the preparation of palynological samples and fossil cuticles
- A chemical laboratory for macerating fossil cuticles
- A rock workshop for making thin and polished sections
- A WOCO 50 rock saw, two Buehler Isomet 4000 precision rock saws, two BROT Lab grinding wheels, a Buehler grinding wheel
- A Keyence VHX-7000 4K digital compound microscope for normal and transmitted light, with XYZ-motorized stage
- A Leica DM 4500P microscope with a motorized stage and Z axis for incident and transmitted light, and for fluorescence with a HP Workstation and ©FOSSIL software for maceral analysis, reflexion and spectral measurements, image stacking and stitching and image analysis
- A Leica DM 5000B microscope for normal transmitted light, interference contrast and fluorescence with a motorized Z axis and image stacking software
- A Leitz Diaplan microscope for normal transmitted light, interference contrast and fluorescence
- A Leica MZ 16 stereomicroscope with a motorized Z axis and image stacking software
- Various Leica research microscopes and stereomicroscopes
- Several digital cameras for microphotography
- A digital camera for macrophotography connected to an iMac and a motorized Z axis for image stacking
- A large palaeobotanical and palynological library (> 40.000 titles)