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Reliable quantitative vegetation reconstructions for Europe during the Holocene are crucial to improving our understanding of landscape dynamics, making it possible to assess the past effects of environmental variables and land-use change on ecosystems and biodiversity, and mitigating their effects in the future. We present here the most spatially extensive and temporally continuous pollen-based reconstructions of plant cover in Europe (at a spatial resolution of 1° × 1°) over the Holocene (last 11.7 ka BP) using the ‘Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites’ (REVEALS) model. This study has three main aims. First, to present the most accurate and reliable generation of REVEALS reconstructions across Europe so far. This has been achieved by including a larger number of pollen records compared to former analyses, in particular from the Mediterranean area. Second, to discuss methodological issues in the quantification of past land cover by using alternative datasets of relative pollen productivities (RPPs), one of the key input parameters of REVEALS, to test model sensitivity. Finally, to validate our reconstructions with the global forest change dataset. The results suggest that the RPPs.st1 (31 taxa) dataset is best suited to producing regional vegetation cover estimates for Europe. These reconstructions offer a long-term perspective providing unique possibilities to explore spatial-temporal changes in past land cover and biodiversity.

Over the past decades the sampling of environmental DNA (eDNA) - encompassing the DNA of all organisms present in an environmental sample 1 - has emerged as a technique for biodiversity monitoring and discovery in a diversity of environments. Avoiding the physical collection and identification of biota, this approach is praised for its independence of taxonomic expertise and has changed the way biologists study biodiversity. However, a common result in eDNA studies is the finding of unexpected taxa which are often removed by conservative bioinformatic filters or disregarded, since the authors are uncertain about the result and rarely have the interest, time, skills, and/or resources to return to the field and confirm with actual specimens 2 . Here, we report a case in which an eDNA discovery led to the physical localization of a member of the Micrognathozoa (Figure 1B) - a rare group of limnic micrometazoans, and the animal phylum to be discovered last 3 , which is the sister group to rotifers 4 , 5 . To this day, Micrognathozoa still comprises only a single named species from Greenland and a few additional disparate places., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

(1) Ombrotrophic peat bogs provide valuable records of environmental change on long timescales but are rarely preserved near the major centers of industrial activity. Holcroft Moss is a rare example of a stratigraphically intact lowland peat bog in NW England, which provides a valuable opportunity to trace industrial impacts on vegetation in a sensitive environmental archive close to the early industrializing cities of Manchester and Liverpool. (2) We reconstructed environmental changes at Holcroft Moss before and after the Industrial Revolution using a decadal-scale record of pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, microcharcoal, peat composition (organic content and ash-free bulk density) and heavy metal content, constrained by a radiocarbon and SCP (spheroidal carbonaceous particle) chronology. We examine the relationship between abiotic and biotic environmental tracers using principal component analysis and evaluate the role of local and regional climatic and anthropogenic drivers using canonical redundancy analysis and partitioning of variation. (3) Results show significant changes in bog vegetation composition during the last 700 years. Prior to 1750 CE, climate and agro-pastoral activity (grazing and fires) were the main drivers of vegetation change. Subsequently, regional coal-fired industry contributed to major increases in atmospheric pollutants (dust, heavy metals, and acid deposition) that severely impacted vegetation, driving the decline of Sphagnum . Grasses rose to dominance in the 20th century associated especially with bog conversion and cumulative nitrogen deposition. Although atmospheric pollution significantly decreased in the post-industrial era, vegetation has not returned to pre-industrial conditions, reflecting the ongoing impact of global change drivers which pose challenges for conservation and restoration. (4) Synthesis . Paleoecological studies are needed to reveal the long-term history of vegetation degradation and to offer guidelines for restoration and conservation practices. This study reconstructs the last 700 years of a peat bog located between Manchester and Liverpool, revealing the timing and nature of vegetation changes across the trajectory of early industrialization and eventual post-industrial decline. Our study reveals the progressive dominance of regional anthropogenic forcing and highlights that the present-day vegetation does not have past analogs within the last 700 years. Conservation measures favoring the reintroduction of Sphagnum are justified in redressing the major biological legacy of the Industrial Revolution, while steps to increase Calluna should also be considered in light of its resilience to dry and fire-prone conditions., (© 2023 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The European Alps are highly rich in species, but their future may be threatened by ongoing changes in human land use and climate. Here, we reconstructed vegetation, temperature, human impact and livestock over the past ~12,000 years from Lake Sulsseewli, based on sedimentary ancient plant and mammal DNA, pollen, spores, chironomids, and microcharcoal. We assembled a highly-complete local DNA reference library (PhyloAlps, 3923 plant taxa), and used this to obtain an exceptionally rich sedaDNA record of 366 plant taxa. Vegetation mainly responded to climate during the early Holocene, while human activity had an additional influence on vegetation from 6 ka onwards. Land-use shifted from episodic grazing during the Neolithic and Bronze Age to agropastoralism in the Middle Ages. Associated human deforestation allowed the coexistence of plant species typically found at different elevational belts, leading to levels of plant richness that characterise the current high diversity of this region. Our findings indicate a positive association between low intensity agropastoral activities and precipitation with the maintenance of the unique subalpine and alpine plant diversity of the European Alps., (© 2022. The Author(s).)