XVI International Botanical Congess

Effective ecosystem management requires long-term data, so that background conditions can be determined (i.e., realistic targets), natural variability can be assessed (from which human-related changes can be measured), and likely future scenarios can be inferred. Such data, however, are rarely available, and so indirect proxy methods must be used. Major advances have been made in paleolimnological approaches over the last 15 years, and many of these advances can be applied directly to ecosystem management programs. In this presentation, examples of primarily diatom and chrysophyte based studies will be highlighted that have been used to assess a suite of environmental problems. Many paleo techniques (e.g., top/bottom approaches) are now available that can be effectively used for large scale-regional assessments.