The 13th palynological working group workshop organised under NECLIME was held on 23-26 October 2024 at the Władysław Szafer Institute of Botany of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków.

NECLIME standing for ‘The Research Network on Cenozoic Climate and Ecosystems’ is an international open network of scientists working on the evolution of Cenozoic climate and related changes in continental ecosystems, active since 1999. The organisation currently has 150 members from 39 countries. NECLIME organises annual conferences, workshops, and administers working groups that promote scientific exchange, joint projects and the integration of research data.

These include working groups on palynology, plant macrofossils, fossil wood, climate.

In 2015, the Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute (PGI-NRI) organised and hosted participants of the 6th NECLIME group workshop on the taxonomy of Neogene palynomorphs. In 2024, the conference was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in September and focused on Cenozoic climate and the evolution of Central Asian ecosystems, especially in extreme environments. Meanwhile, a palynology working group workshop was held in Krakow.

The meeting was attended by scientists from seven countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine and Vietnam. Upon the invitation of the organisers, the conference was also attended by employees of PGI-NRI: Barbara Słodkowska, PhD, from Warsaw (member of the NECLIME group) as well as Wojciech Granoszewski, PhD, Andrzej Szydło, PhD, Małgorzata Garecka and Justyna Ryłko-Frocisz, MSc, from the Carpathian Branch in Kraków.

Participants from PGI (from left): Barbara Słodkowska, PhD, Wojciech Granoszewski, MSc Justyna Ryłko-Frocisz, PhD, Małgorzata Garecka and Andrzej Szydło, PhD

Paper sessions and a practical microscopy workshop were scheduled for 24 and 25 October. The second day of the workshop was inaugurated with two introductory papers on the past and current activities of NECLIME, and the presentation of the dates of the next conference (22-30 September 2025, Zagreb) and workshop (20-21 February 2025, Zoom platform).

Audience (from left): Małgorzata Garecka, PhD (Carpathian Branch), Wojciech Granoszewski, PhD (Carpathian Branch), Thang DO ( doctoral student at the Warsaw University), Andrzej Szydło, PhD (Carpathian Branch), Elżbieta Worobiec, doctor habilitatus (Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences – IB PAN), Jadwiga Ziaja, PhD (IB PAN)

Prof. Barbara Słodkowska from PGI-NRI presented a paper on the reconstruction of plant communities and their succession in two profiles from middle Miocene formations in southern Greater Poland (boreholes Solniki PIG-1, Kamień PIG-1).

In addition, workshop participants had the opportunity to view an exhibition on the history of the plant landscapes of Poland. The third day of the workshop was devoted to practical microscopic observations using reference collections and grinds (flakes) provided by workshop participants.

Participants of the NECLIME workshop in front of the Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków

Text: Małgorzata Garecka, Wojciech Granoszewski, Barbara Słodkowska
Photos: Małgorzata Garecka, Barbara Słodkowska