First, professor Siim Veski and Senior Researcher Anneli Poska received National Research Award in the field of geosciences and life sciences for the research cycle “Lessons from the Past: Post-Glacial Environment in a Changing Climate and Increasing Human Impact”.

Second, the Quaternary team published an article in the prestigious journal Nature Ecology and Evolution: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01652-4

During 2018–2021, Siim Veski and Anneli Poska published a total of 38 research articles in top journals in their field. The main focus of this work has been on exploring the links between vegetation, climate and human activities in Europe over the last 15,000 years. What makes the research cycle unique is the integration of primitive DNA, lake benthos and human activity data into a single body of information that helped identify the extent of ongoing rapid climate and environmental change and predict its potential consequences. Many of the processes that scientists' reports warn us of – ecological disaster, loss of natural habitats, destructive forest fires, rapid climate change, increasing species extinction – can be observed, studied and understood through the prism of the past, especially in the wake of many periods with a more favorable climate conditions thousands of years ago. Human activity began to affect the vegetation of northern Europe about 4,000 years ago due to the spread of agriculture, and has been affecting it at an increasing rate ever since.

Congratulations to award winners and authors!