Modelling late glacial / early post-glacial changes in nitrogen cycling and its impact on vegetation

Previous studies have demonstrated significant shifts in vegetation throughout northwestern Europe - particularly changes from coniferous to deciduous forests - during the late glacial / early post-glacial period of the Holocene, a period of major climatic changes. The role of nitrogen availability in vegetation changes during this period has not been analyzed before now. Data from the fossil record, such as pollen, carbon and nitrogen isotopes, sediment geochemistry and chironomids will be used in a deterministic ecological model that aims to identify the temporal relationships between climate change, rates of nitrogen cycling in soils and changes in vegetation.