Paleoecological Research
PaleoRes
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Paleoecological Research (PaleoRes) is a research facility focused on investigating plant communities from ecological, evolutionary and biogeographic perspectives through the analysis of fossil remains, especially pollen and spores. Its work covers the full Cenozoic, with particular emphasis on the Quaternary. The research targets tropical, subtropical and temperate terrestrial biomes, with special attention to Europe, the Neotropics, and remote oceanic islands such as the Azores and Rapa Nui (Easter Island).
PaleoRes is led by Valentí Rull (Biologist, PhD in Paleoecology), formerly Senior Researcher of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), who is featured in the Stanford ranking of world's top 2% scientists among the top 0.5% paleonrologists and the top 10 palynologists. Chek his personal webpage for more details.
CURRENT PROJECTS
Origin, evolution and decline of mangroves in Europe and the Middle East
The Anthropocene: current status and future perspectives
Rapa Nui (Easter Island): The Little Ice Age drought and sociecological responses
Middle Miocene vegetation of the Vallès-Penedès basin (NE Iberia)
The iconic Neotropical palm Mauritia: responses to glacial-interglacial cycles
Spatiotemporal gradients, disequilibrium dynamics and Neotropical biodiversity
Scientometric performance in Paleontology
SAMPLE PUBLICATIONS
Recent books
Rull, V. 2024. Origin and Evolution of Caribbean Mangroves. A Time-Continuum Approach. Springer Nature, Cham. Link
Rull, V., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T. 2024. Vegetation and Landscape Dynamics on the Iberian Pyrenees During the Last 3000 Years. The Montcortès Palynological Record. Springer Nature, Cham. Link
Rull, V., Stevenson, C.M. (eds.). 2022. The Prehistory of Rapa Nui (Easter Island): Towards an Interdisciplinary Integrative Framework. Springer Nature, Cham. Link
Rull, V. 2020. Paleoecological Research on Easter Island. Insights on Settlement, Climate Change, Deforestation and Cultural Shifts. Elsevier, Amsterdam. Link
Rull, V. 2020. Quaternary Ecology, Evolution and Biogeography. Academic Press, London. Link
Rull, V., Carnaval, A. (eds.). 2020. Neotropical Diversification: Patterns and Processes. Springer Nature, Cham. Link
Rull, V., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T., Huber, O., Señaris, C. (eds.). 2019. Biodiversity of Pantepui, the Pristine ‘Lost World’ of the Neotropical Guiana Highlands. Academic Press, London. Link
Recent selected papers
Rull, V. 2026. The Anthropocene: proposal, rejection, consequences, alternatives, and a lesson. Journal of Quaternary Science, doi 10.1002/jqs.70077. Link
Rull, V. 2026. Rethinking glacial retreat and postglacial expansion of the Neotropical palm Mauritia. Journal of Quaternary Science, 41: 545-551. Link
Rull, V. 2026. Origin, evolution and decline of European mangroves: the Cenozoic paleobotanical record. Earth-Science Reviews, 278: 105506. Link
Rull, V. 2026. Does solo publication still make sense? EMBO Reports, 27: 566-569. Link
Rull, V. 2026. Author position ratio (APR): a simple complementary bibliometric descriptor of authorship patterns. Journal of Informetrics, 20: 101776. Link
Rull, V. 2026. Goodbye h-index, welcome c-score. Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 57: 1-11. Link
Rull, V. 2025. Challenges in using modern pollen analogs for Cenozoic paleoecology: examples from the European Neogene. Lethaia, 59: 1-9. Link
Stein, R., Balascio, N.L., Bradley, R.S., Curtin, L., Peteet, D.M., Rapu, R., Rull, V., Seelenfreund, A., D’Andrea, W.J. 2025. Prolonged drought on Rapa Nui during the decline of melalithic monument construction. Communications Earth & Environment, 6: 865. Link
Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T., Blasco, A., Garcés-Pastor, S., Blaauw, M., Calero, M.A., Rull, V. 2025. Early organic carbon and nitrogen accumulation in a Pyrenean site: from rock to peat across the Late-Glacial-Early Holocene transition. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 680: 113330. Link
Rull, V. 2025. Insights on the indicator capacity of Artemisia pollen in pre-Holocene paleoecology. Palynology, 49: 2499121. Link
Rull, V. 2025. Where were the Caribbean mangroves during the Last Glacial Maximum? A preliminary microtopographical appraisal. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 323: 109404. Link
Rull, V. 2025. A critical evaluation of fossil pollen records from the mangrove tree Pelliciera beyond the Neotropics: biogeographical and evolutionary implications. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 335: 105299. Link
Rull, V. 2025. The Global Humanization Event (GHE). The Holocene, 35: 111-112. Link
Rull, V., Sigró, J., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T. 2024. Cannabis pollen sources and dispersal in the Iberian Pyrenees during the last century: preliminary results and proposals for future studies. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 331: 105208. Link
Rull, V. 2024. The Rapa Nui Little Ice Age drought: evidence, potential causes and socioecological impact. Journal of Biogeography, 51:1014-1017. Link
Rull, V. 2024. The ‘Anthropocene’: alea iacta est. EMBO Reports, 25: 939-943. Link
Rull, V., Alba, D., Casanovas-Vilar, I. 2024. Middle Miocene vegetation of the Vallès-Penedès Basin (NE Iberian Peninsula), as recorded by fossil pollen analysis: state of the art and future prospects. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 321: 105042. Link
Rull, V. 2023. Settlement and anthropization of the Azores Islands. Journal of Biogeography, 50: 2008-2011. Link
Rull, V. 2023. Eocene/Oligocene global disruption and the revolution of Caribbean mangroves. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 59: 125733. Link
Rull, V. 2023. The Neogene-Quaternary diversification trend in the shaping of modern Caribbean mangroves. Quaternary Science Reviews, 300: 107920. Link
Rull, V., Burjachs, F., Carrión, J.S., Ejarque, A., Fernández, S., López-Sáez, J.A., Luelmo-Lautenschlaeger, R., Ochando, J., Pérez-Díaz, S., Revelles, J., Riera, S., Rodríguez, S. 2023. Historical biogeography of Cannabis in the Iberian Peninsula: a probabilistic approach based on palynological evidence. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 58: 125704. Link
Rull, V., Sacristan-Soriano, O., Sánchez-Melsió, A., Borrego, C.M., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T. 2022. Bacterial phylogenetic markers in lake sediments provide direct evidence for historical hemp retting. Quaternary Science Reviews, 295: 107803. Link
Rull, V. 2022. Inductive prediction in biology. EMBO Reports, 23: e54846. Link
Rull, V. 2022. The Caribbean mangroves: an Eocene innovation with no Cretaceous precursors. Earth-Science Reviews, 231: 104070. Link
Rull, V. 2022. Origin, early expansion, domestication and anthropogenic diffusion of Cannabis, with emphasis on Europe and the Iberian Peninsula. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 55: 125670. Link
Rull, V. 2022. On predictions and laws in biological evolution. EMBO Reports, 23: e54392. Link
Rull, V. 2022. Biodiversity crisis or mass extinction? EMBO Reports, 23: e54193. Link
Rull, V., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T., Corella, J.P., Trapote, M.C., Montoya, E., Valero-Garcés, B. 2021. A unique Pyrenean varved record provides a detailed reconstruction of Mediterranean vegetation and land-use dynamics over the last three millennia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 268: 107128. Link
Rull, V., Cañellas-Boltà, N., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T. 2021. Late-Holocene forest resilience in the central Pyrenean highlands as deduced from pollen analysis of Lake Sant Maurici sediments. The Holocene, 31: 1797-1803. Link
Rull, V. 2021. The Anthropozoic era revisited. Lethaia, 54: 289-299. Link
Rull, V., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T., Corella, J.P., Valero-Garcés, B. 2021. Bronze Age to Medieval vegetation dynamics and landscape anthropization in the southern-central Pyrenees. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 571: 110392. Link
Rull, V., Vegas-Vilarrúbia, T. 2021. A spatiotemporal gradient in the anthropization of Pyrenean landscapes. Preliminary report. Quaternary Science Reviews, 258: 106909. Link
Rull, V. 2021. Contributions of paleoecology to Easter Island’s prehistory: a thorough review. Quaternary Science Reviews, 252: 106751. Link
Rull, V. 2021. Pristinity, degradation and replacement: the three dimensions of human impact on island vegetation. Progress in Physical Geography, 45; 407-426. Link
Rull, V. 2020. Drought, freshwater availability and cultural resilience on Easter Island (SE Pacific) during the Little Ice Age. The Holocene, 30: 774-780. Link
Rull, V. 2020. The deforestation of Easter Island. Biological Reviews, 95: 124-141. Link
Paleoecological Research (PaleoRes) | Bilbao St. nº 1, 08202 Sabadell (Barcelona), Spain | Email: paleoresc(at)gmail.com
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