Holocene pollen sequences as a record of competitive interactions among tree populations

The distributions of plant species in modern communities are often intensively studied in order to elucidate the basis of species richness and the maintenance of community structure. The Holocene pollen record provides an opportunity for an historical approach to the understanding of modern forest communities. Pollen data can provide evidence for the role of inter-specific competition in determining the composition of forest communities. The pollen data may point to those interactions where experiments to clarify the mechanisms of competition would be most relevant.