Keynote Speaker: Anna Maria Mercuri

Anna Maria Mercuri, biologist and palynologist, Associate Professor of Systematic Botany at the Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy; teacher of ‘Applied Palynology and Botany’, coordinator of the Italian Working Group of Palynology and Palaeobotany for the Italian Botanical Society (GPPSBI, since 2012); she designed the archaeobotanical network BRAIN (https://brainplants.unimore.it), published > 200 research papers, and organised three international conferences on palynology and archaeobotany in Modena. Her scientific interests include aerobiology, the relationship between plant landscapes and human activities, and the human impact and vegetation history in the Mediterranean Basin and the Sahara.