POLPAL 2004

New version of application for plotting pollen diagrams, counting pollen grains, and performing numerical analysis. In this version data are stored in simple text files, in MS Excel, Word, Notepad etc.

See also: POLPAL 2004 - Manual

Pollen data are stored in tables, with taxa in columns and samples (spectra) in rows. Such tables, typically are stored in spreadsheets (MS Excel), however it may have simple form of text, with values separated by tabulator (txt files). For smaller tables (up to 30-50 taxa) also text editors (like MS Word) can be used.

Of course, not only pollen and spores data are handled in POLPAL, also other remains counted in reasonable amount, like Cladocera, diatoms, molluscs, charcoal particles, fruits, seeds and other micro and macro objects.

Shown below are pollen tables in Notepad, Excel, and Word.

Plotting of pollen diagram is easy and fast process.

Pollen diagrams may have many different forms. Also numerical (statistical) analysis of data can be added to the diagram by two mouse clicks.

The final result, the diagram, is in the standard MS Windows format of bitmap (*.bmp file). It is very easy to add to the bitmap some additional descriptions, lines etc. Printing bitmap is easy as well, simply because it is standard format. Even the diagram of 300 taxa and 300 samples may be printed with perfect quality (see for example Ralska-Jasiewiczowa et al. 1998).

A few examples of diagrams are shown below (some figures are sized down).

Diagram in color:

Monochrome, large diagram with numerical analysis added:

Different forms of pollen "curve" (the last one is obtained with help of MS Paint):

There is additional application PPTable that may be used instead of Excel. Counting pollen grains is supported in that application, with use of special coding of taxa.

In order to keep many pollen tables in consistence, the list of taxa may optionally be used in POLPAL. Such a list consists of taxa names, taxa codes, taxa numbers, and life form code, which help in diagram construction.

Numerical analysis can be easy added to the diagram.

Extended functionality of POLPAL system

A number of pollen tables with taxa names (or codes or numbers) consistent with one list of taxa make a database. Data acquired from such a database can be used, for example, for creation of iso-pollen maps. Below example is presented, obtained using database of about 200 pollen tables (sites). Hundreds of such maps are created automatically, for different time horizons and different taxa (or groups of taxa).

To produce iso-pollen map two pieces of data are necessary: (1) map with sites, and (2) series of taxon percentages for sites. For more information contact Adam Walanus or Dorota Nalepka.

Ralska-Jasiewiczowa M., Nalepka D., Goslar T. 2003. Some problems of forest transformation at the transition to the oligocratic/Homo sapiens phase of Holocene interglacial in northern lowlands of central Europe. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 12(4): 233- 247.

The authors: Adam Walanus1, Dorota Nalepka2

1 AGH University of Science and Technology, Department of Geoscience Informatics, al. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Kraków; walanusgeol.agh.edu.pl

2 W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Lubicz 46, 31-512 Kraków, Poland; ibnalepkaib-pan.krakow.pl

W Szafer Institute of Botany PAS is the owner of the POLPAL programs and transfers a license for internal use of the copy of the object code of the POLPAL programs together with diskettes (or CD) and a printed User Documentation for each program.

POLPAL 2004 demo version - see: www.adamwalanus.pl

Commercial price of POLPAL License:

EUR 250 for POLPAL 2004 program (EUR 350 for up to 5 users in one institution)

The use of the software is granted for an unlimited period of time.

If you are interested in buying POLPAL, please send the order for POLPAL to Dorota Nalepka by e-mail. Then Dorota will send you the program by e-mail as attachments and next, by post, on CD with the License and Invoice (please, attach the correct post address to prepare that documents).

If you are interested in scientific cooperation on data handling, please contact us: ibnalepkaib-pan.krakow.pl

References to POLPAL

  1. Nalepka D., Walanus A. 2003. Przypisywanie wieku spektrom w diagramie pyłkowym na podstawie niewielkiej liczby dat radiowęglowych. [W: E. Zastawniak (red.). Paleobotanika na przełomie wieków]. Botanical Guidebook 26: 295-307.
  2. Walanus A. & Nalepka D. 1999. POLPAL. Program for counting pollen grains, diagrams plotting and numerical analysis. Acta Palaeobotanica Suppl. 2: 659-661.
  3. Ralska-Jasiewiczowa M., Goslar T., Madeyska T. & Starkel L. 1998. Lake Gościąż, Central Poland. A monographic study. Part 1. W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków.
  4. Walanus A. & Nalepka D. 1997. Palynological diagram drawing in Polish POLPAL for Windows. INQUA Working Group on Data-Handling Methods. Newsletter 16: 8-10.
  5. Walanus A. 1995a. Pollen Data in Space and Time - Local Approach. INQUA Working Group on Data-Handling Methods. Newsletter 13: 13-14.
  6. Walanus A. 1995b. Pollen data in space and time - local approach, INQUA-Comission for the Study of the Holocene. Working Group on Data-Handling Methods. Newsletter 13.
  7. Walanus A. 1994. Optimizing taxon codes in pollen counting INQUA Working Group on Data-Handling Methods. Newsletter 11: 6.
  8. Walanus A. 1989. Saving computer memory in storing tables of pollen count. Pollen et Spores 31 (1-2): 161-164.

Examples of POLPAL diagram may be find in:

Acta Palaeobotanica:

  1. Bałaga K., Taras H. 2001. Development of vegetation and settlement near Kopki in the Sandomierz Basin during the last 4000 years. Acta Palaeobot. 41 (1): 69-81.
  2. Bałaga K.1998. Post-glacial vegetational changes in the Middle Roztocze (E Poland). Acta Palaeobot. 38 (1): 175-192.
  3. Harmata K., 1995. A Late Glacial and early Holocene profile from Jasło and recapitulatien of the studies on the vegetational history of the Jasło-Sanok Depression in the last 13000 years. Acta Palaeobot. 35(1): 15-45
  4. Latałowa M. 1999. Palaeoecological reconstruction of the environmental conditions and economy in early medieval Wolin - against a background of the Holocene history of the landscape. Acta Palaeobot. 39 (2), 183-271.
  5. Nalepka D. 2003. Prehistoric and historic settlements recorded in a terrestrail pollen profile: Boreal to Subatlantic forest succession in a 60 cm thick sediment in Stanisławice (southern Poland). Acta Palaeobotanica 43(1): 101-112.
  6. Nita M. 1998. An interglacial flora from the Zalesiaki locality near Działoszyn (Silesian-Cracovian Upland). Acta Palaeobot. 38 (1): 193-216.
  7. Nita M. 1999. Mazovian interglacial at Konieczki near Kłobuck (Silesian-Cracovian Upland). Acta Palaeobot. 39(1): 89-135.
  8. Obidowicz A. 1996. A Late Glacial-Holocene history of the Formation of vegetation belts in the Tatra Mts. Acta Palaeobot. 36 (2): 159-206.
  9. Szczepanek K. 2000. Late Holocene vegetation history in the Dukla Pass region (Low Beskidy, Carpathians) based on pollen and macrofossil analyses. Acta Palaeobot. 41 (2): 341-353
  10. Wacnik A. 1995. The vegetational history of local flora and evidences of human activities recorded in the pollen diagram from site Regetovka, NE Slovakia. Acta Palaeobot. 35 (2): 253-274
  11. Wacnik A., Worobiec E. 2001. Pollen analysis of the Middle Miocene profile from Legnica, southwestern Poland. Acta Palaeobot. 41(1): 3-13.

Lake Gościąż, Central Poland. A monographic study. Part 1. (eds.) Ralska-Jasiewiczowa M., Goslar T., Madeyska T. & Starkel L. 1999. W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków:

  1. Bałaga K. Goslar T. & Kuc T. 1999. A comparative study on the Late-Glacial/Early Holocene climatic changes recorded in laminated sediments of Lake Perespilno - introductory data. 175-180. [Fig. 7.53]
  2. Marciniak B. 1999. Younger Dryas diatom assemblages. 143-148. [Fig. 7.27, 7.28]
  3. Ralska-Jasiewiczowa M. & van Geel B. 1999. Human impact on the vegetation of the Lake Gościąż surroundings in prehistioric and early-historic times. 267-297. [Fig. 9.8, 9.9, 9.10, 9.11, 9.12, 9.13, 9.14, 9.15, 9.16, 9.17, 9.18, 9.19]
  4. Ralska-Jasiewiczowa M. & van Geel B. 1999. Pollen record and anthropogenic changes of vegetation in the Lake Gościąż region from AD 1660 until recent times. 318-326. [Fig. 9.46, 9.47, 9.48, 9.49]
  5. Ralska-Jasiewiczowa M., Demske D. & van Geel B. Demske D. 1999. Late-Glacial vegetation history recorded in the Lake Gościąż sediments. 128-143. [Fig. 7.20, 7.21, 7.22, 7.23, 7.25]
  6. Ralska-Jasiewiczowa M., van Geel B. & Demske D. 1999. Holocene regional vegetation history recorded in the Lake Gościąż sediments. 202-219. [Fig. 8.22, 8.23, 8.24, 8.25, 8.27 G1/87, 8.30]
  7. Szeroczyńska K. 1999. Cladocera analysis in the late-Glacial sediments of Lake Gościąż. 148-158. [7.30, 7.31, 7.32, 7.33, 7.34, 7.35, 7.36]
  8. Szeroczyńska K. 1999. Correlation between human activity and trophic stages in Lake Gościąż development based on Cladoceran analysis. 294-297. [Fig. 9.19]
  9. Szeroczyńska K. 1999. The holocenen cladoceran succession in the laminated sediments of Lake Gościąż. 219-225. [Fig. 8.30]

Other Journals:

  1. Goslar T., Ralska-Jasiewiczowa M., van Geel B., Łącka B., Szeroczyńska K., Chróst L. & A.Walanus A. 1999. Anthropogenic changes in the sediment composition of Lake Gościąż (central Poland), during the last 330 yrs. Journal od Paleolimnology 22: 171-185.
  2. Harmata K. 1995. Traces of human impact reflected in the pollen diagram from Tarnowiec mire near Jasło (Jasło-Sanok depression), SE Poland. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 4: 235-243.
  3. Madeyska E., Obidowicz A. 2001. Palaeobotanical analyses of Cholerzyn site. [w:] Via Archaeologica. Przyroda i Człowiek materiały do studiów. Red. S. Kadrow. Krakowski Zespół do Badań Autostrad. Kraków 2001: 65-74.
  4. Nalepka D. 1999. Środowisko przyrodnicze i działalność rolnicza osady kultury lendzielskiej w Osłonkach (Pojezierze Kujawskie). Polish Botanical Studies. Guidebook Series 23: 79-87.
  5. Ralska-Jasiewiczowa M. & van Geel B. 1992. Early human disturbance of the natural environment recorded in annually laminated sediments of Lake Gościąż, central Poland. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 1: 33-42. [Fig. 5]
  6. Szczepanek K. 2001. Anthropogenic vegetation changes in the region of the Dukla Pass, the Lower Beskid Mountains. Polska Akademia Umiejętności. Prace Komisji Prehistorii Karpat II: 171-182.
  7. Szeroczyńska K. 1998. Anthropogenic transformation of nine lakes in Central Poland from Mesolithic to modern times in the light of Cladocera analysis. Studia Geologica Polonica vol. 112, Kraków 1998, pp. 123-165.
  8. Szeroczyńska K. 1998. Palaeolimnological investigations in Poland based on Cladocera (Crustacea). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 140: 335-345.